Siesta retailers under fire for outdoor displays

Some Siesta Key retailers are not playing by the rules they helped create, say neighborhood and business leaders.

At the Siesta Key Village Association meeting Tuesday, President Cheryl Gaddie called for an update on the status of a proposed amendment to the county ordinance. A committee of Siesta retail business owners drafted the proposal, outlining a set of rules by which Siesta retailers would be allowed to display their goods outdoors. The amendment was presented to county staff for feedback in February.

The tone of the discussion turned contentious when several SKVA board members and newly appointed SKA President Michael Shay claimed that some of the Siesta retailers pushing for the change were taking advantage of County Code Enforcement’s moratorium on enforcing the outdoor display ban, in effect until the County Commission has a chance to vote on the proposed amendment. Representatives of the committee pushing for the move did not attend Tuesday's meeting.

Despite the grace period, SKA and SKVA board members have said that retailers should still abide by the restrictions on the size and appearance of outdoor displays included in the proposal, even while it is under review.

“It’s just in your face, and they’re doing what they want to do,” Shay said. “They have no incentive to follow through and obey the rules because there’s no enforcement.”

The move to push a compromise solution through the Sarasota County Commission could be derailed if it loses the support of the Siesta Key Village Association and the Siesta Key Association.

“I can’t lose their support. Without it, this just won’t happen,” said Rick Lizotte, owner of Comfort Shoes in the Siesta Key Village. Lizotte, along with Robin Hood Rentals owner Mark Toomey, spearheaded the effort to poll Siesta businesses about their outdoor display needs and codify the results into an amendment to the county ordinance.

“We don’t want it to look like a flea market,” Lizotte said.

Although no specific businesses were singled out at Tuesday’s SKVA meeting, Lizotte said the problem was not endemic to all retailers on the Key and only a limited number of shops were taking advantage of the law’s lax enforcement.

“I’m legal, per the ordinance,” Lizotte said, referring to the one-table display outside his store, which complies with the limits established in the prospective reform. “The problem is going to be those who are pushing the envelope.”

Lizotte said he was concerned that a few outlying businesses might send the wrong message to Siesta associations and county staff with displays that were outside the bounds of what was in the proposal.

“Sure enough, there's always retailers going overboard,” Lizotte said. “It’s frustrating. My message to them is, ‘Just don't overdo it while we’re trying to get this thing through.’”

Lizotte said he had already made two calls to Martha Smith, owner of Le Grand Bisou, a clothing boutique on Ocean Boulevard, urging her to bring her displays into compliance with the limits established in the suggested amendment.

“Le Grand Bisou is definitely pushing the envelope,” Lizotte said.

Smith, however, pushed back against Lizotte’s statements, claiming she had been “left out of the loop” and was never told that specific guidelines for the size and appearance of outdoor displays had been codified into a proposal.

“I was unaware that I was going against the grain,” Smith said. “I wasn’t told that there was an actual decision made about what they had agreed on. This is just a total failure of communication.”

Smith added that after she was notified of Tuesday’s SKVA discussion, she pared down her outdoor display to bring it within the scope of the proposed amendment’s rules.

“I will play by the rules when someone gives me the rules,” Smith said. “The last thing I want to do is ruffle any feathers … I do feel a little bit singled out.”

Siesta retailers insist the displays are an essential tool for drawing in customers, and if the outdoor display ban were to be enforced, there would be damaging consequences to their bottom lines.

After an October meeting, Siesta retailers and rental shops formed a committee to poll Siesta businesses on their outdoor display needs and draft an accord for County Commission consideration.

The committee reached an agreement Jan. 29 that limited the displays to 240 square feet and included provisions to ensure they are “tactful” and “in line with the character and image of the Village.”

In deference to the concerns of Siesta retailers, county staff announced that the existing law banning the displays would not be enforced on Siesta Key until the County Commission could vote on the proposed compromise.

“It would be much better for their cause if they would show the public how they would be in compliance with the new rules they have proposed,” said Siesta architect Mark Smith, who was involved in drafting the amendment. “Right now, they are showing a blatant disregard for the ordinance.”

Contact Nolan Peterson at [email protected]