Longboat doesn't budge on sign rules amid St. Regis spat

The Longboat Key Town Commission, in a 4-2 vote, declined on Monday to take steps to modify a town code to allow for an illegally placed sign on a pier owned by St. Regis Longboat Key Resort.

Planning and Zoning Director Allen Parsons told the Town Commission that a metal arched sign installed on a groin converted to a pier by the resort during renovations violates town code in multiple ways. 

The stainless steel archway with the St. Regis logo, “St. Regis” and “Longboat Key” written on it never went through town approval before installation, does not follow setback requirements and is not a monument-style sign as permitted by the town’s sign code.

“It’s a metallic archway sign that goes over the groin. That’s not one of the permitted sign types, so the sign code would need to be amended in such a way that it would allow for a sign of that type in the commercial zoning district,” Parsons said.

A letter from Brenda Patten, a lawyer representing St. Regis developers Unicorp National Development, requested the town introduce an amendment to allow the sign.

Some town commissioners weren’t having it.

“One of the things that we appreciate tremendously on this island is that it is a sophisticated, quiet, smooth beach without a lot of tacky ornamentation on it,” At-large Commissioner B.J. Bishop said. “I cannot even contemplate wasting our planning staff’s time on a text amendment for something that they knew was wrong, and they thought they could just push it past us in this manner, so I hope we’re not going to waste any time on this.”

Chuck Whittall, CEO of Unicorp, said he believes the permit St. Regis received from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to erect the sign is all they need.

“We do have a permit from the State of Florida for that sign and we believe they are the correct governing body, so we are going to look at what our options are. We believe we have the right to have that sign up,” Whittall said. “We were hoping (Town Commission) would do something with the sign code so we could avoid debate on this, but it looks like we’ll have to do that.”

At-large Commissioner Steve Branham said altering town code to accommodate the sign could be a slippery slope and brought up that the resort still does not have a permanent certificate of occupancy as waterproofing measures on some structures at the resort are yet to be signed off by the town. 

Branham said it was “presumptuous” for the resort to install the arched sign without permission from the town and then ask for an exception.

“I found the nature of the letter sent to us was presumptuous that this was just kind of a formality and it’s going to be a done deal. And number two it’s pretty presumptuous to put (the sign) up to start with,” Branham said. “They got something from FDEP, but they certainly didn’t get approval from the town. So if you’re going to pusht he envelope like that, then there may be consequences.”

Commissioners Sarah Karon and Penny Gold voted against the majority. Gold said she would favor crafting an amendment to only allow for the St. Regis sign without opening the possibility to others. 

She thought drafting an amendment would at least allow for a formal conversation on the topic.

“I think it’s premature to just tell them to take it down until we’ve actually seen the language and can hold a hearing on it and then make an informed decision on the sign,” Gold said. “I don’t find it as offensive as everybody else, but I think we should give them some due process in this regard and see what Planning and Zoning comes up with.”

With no amendment in the works, the issue could go to a special magistrate hearing where an attorney under contract with the town would hold a hearing and make judgments on code enforcement disagreements based on evidence provided by both sides. 

Town attorney Maggie Mooney said the “number one objective” is bringing properties into code compliance.

“They asked for an amendment to the code as a means to achieving code compliance,” Mooney said. “If you shut that door and say no, then it follows that the town’s code enforcement officer will likely issue a notice of violation of some sort and start pursuing them as being in violation of town code, which then goes to the special magistrate process.”