St. Regis resort's arched sign on pier causes dispute with town

An Instagram-worthy arch installed on a private Gulf pier violates Longboat Key town code, and hotel and town leaders are in discussions to determine whether it will stay or go.

Town leaders initially requested St. Regis Longboat Key Resort to remove the sign when they learned about it in August.

With no sign permit applied for before installation, the town did not approve the sign, and Planning and Zoning Director Allen Parsons said the arch breaks multiple parts of the sign code.

According to Chapter 156, Section 1 of the town code, anyone seeking to display a permanent sign “is required to apply for and obtain a sign permit prior to lawful placement” of the sign.

Sign code also specifies the permitting of monument style and wall signs, with no mention of a gateway-style sign like St. Regis erected. The arch also does not follow setback requirements, which require signs be at least 150 feet from the shore.

“From the town's perspective, that is a type of structure that requires a permit from the town,” Parsons said. “They did not submit an application for a sign permit, so we have asked them to remove that sign until they receive a permit.”

After being asked to remove the sign, discussions began between the town and the hotel about how to avoid removing the sign. With that in the cards, the town has allowed the sign to stay in place temporarily through February of next year, but with the text covered up.

Photo by S.T. Cardinal

“A limited extension has been given while they have the opportunity to seek to amend the town’s code,” Parsons said, adding that the hotel has placed a floral covering over the text of the sign in the meantime.

According to a letter to the Longboat Key Town Commission from Berlin Patten Ebling, a law firm representing St. Regis developers Unicorp National Development, the installation of the arch came after the developers received a permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in 2024. That permit included a description of the soon-to-be-constructed arch. But the 2022 permit application the hotel applied for and received from the town to repair the groin that extended into the Gulf and convert it into a pier, did not mention the sign.

“The application and permit did not include the arch and sign, which hadn’t been thought of at that point,” the Berlin Patten Ebling letter reads. “…Town staff has informed us that we must add the arch and sign to the LBK permit, but the Town code apparently does not cover this type of groin sign.”

The letter dated Oct. 17 requests that the Town Commission direct staff to prepare an amendment to the town code allowing the sign.

“In discussions with staff, we agree that the amendment will be narrowly written to allow a sign on a groin only in the T-6 district to promote a hotel or resort on the adjoining upland,” the request states. “The sign must be designed and securely installed to withstand hurricane force winds and must be maintained by the property owner.”

According to the plans, 20-inch stainless steel rods and a welded buttress flange connect to a concrete base.

Parsons said there are plans to introduce an amendment at the upcoming Nov. 3 Town Commission meeting. He explained that Town Manager Howard Tipton would raise the topic if commissioners do not bring it up to see if commission would like an amendment drafted.

If the Town Commission does direct staff to draft an amendment, that does not signify the commission’s endorsement, Parsons said, but signifies they are willing to consider the proposal. Before an amendment is finalized, there would be public hearings on the topic before the Planning Board and Town Commission.