Commission approves Colony extension

The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort Association doesn’t have to worry about losing 134 of the 237 tourism units that sit empty at 1620 Gulf of Mexico Drive.

The Longboat Key Town Commission gave the association and other various Colony parties until Aug. 1, 2016 to file a building permit at Town Hall that aims to restore the resort with its current number of tourism units at a special meeting Monday.

The commission, though, said it’s the town’s goal to change the density of the 18-acre site, through its ongpoing process of changing its town codes and Comprehensive Plan.

“This whole discussion supports memorializing the density in some form and get away from theses abandonments and extensions,” said Commissioner Terry Gans. “I would like to see tourism on that property.”

The commission and association attorney Don Hemke agreed to a stipulation that the association construct a fence around the entire site that’s at least six feet and as high as eight feet.

The recommendation was made by Police Chief Pete Cumming, who said the fence and no trespassing signs “will keep people off the property and allow us to arrest people trying to access it.”

For more information, pick up a copy of this week’s Longboat Observer.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].