Longboat Planning & Zoning will hear Shore's sidewalk request

Members of the town’s Planning & Zoning Board on Tuesday, June 18 are expected to discuss for the first time a proposal from the owners of The Shore restaurant in Longbeach Village to vacate a segment of sidewalk along Broadway Street to add more than a dozen parking spaces to the property.

John Mays, a partner in 800 Broadway LLC, the company building the restaurant alongside Sarasota Bay, has said the request would add about 15 more on-site parking slots in addition to the 55 already part of the construction plan in an outdoor lot and under the elevated portion of the building.

The 185-seat restaurant, which Mays said could open by the end of July, is required to have 46 parking spots on site.

The request by the developer does not involve the 40-foot wide paved road, only a 20-foot segment including the sidewalk on the south side.

In recommending denial of the application, the town’s Planning, Zoning and Building staff cited several factors:

• The preference of the town to have access to underground utilities via town-owned property or rights of way. A two-inch water main runs through the area under consideration, and a major component of the town’s underground utility project is designed to be placed in the area to serve Jewfish Key through an underwater cable.
• Town code requires minimum 80-foot wide rights of way for streets similar to Broadway, including paved streets in the middle and space on either side. This change would reduce that to 60 feet in the affected area.
• Previous vacations of right of way in town have involved unimproved or minimally improved rights of way.
• To date, no nearby property owners have signaled support for the project.

If the vacation is approved, a site plan change to include the new parking space would likewise have to be vetted by town staff and approved. The Town Commission could be the next to hear the right of way application, as early as July 1.

Mays said last month his organization is trying to be proactive and keep as many parked cars on the property as possible, in light of recent objections to street parking in the neighborhood.

A package of new parking restrictions and speed limits went into effect in Longbeach Village last month.