Streetlights to illuminate Longboat's main road

At an informal community meeting Tuesday, residents asked Longboat Key town staff about street lighting, new and announced business openings and rules about franchises and chains on the island.

Town Manager Howard Tipton, Public Works Director Charlie Mopps and Town Planning and Zoning Director Allen Parsons sat down at the Bayfront Park recreation center for the monthly “Let’s Talk Longboat” meeting. One resident asked for an update on the town’s plans to increase the amount of lighting on Gulf of Mexico Drive. Mopps said the town aims to add more than 40 lighting fixtures to illuminate sidewalks flanking Gulf of Mexico Drive and that the town is working through the permitting process with Florida Department of Environmental Protection to ensure the lights do not attract sea turtle false crawls.

A resident advocating for sea turtles shared with the town that Longboat Key is having a record year for turtle nests, but that there has also been a record number of false crawls. Amber rather than white lighting, intermittent amplification and proper placement of fixtures are all methods the town is using to decrease the number of false crawls, Mopps explained, but the destruction of vegetation and sand dunes has exacerbated the issue.

Mopps said after the meeting that the town purchased 42 poles that are 30 feet tall with 12-foot mast arms, but that they may look to auction those and instead opt for 20-foot-tall light fixtures with six-foot mast arms for a less imposing footprint. He said the project is being funded in conjunction with the utility undergrounding project which is under budget.

The hottest topic at the meeting was new businesses coming to the Key.

News of a Goodwill coming to the Key broke the day before, and several residents expressed disappointment of the pending arrival of the donation center and bookstore. Residents asked what could be done to prevent franchises and chains from coming to the Key in the future. Parsons said the town would have to enact code that would prevent it, but that would not be an easy thing for the town to enact.

“It’s challenging, I think, to enact something that would restrict certain kinds of businesses, even franchises,” Parsons said. “There are franchises that are here. To distinguish between which ones would and which ones wouldn’t be allowed would be a challenging tool to implement.”

Tipton said Senate Bill 180 prohibits local governments from enacting land development regulations that are considered “more restrictive,” a law that is in effect until October, 2027. He also pointed out that the town’s ban on drive-thrus has discouraged chain stores from choosing Longboat. 

Repairs to own facilities across the island continue a year after Longboat Key was struck by hurricanes Helene and Milton, and that includes its public parks. Repairs to the Joan M. Durante Community Park are expected to be complete by the end of the month, and Quick Point Nature Preserve is next in line for repairs.

Tipton also shared an update on the new library planned for the Town Center Green, saying the groundbreaking may be pushed back from the spring of 2026. But not for a lack of funding. The $3.5 million goal has been surpassed with $4 million now raised, and another $500,000 donation may be on the way from a generous benefactor. Tipton said that excess funds for the project would be used on bringing entertainment to the facility through arts and musical programming.

“The generosity of this community is amazing,” Tipton said. “I’ve worked in several communities and I’ve never had this problem before.”