Longboat Key residents won’t just be voting on elected officials and amendments when they head to the polls tomorrow.

They’ll also decide whether to allow two properties to convert from commercial to residential use, allowing for a maximum of six dwelling units per acre.

The properties are the 0.76-acre plot in between the Public Safety Complex and the Centre Shops at 5440 Gulf of Mexico Drive owned by Victor Levine and the 0.44-acre plot at 521 Broadway east and adjacent to the Barrier Island Realty Group office in the Longbeach Village owned by First America Bank.

If voters approve the change to his property, Levine hopes to divide the lot into four separate lots, each with a single-family home, while First America Bank wants to develop the Broadway property into two separate lots, which would each have a single-family home with water access to the canal behind them to the north.

Land use consultant Peter Dailey, who represents both property owners, said that neither property is under contract. Both of his clients have had difficulty selling their properties because of the current zoning.

The town’s 1984 Comprehensive Plan requires that voters approve any density increase.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. tomorrow. The town’s Manatee County voters will cast ballots at Longboat Island Chapel, 6200 Gulf of Mexico Drive, while its Sarasota County voters will vote at Longboat Key Town Hall, 501 Bay Isles Road.

Contact Robin Hartill at rhartill@yourobserver.com.

 

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