First park project hurdle addressed

The first hurdle in creating a revamped Bayfront Park has been cleared.

Planning, Zoning and Building Director Monica Simpson alerted the Town Commission in a Feb. 9 e-mail that the Department of Community Affairs has no objections to a proposed Comprehensive Plan amendment pertaining to a new park concept.

The new park concept was created in May 2009 and includes a new community center on the park’s most northern parcel.

Simpson explained that the amendment, which still must be approved in ordinance form by the commission, will be sent with another future amendment to the Comprehensive Plan that the Planning and Zoning Board began reviewing at its Feb. 15 regular meeting. The second amendment pertains to clarifications the town wishes to make after going through the Longboat Key Club Islandside renovation-and-expansion project hearings last year.

“Once the plan amendment that you are currently considering is ready for adoption, all of the amendments will collectively be sent up together, equating it to only one comprehensive plan amendment,” Simpson wrote in her e-mail.

Simpson believes both amendments can be adopted by the end of the year.

Town attorney David Persson and town staff are also working to craft an interlocal agreement between Sarasota County and the town of Longboat Key.

The agreement will make sure both parties concur that the site is meant to be used for a community park.
Zoning changes for the park will be the next step.

Specifically, the Sarasota County-owned southern park parcel, previously dubbed the Albritton parcel, must be changed from single-family residential and commercial to an open-space category.

Persson said, in total, the changes that need to be made at the town and state level could take more than a year to accomplish.

The biggest hurdle still exists, however.

Monies will need to be found to build a new 15,000-square-foot community center, a new multi-use/basketball court and relocated tennis courts.

The cost to renovate the entire park and build a recreation center is unknown. However, the Longboat Key Club and Resort has committed to paying the town $3 million for its Islandside renovation-and-expansion project, which could be used for the park project.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected]

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