New evacuation re-entry stickers available at Town Hall

Tiered re-entry stickers feature new colors this year, so residents are encouraged to pick their new stickers up ahead of hurricane season.

By S.T. Cardinal
| 5:00 a.m. May 26, 2026

The town of Longboat Key distributes yellow and blue stickers for residents and business owners. Red stickers are reserved for police, fire and emergency responders.

Longboat Key
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When an evacuation takes place on Longboat Key, the town uses a tiered approach to allow re-entry.

To make that process safe and seamless, the town distributes windshield stickers that are color coded based on tier of re-entry. Stickers are new colors this year, so residents are encouraged to stop by Town Hall to replace re-entry stickers from previous years.

Fire Chief Paul Dezzi said tiered re-entry is done to prioritize the safety of those on the island following a major storm event.

Three tiers

Re-entry onto the barrier island of Longboat Key is conducted in a three-tiered approach in the event of a major storm. Tier 1 sticker holders would be allowed back onto the island first, and Tier 3 would be allowed back last.

Tier 1 (red) – Red windshield stickers are reserved for first responders. Police and fire personnel make the first sweep of the island to ensure there are no public safety hazards.

Tier 2 (yellow) – After initial road sweeping and safety evaluations, relief workers, certain business owners, religious leaders and healthcare workers are allowed back onto the island. This tier is also applicable to condo and hotel managers who may survey the damage to their property and inform residents and guests.

Tier 3 (blue) – Last onto the island following initial recovery efforts would be all remaining residents and business owners.

Dezzi said police officers would be stationed at the foot of both drawbridges onto the island to check stickers. It doesn’t matter how many people are in each vehicle, he said. Limiting the number of vehicles on the road is the main priority.

When Tier 2 re-entry begins, Dezzi stresses that the idea is not to allow people back on to the island to stay, but to survey while infrastructure gets back online.

The best way to stay up to date in the event of an emergency is through Alert Longboat Key. The emergency notification system sends alerts by phone, email or text message, depending on what information is shared when signing up, which you can do online at member.everbridge.net/398164943175763/new.

author

S.T. Cardinal

S.T. "Tommy" Cardinal is the Longboat Key news reporter. The Sarasota native earned a degree from the University of Central Florida in Orlando with a minor in environmental studies. In Central Florida, Cardinal worked for a monthly newspaper covering downtown Orlando and College Park. He then worked for a weekly newspaper in coastal South Carolina where he earned South Carolina Press Association awards for his local government news coverage and photography.