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Scenes from the Key Club hearing

Date: 10/21/2009
by: Dora Walters

Approximately 350 Longboat Key residents, town officials and business owners filled Temple Beth Israel.
Approximately 350 Longboat Key residents, town officials and business owners filled Temple Beth Israel Wednesday.
Longboat Key Club and Resort Attorney John Patterson, far left, prepares his witnesses for the stand.
Loeb Partners Realty President and Chief Operating Officer Michael Brody, left, makes his case for the Islandside project.
A myriad of attorneys and witnesses for The Longboat Key Club and Resort's $400 million Islandside hearing were sworn in.
Town Attorney David Persson, left, and Planning and Zoning Board Vice Chair Al Hixon had a discussion before the hearing.
Traffic engineer Bill Oliver, left, town attorney Nancy Stroud, and Planning, Zoning and Building Director Monica Simpson
Dr. Peter Yessawich, chairman and chief executive officer of Ypartnership.

Currently 2 Responses

1.
The developer has a long way to go to demonstrate the public benefit and the economic feasibility of this project from a market demand and financial perspective. The entire site including the existing development is already a complete package with high rise residential toward the beach and recreational uses toward the lagoon and along the GMD frontage.

The Comprehensive Plan doesn't envision additional development on the site and there aren't public objectives and design guidelines promulgated in the Plan that could be used to evaluate what the developer is proposing. The staff evaluaton is narrow in scope and focuses entirely on deviations from zoning standards rather than whether the proposal is consistent with the Comp Plan and a desireable project for consideration. This proposal is being invented out of whole cloth and not in response to a community vision for the site. The current economic market is not exactly crying out for these uses.

Nevertheless, the applicant has brought forth the promise of a major investment , a commitment to doing something and a talented team of consultants and architects. Rather than set up a we propose and you dispose quasi-judicial procedure what should be happening is a series of work sessions where the community and developer dialogue get a chance to get to know each other and discuss how this project will relate and impact the existing Longboat Key Club community and Longboat Key in general.

The fact that people are adorned with two sets of buttons one for one against is a good indicator that this dialogue hasn't happened.
Larry Grossman
Tue 27th Oct 2009
at 11:47pm

2.
The Longboat Key Club's Redevelopment Plan is very necessary for LBK. Their very compelling case has clearly been made by world renown experts. The time has come for Positive Change on LBK.
Positive Change encourages all to bury past axes and get behind The Club as the choice is clear.

Thanks Longboat Key Club!
Rick Crawford, President
Positive Change Coalition
Rick Crawford
Fri 23rd Oct 2009
at 7:48am