Longboat Key Club submits suggested code revisions

The Longboat Key Club and Resort submitted seven, proposed zoning-code amendments to the town March 16, in an effort to clarify legal questions surrounding the club’s $400 million Islandside renovation-and-expansion application.

Previously, on March 1, club attorney John Patterson submitted to commissioners what the club perceives as ambiguous or conflicting provisions of the town’s zoning code.

The seven proposed clarifications to the code, Patterson says, will hopefully eliminate those ambiguities and move it forward to a Town Commission vote without legal challenges from attorneys for the Islandside Property Owners Coalition, which opposes the project.

The code amendments recommended by Patterson in a memorandum dated March 16, to Planning, Zoning and Building Director Monica Simpson, include clarifications to the following code provisions:

• Mixed uses — The club proposes clarifying that mixed uses, including residential, tourism, nonresidential and commercial uses, are allowed in a Planned Unit Development (PUD).

 •  Departures — The club proposes clarifying that the Town Commission has the authority to grant or deny any requested departure in any district.

 •  The 5% commercial cap — The club proposes limiting “non-accessory commercial development” to 5% of the gross area of a PUD and not including hotels and hotel-related uses as non-accessory commercial development. This would mean hotels and resort uses are allowed in PUDs and are not subject to the 5% limitation. The club says this change is consistent with the town’s historical interpretation of this code section.

• Transfer of density — The club proposes clarifying that the town may amend a PUD to allocate units among parcels if there is remaining density in the PUD. The club states this is the longstanding position of the town and is not an illegal transfer of density.

• Departures for supplemental controls — The club proposes establishing controls for multi-family and tourist uses and the standards for waiving those controls in appropriate circumstances. This amendment clarifies that the commission may grant a departure from one or more of these controls.

• Length of a building — The club proposes clarifying how the length of a building is measured. This is a clarification of where to place the angle in measuring length.

• Clarification of the term “PD” — The club proposes clarifying that a PD referenced in the zoning code refers to a Planned Unit Development and not to a Planned Development District.

The Planning and Zoning Board has been charged by the Town Commission to review the club’s code suggestions, as well as any other issues that may arise during its review of the town’s zoning code. A date has not been set for the board’s review of the code amendments.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected]