Letters to the Editor

+ Positive change may mean different things

Dear Editor:
This letter is in response to Marsha Crawford’s letter in the April 30 edition. She might be the founder of Positive Change for LBK, but it seems like her organization should be “Positive Change for the Longboat Key Club and Resort on LBK.” If the Loeb people haven’t already hired her to do their PR, they should. Her rhapsodic words about how she and her family and friends love the active lifestyle, beach, etc. can be uttered by everyone who lives on the Key. I can’t see what that has to do with the huge changes the club owners want to make.

I’m sure all members of the Key Club agree that the club needs capital improvements. The Islandside golf course is in terrible shape and certainly needs a major overhaul. The new tennis center is beautiful and is an improvement, but many tennis players who live within the Islandside gates are not happy to have to travel to Harbourside to play. The result is that Islandside will only have two courts available. That is not member friendly. It’s really a joke. Hotel guests will not be too happy, either, to have to go four miles to play tennis. What the owners call improvements are different from what most members call improvements.

Upgrading the club does not mean having to build high-density condominiums on recreational land or a huge convention center. It’s such an affront to those living within the Islandside gates. Why should those living on the Gulf get the brunt of the proposed plans — the congestion, the increased traffic, the blocking of beautiful views?

It is interesting to note that Crawford keeps writing about how wonderful the Longboat Key Club is. And she is right. Most members feel the same way. But doesn’t she realize that a Longboat Key Club and Resort is not going to be the same thing? She never mentioned in her letter about a few hundred condominium units that are being planned and a few hundred more hotel rooms, too. Nor did she mention a huge convention hall. Or that golfers must practice hitting into a net before playing on the Rees Jones designed golf course. I think the owners’ intention is to emphasize “resort” at the expense of “club.” A resort is different from a country club. 

Marsha Crawford states that a $400 million injection will make Longboat Key stellar and a place of which to be proud to come home. I think Longboat Key is a stellar place now, and I’m proud to come home to it now.
The great majority of Longboat residents do not even belong to the Key Club. “Positive change” for them might have nothing to do with what the club does. In fact, it might even mean “negative change” for them — more congestion, more and slower traffic. Crawford is a real-estate agent. Is it wishful thinking on her part to think more condominiums on the Key will enhance property values?

Lois H. Lesser
Longboat Key 

+ You say tyranny; we say recovery

Dear Editor:
I cheered aloud when I read Paul Rosen’s letter entitled, “You say tyranny; we say recovery” (May 7). Rosen was responding to your (April 9) editorial in which you wrote of “tyranny” in this new administration. He rightly categorized that charge as laughable. Right on, Mr. Rosen!

We voted for Barack Obama as well as voted against the untenable status quo of the previous administration. We voted for a people’s president who listens, cares, reaches out across the aisle and across the seas and makes decisions for our long term best interests. That does not sound like “tyranny” to me. Rosen’s extraordinarily well-written and fervent letter should be clipped and saved by all of us who are also proud of our country, of the part we played in our history-making election and of our exceptional president.

Alice Blueglass
Longboat Key

+ Enforcement of sign code is a welcome sight

Dear Editor:
Driving up and down Longboat Key recently, I was struck by how beautiful the island looks now that there are not so many signs by the side of the road assaulting our view.

The enforcement of the current sign code has proven how wise the former Longboaters were when they created this sign code. I urge the commissioners to preserve the beauty of the island by not allowing signs to occupy prime spots along the road.

I started observing the real-estate signs located beyond the right-of-way, and they really are quite visible for people who are interested in what is available on Longboat. It doesn’t take long for a person to focus in on their positioning.

Again, Longboat is a special island because the beauty of traveling along Gulf of Mexico Drive and side streets, too, is not compromised by an onslaught of signs. This is one of the factors which “keeps Longboat … Longboat!”

Anne Summers
Longboat Key

+ Bravo for challenging the number of signs

Dear Editor: 
I am so happy to learn of the efforts to reduce the proliferation of road signs along Gulf of Mexico Drive. It is my understanding that frequently the FDOT allows the sign companies to determine quantity and placements. This would surely lead to our current situation. Bravo to Walter Hackett and Rabbi Jonathan Katz for challenging the status quo.

Richard Olin
Longboat Key