Siesta businesses reach outdoor display compromise

For more than eight months, colorful merchandise displays at the Beach Bazaar in the Siesta Key Village have been kept in the entryway of the store, in accordance with an existing Sarasota county ordinance banning the outdoor display of goods.

Siesta Key businesses recently reached a compromise on a proposed amendment to the ordinance, which they say is hurting sales.

The amendment would allow Siesta Key businesses to apply for a special one-year permit to display their goods outdoors. The move has been gathering momentum on Siesta Key since the Siesta Key Village Association tightened enforcement of the ordinance last summer.

A committee representing Siesta Key businesses — from the Village as well as other locations — announced at a Feb. 4 Siesta Key Village Association meeting that they had drafted a proposed amendment to the ordinance after polling Siesta businesses. The priority of the new ordinance was to strike a balance between the needs of Siesta retailers and maintaining the aesthetic appeal of Siesta Key.

“We don't want it to become a yard sale,” said Rick Lizotte, owner of Comfort Shoes in the Siesta Key Village, and a co-author of the proposed amendment.

Architect Mark Smith, who helped synthesize the committee’s findings, said the goal was to make the proposed amendment precise and easily enforceable. The proposed amendment would allow Siesta retailers to apply for a $25 permit annually to display merchandise outdoors.

The displays will be limited to 240 square feet. There are also provisions in the proposed amendment to ensure the displays are “tactful” and “in line with the character and image of the Village.”

Siesta Key Association board member Michael Shay said the goal is to have other groups representing Siesta Key neighborhoods and businesses, such as the SKA and the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce, approve the proposal in the next couple of weeks. Then it would be presented to the Sarasota County Commission for approval.

Contact Nolan Peterson at [email protected]