Commission approves alternative project

The Longboat Key Town Commission approved an Islandside renovation-and-expansion project Monday, June 14, at Temple Beth Israel that the Longboat Key Club and Resort didn’t propose.

The alternative redevelopment plan town attorney David Persson crafted the night before includes:

• No residential or tourism units being built north of Longboat Club Road.

• Giving the club the option to move the proposed spa and wellness center to the north parcel to accommodate a condominium tower being built on the south parcel. This option would only allow the club to build a maximum of 70 residential units in a seven-story tower over one level of parking and would create a net loss of 46 units the club proposed.

• A contribution of $4 million by the club for the loss of town recreation and open space that would be eliminated.

• Building a sidewalk adjacent to Gulf of Mexico Drive alongside the Islandside golf course.

• The option to leave the gatehouse on Longboat Club Road in its current location.

• The option to extend a construction phasing plan with the commission’s approval and a payment of $500,000 for each year the phasing schedule is extended. Those payments would count toward payment of the $4 million contribution.

Mayor George Spoll and Commissioners Lynn Larson, Phillip Younger and Robert Siekmann approved the alternative plan on first reading.

Vice Mayor Jim Brown and Commissioners David Brenner and Hal Lenobel did not support the alternative plan.

For more information, including reaction from all sides, pick up a copy of the June 17 edition of The Longboat Observer.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].