Longboat community's long-term vision meshes with new zoning proposals

Bill Peterson takes exception to the word “plan” when it's used to describe how Spanish Main Yacht Club might look someday.

“It’s a vision, not a plan,” explained Peterson, the vice president and treasurer of the Spanish Main Yacht Club condominium association, when asked about ideas formulated four years ago for the possible remake of the 28-acre, 212-villa development on Sarasota Bay. Spanish Main residents have no immediate plans to go beyond the vision but say they wanted something on paper in case of catastrophe. 

Even so, Spanish Main residents were heartened to learn this month that the idea, which calls for 14 two-story buildings with parking underneath, met the criteria of the town’s new zoning recommendations, which are expected to get their first commission vote Dec. 3. A second reading and vote could take place as early as Jan. 7, 2019.

The community's current configuration, shaped like an elongated H with a combination of 176 single-family and connected waterfront villas along two boulevards with a collection of homes in a central area, works out to about 7.5 units per acre. Density on the redeveloped property would remain the same as it is today, but with more open space.  

Height wouldn't be an issue, the town allows 65 feet above parking. 

In preliminary discussions with the town, the community has learned Spanish Main likely would be a candidate for redevelopment but would remain, in the eyes of the town, a non-conforming property because of the density which exceeds current standards. However, part of the town's proposal under consideration would include a program in which owners of such properties could be granted a certificate that explains their rights and responsibilities when rebuilding. 

The goal of changing Longboat’s zoning is to allow residents to redevelop their property more in keeping up with the modern real estate market or rebuild from a catastrophe.

One of Longboat’s first condominium developments

Spanish Main Yacht Club is a 55-and-over community of one-story, white stucco villas that sit by Sarasota Bay.

The condominiums, a combination of one- and two-bedroom units, were developed by Roland LaGueux in 1965 and completed in 1972. The price tag then was $4 million and the project was marketed as a boating community. It was also built nearly two decades before Longboat changed its zoning and lowered its density requirements.

Overall, there are 134 single units and 39 duplexes.

Initial selling prices at the development were $13,995 for a one-bedroom unit and $15,995 for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom home. Prices now range from $300,000 to $695,000. A third of the community’s 400-plus residents live in Longboat year-round, said Pat Knudson, president of the condominium association.

Options were needed

Peterson, Freiwald and Knudson are quick to emphasize the concept is more of an insurance policy for the next generation of Spanish Main residents, they said.

The genesis of the rebuild concept began in 2004 just after Hurricane Charley struck Port Charlotte, said Freiwald, who is also a member of the Longboat Key Revitalization Task Force.

“A group of town officials went down to Port Charlotte,” said Freiwald, adding the contingent realized how unprepared their own community was for a catastrophe. They also realized if a similar disaster hit Longboat Key, it would be impossible to rebuild under the existing zoning codes, which would have required lower density. 

While Longboat officials assembled a recovery plan and began discussing how to update zoning, Spanish Main residents began to lay their groundwork for their own recovery.

The board met with Hoyt Architects of Sarasota to develop a plan to rebuild the development, if needed. Gary Hoyt was the architect for the Publix supermarket.

“We wanted to get our ducks in a row,” Freiwald said.

A very different Spanish Main

Each of the two-story buildings would have 16 units, eight on each floor. They would also be 12 feet off the ground to meet Federal Emergency Management Agency requirements. It would also not exceed town height restrictions of 65 feet, the equivalent of six floors.

Under the concept, there would be 52 three-bedroom units, a clubhouse, amenities roads, sidewalks and covered parking with an ample setback from Gulf of Mexico Drive.  The front of the development would have a “Las Vegas-style” water feature, Freiwald said.

But perhaps more importantly, every unit would have a water view, either from the front or the back, something that not all of the development’s current units offer. It would also take up 50% less space than the current development.

“It would be the showplace of Longboat Key,” Freiwald said. “It would streamline the process if we went to Planning and Zoning.”

Because the plans are for an emergency or for something way down the road, there have been no formal discussion on how such a rebuilding project would proceed.

“This is grist for the mill,” he said.