Issues to Watch 2014: ULI time for change

Longboat Key should embrace change.

That was one message an Urban Land Institute panel delivered to the town after a five-day study of the Key in October.

But will the commission and residents actually embrace change? That has yet to be seen.

The ULI panel made eight basic recommendations (see sidebar) to the commission Oct. 25, after touring the Key by bus and boat and interviewing dozens of residents and business owners. The panel is expected to submit its final report to the town in a 40-page document by the end of January. That report will include an implementation strategy to accomplish the suggested goals and create a roadmap for the future.

The Urban Land Institute Implementation Advisory Committee — consisting of five citizens, two commissioners and two Planning & Zoning Board members — is tasked with discussing ways to bring the panel’s suggestions to fruition.

Committee member Tom Freiwald has said that the committee needs to act swiftly to implement the recommendations while they’re still fresh on everyone’s minds.

In December, the committee agreed to prioritize discussions of a town center that the panel recommended for the Bay Isles area. Committee members also moved identifying the amenities that Bayfront Park needs to the top of their to-do list.

But Town Manager Dave Bullock made it clear that town staff isn’t waiting for committee discussion to take action. While the committee’s job is to generate discussion and ideas, town staff must determine what can actually be done.

Town staffers have met with property owners on Bay Isles Road to discuss possibilities for a town center. Town Manager Dave Bullock also hired Sarasota architect Gary Hoyt, who designed the new Longboat Key Publix, to design two sets of renderings for the concept.

At their Dec. 17 meeting, committee members told staff they will recommend to commissioners that the roads as they currently sit should not prohibit that town center concept.

Hoyt is also sketching an overlay district for a town center concept to see how it could be accommodated through the town codes and Comprehensive Plan.

Staffers have also met with officials from Sarasota County — the county completed a concept for Bayfront Park and owns the 3.88-acre Albritton property that’s adjacent to the park. Staff will compile a report with material from the county and the University of Florida, which provides planning services to the town on an as-needed basis, which will be completed later this year.

“Sarasota County and the University of Florida (UF) will look at studies from other communities to see what’s working and what isn’t,” said Interim Planning, Zoning and Building Director Alaina Ray at the committee’s Dec. 17 meeting. “We need to identify recreational trends for the baby boom generation.”

Town staff is also holding discussions with Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) officials to determine what the agency would allow on the FDOT-controlled Gulf of Mexico Drive to improve mobility.
ULI panelists made it clear in October that none of the recommendations can be implemented until the town and its residents agree to work together.

“It’s clear to the panel that the residents and business owners all love Longboat Key,” said ULI panel Chairman Kamuron Gurol. “But divisions and disputes have increased and prevented community adhesion. The Key will be stronger if everyone can work together to face challenges ahead, regardless of which area on the Key you live.”

Overview: The town of Longboat Key is working to implement recommendations the Urban Land Institute made as part of a $125,000 study for which taxpayers paid.

Players: Town of Longboat Key

Timeline: Ongoing

RECOMMENDATIONS
The ULI panel presented the following basic recommendations Oct. 25, to the Longboat Key Town Commission:
• Build the community together
• Adapt to a changing market
• Focus on the future
• Relax rental restrictions
• Implement early actions
• Complete the town center
• Locate the community/cultural center at the town center
• Improve mobility

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected]