Longboat staff questions Colony redevelopment application timeline

Longboat Key's Development Review Committee on Friday, Sept. 1 questioned the timeline for Unicorp National Development's latest plan to redevelop the former Colony Beach and Tennis Resort property and sought information it said was missing from the proposal.

In a Town Hall meeting between the committee and Unicorp staff, Longboat officials said the proposal lacks several major pieces, and the time needed to address them could affect its progress through the layers of municipal government. Unicorp hopes to have the application finalized in time to present to the Planning and Zoning Board at its Oct. 17 meeting and possibly to the Town Council in November. Committee members said that can't take place until all the data is included.

“It would be a miracle for that to happen between now and then on this size of a project,” said Longboat Key Planning, Zoning and Building Director Alaina Ray.

“I’ve never seen this size of a project go that fast.”

Town planning staff also said three weeks of review would be needed before the Oct. 3 agenda deadline, meaning Unicorp would need to finalize survey and research work by the middle of September. That’s assuming there are no revisions needed.

Missing that deadline would push the proposal into November or December, meaning the town commission likely won't see it until early 2018.

“It’s a lot of work,” said Unicorp President Chuck Whittall. “If we can get comments in, and they can get comment into us, and we can get our comments back in, we’ll make that date, but it’s a tight timeline. “

Closed down in 2010 after court-ordered bankruptcy proceedings,  the former Colony property has been a contentious issue on Longboat since before Whittall’s group acquired it in 2014. After years of  negotiations with the town, neighbors and citizens, Unicorp has agreed to scale back its more ambitious original plans. Town voters rejected a density referendum on the original proposal by an 87% to 13% tally. The project, one of the largest undertaken on the island in recent history, still requires a series of special exceptions before it can be permitted to begin construction.

At the Sept. 1 meeting, the town’s Development Review Committee presented a 28-page document of technical comments about Unicorp's initial presentation, reviewing issues as far reaching as the documentation tree species on the property and the size of the resort's water pipes.

Town officials also said 3D elevation modeling for the new property was missing.  

“The site plan has to include architectural elevations so we can see what the buildings look like and what they look like in relation to surrounding properties so we can see what the impacts might be,” Ray said. “Without those, it’s hard to judge what the characteristics of the property are going to look like and how it will impact adjacent properties.”

Another major component is a hydraulic review of the property. The town is concerned about the future water use for the resort's 268 residential and hotel units.

Whitall said his group would pay for any necessary improvements to the town’s drinking and wastewater systems.  As a barrier island, Longboat Key has limited access to drinking water and any change in residential density would need to be calibrated against the needs of the rest of the island. Longboat Key's water comes from Manatee County. 

Town officials said the plan was also missing a narrative section of its application to explain why it's seeking to override the town comprehensive plan with a special exemption. The property is entitled to the same 237-unit allotment of tourism rooms that the Colony was, but the new proposal calls for a 166-unit St. Regis hotel and 102 condominiums. 

“It’s increasing residential density in a high-velocity, coastal high-hazard area,” Ray said. “There was no explanation for that. There was no justification for why that was beneficial or how it meets the state’s intent to reduce density in those areas.”

At the meeting, representatives from both parties said they hope to advance the project while adhering to local requirements. The Colony property has stood vacant for years.

“Longboat Key needs the Colony to be rebuilt and a new development to be there, and we are on a position to do that,” Whittall said. “We hope they’re on board.”