Looking Ahead: Longboat Key referendums

Voters this year may change the face of Longboat Key forever. Or not.

Residents will consider a request from Unicorp National Developments to pursue more density for the redevelopment of the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort, and another request from Whitney Beach Plaza owner Ryan Snyder to develop his shopping center.

After voters rejected plans for a mixed-use development on Snyder’s property, he will return with an all-residential concept. The Longboat Observer received input from stakeholders on the referendums.

Ryan Snyder, Whitney Beach Plaza owner

Several town commissioners commented on the lack of public relations surrounding the initial referendum request. The (Floridays Development Co.'s) hotel referendum failed in August with a vote of approximately 25% in favor and 75% against. The hotel developer employed some questionable public relations tactics, which left a bad taste with a lot of folks on the island. Being on the heels of the hotel referendum, I wrestled back and forth with whether or not I should actively promote the Whitney Plaza referendum. I ultimately decided a quiet approach was best. The Whitney Plaza referendum failed with a vote of (approximately) 40% in favor and 60% against.

Why am I seeking a second referendum? Had I known the hotel developer was going to propose what it did, I would have waited to seek the Whitney Plaza referendum. I believe the hotel referendum had a negative impact on the Whitney Plaza referendum. My quiet approach likely did not work. I regret not making an attempt to educate the electorate on what I wanted to do. I want the electorate to understand my proposal will decrease traffic on the island as opposed to increasing it. Several residents on the north end approached me in the weeks leading up to the initial referendum voicing their concerns over the mixed-use nature of my proposal. Each wanted the property to be strictly residential. I submitted the mixed-use concept as that is what the town lobbied for. The new request contains no commercial component.  

No matter how I spin it, I'm seeking a second bite at the apple. I have a shopping center that has struggled for years and is 50% vacant. I need the residents to approve a referendum. Alternatively, I need the residents to support the businesses at Whitney Plaza so they will thrive and support more growth. Those are the avenues available to me, and I will continue to try both until one works.     

Terry Gans, Longboat Key mayor

The question as to what will happen in the March 2017 referendum on whether to permit increased density on the Colony (Beach & Tennis Resort) site is asking “what will happen.” Since my crystal ball shattered on Nov. 8, without it I only know Longboat Key voters will have the opportunity to pass their judgment on a key question that they have been asking for the past six years: “What’s going to happen with the Colony?” The sponsor of the referendum, who wishes a “yes” vote, will have a considerable education and persuasion job to achieve his goal. Longboat voters have, in the past, been very particular in granting approval to requests for density increases. They need to be convinced that such an increase could be of an overall benefit to the long-term health, vitality and appeal of our island town. They need to be convinced that the negatives they possibly see are overcome by the positives of the project. And they need to keep in mind that their vote is merely the first step in potentially getting the project to the next step: Presenting a development plan to staff, the Planning and Zoning Board, and ultimately, the Town Commission. If their vote is “no,”  as my still functioning Magic 8 ball would say to the applicant “future cloudy, shake again.” Whether he does, “future cloudy.”

As to the two referendums last November being predictive of anything, they were perhaps a unique expression by the voters in a unique election. There had been no effort to educate voters on what the proponents were seeking. There were no angry letters to the editors against. There was absolutely no heat at all. There was, however, as much “no” voting overall in the election as “yes”, and these two relatively small ballot items may have been caught up in that phenomenon.

In the end, the voters will consider the information, the arguments, and how these fit with their vision for the future of Longboat Key. And they will give their answer.