2015 Issues to Watch: North-end restaurants

Change is on the menu for two historic Longbeach Village restaurants.

The Longboat Key Planning Board unanimously approved two applications for a proposed Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant & Pub second-story deck at its Dec. 16 meeting. The planning board has approval authority over both applications, meaning Mar Vista can proceed with the project in 2015 and will not go before the Longboat Key Town Commission.

And, the family-owned Moore’s Stone Crab Restaurant is seeking to redevelop with Sarasota restaurateurs Mark Caragiulo and Tom Leonard as investors.

Still, many residents have concerns about the traffic, noise and parking congestion they say the restaurants bring to the Village.

For Mar Vista owner Ed Chiles, those concerns reached a crescendo in 2013, when he proposed renovating the historic Rufus P. Jordan House to include space for weddings and small events. Residents feared the project would produce large crowds that would change the character of their neighborhood.

Chiles withdrew that plan and pursued another to add a second story with outdoor dining that included a request for 11 additional seats. He nixed the request for additional seating to obtain the recommendation of town staff for the applications that the planning board approved in December.

Still, the board heard concerns from Village residents.

“Mr. Chiles, I’m asking you to do your best the first time around and don’t make us make complaints and have to go back and retrofit this,” resident Stephen Garrod said.

As for Moore’s, the restaurant is in the beginning stages of redevelopment. Co-owner Alan Moore filed three applications with the town Nov. 25, one of which seeks to rezone the property to its original commercial zoning.

The property has been zoned residential since 2010, when the Longboat Key Town Commission agreed on a request from Moore to rezone the property from commercial to residential to allow the restaurant to continue operating while giving owners a financial exit strategy in case the business became unviable.

Because residential land in the area at that time was more valuable than commercially zoned land, Moore told the commission that he could not renegotiate double-digit-interest-rate loans that were due.

According to the application, Caragiulo and Leonard will proceed only if the property reverts to its original zoning.

“In order to protect the investment in the event of a disaster such as a fire, the investors need to be assured that they can rebuild,” the application states.

Chiles plans to begin construction in the fall and complete work by December.

The planning board could consider the request to rezone Moore’s in February. If approved, the request could go before the commission in April and May.

Caragiulo described the possibilities for the restaurant to the Longboat Observer in December.

“It’s getting sad,” he said. “Longboat could virtually become a condo destination. To build or rebuild a new version of something iconic on the waterfront is exciting to me.”

Facts for '15
The issue: Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant & Pub and Moore’s Stone Crab Restaurant seek to redevelop in 2015.

Why you should care: The historic restaurants are Longboat Key institutions, but many neighboring residents believe they threaten the Village’s character.

Timeline: The Longboat Key Town Commission could consider Moore’s’ request in April and May. Mar Vista owner Ed Chiles plans to begin construction this fall.