Village owners want alley closed

Longbeach Village residents Allan and Virginia Luke will ask the Planning and Zoning Board later this month to close a portion of the alley behind their home.

As part of the request, the Village owners are asking the town to vacate, discontinue and abandon the alley and alley right of way behind their home at 6890 Longboat Drive. S.

In September, Commissioner Pat Zunz urged the planning board to consider recommending the town open up town-owned alleys in the Village that could be used by boat owners who don’t have a lot of land to park their boats.

Several Village property owners don’t have access to closed-off town-owned alleys that haven’t been accessible by car for years.

“The town needs to reclaim the alleys,” Zunz said.

Public Works Director Juan Florensa and his staff pulled research about the alleys that date back to 1913 in order to look at each alley and assess the conditions and length and width of each thoroughfare. The town owns five-and-a-half of the seven platted alleys in the Village. But most of the alleys are closed in and not accessible.

The commission determined it wouldn’t reclaim the alleys in December after several Village residents came to a meeting to complain about alleys being opened. Commissioners decided to only have staff research portions of the alleys the town owns in case it needs the information in the future.

The planning board will review the alley closure request at its 9 a.m. May 27 regular meeting at Town Hall, 501 Bay Isles Road.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].