Longboat approves use of town land for project's drainage

An unused and undeveloped strip of town-owned land will serve as a key stormwater-drainage feature for a proposed commercial development and pair of homes immediately to the south, following town approval.

The Town Commission on July 1 granted an easement on town-owned right of way east of the paved portion of Monroe Street to serve as a conduit for drainage into Crane’s Bayou from land to the south owned by 3150 GMD LCC. The owner proposes to build a 14,000-square-foot multi-tenant commercial project at 3120 and 3150 Gulf of Mexico Drive and two homes at the corner of Buttonwood Drive and Gulf of Mexico Drive.

Town staff recommended the Town Commission approve the easement as part of a coordinated plan for stormwater between the two development proposals. During presentations to both the Town Commission and the Planning and Zoning Board this spring, developer Mark Ursini of Brista Homes said the stormwater plan was designed to not only satisfy the needs of both the commercial and residential proposals but also improve drainage for a wider area that is prone to holding runoff from nearby Gulf of Mexico Drive.

In discussion preceding both the residential and commercial project approvals, town staff and Ursini said that even without the easements, the stormwater plans for each project would be sufficient, but the addition of the outflow via the easement would accommodate the wider improvement plan.

Ursini’s Brista Homes plans to build two homes along Buttonwood Drive and the commercial project immediately to the north. Brista would be responsible for upkeep of all the components of the drainage features.  

The commercial proposal, approved in April, calls for 43 parking spaces, though 37 are required in the current configuration. Ursini he plans to open a Brista Homes office there, and he hopes a walk-in medical clinic can occupy one of the spaces. A restaurant's parking requirements were built into the plans, but based on 1,500 square feet of floor space. 

A restaurant would require Planning and Zoning Board approval.