Letters to the Editor

+ Key Club project would help entire island

Dear Editor:
My wife and I are full-time residents of Longboat Key, and we both work full-time, sometimes making the trip into Sarasota through St. Armands several times a day. As a result, we are familiar with the traffic flow at all times of the day, month and year. Although there is obviously more traffic from January through Easter, the traffic is by no means a hardship. Arguing against the expansion of the Longboat Key Club based on traffic concerns is a red herring, as is the nonsensical argument about spoiled views.

By my count, in the aerial photograph on page 5B in the June 18 Longboat Observer, there are at least 18 high-rise condos/hotels. Having two more on the property of the Key Club isn’t going to spoil anyone’s view. If that were true, then the 18 that are already standing would be empty because of no view to either the north or south due to the proximity of the adjacent high-rises.If we want to “keep Longboat, Longboat,” then we have to attract investment to maintain Longboat as a premier location to visit and in which to live.

This is a resort-oriented island and we should welcome, applaud even, the willingness of the Key Club to invest $400 million in the community where we live.

Having one Colony Beach & Tennis Resort on the island is already problematic. We don’t need two Colonies on Longboat Key when the rest of the world’s resort-oriented properties are doing everything they can to attract more visitors.

For the record, we are not members of the Key Club and are not golfers. We are residents who welcome the investment in our island. Obviously, the master plan should comprehend the traffic and view issues and minimize their impact as much as possible. However, to argue against a $400 million investment based on traffic and views is short-sighted.Come on, Longboat, let’s figure out how to make this work.

Tom and Kim Freiwald
Longboat Key