Longboat Key Letters to the Editor

Referendum contains misleading language

What does the Longboat Key Aug. 30 referendum say, and why is the wording misleading?

Here is what it says on the ballot:

  Town of Longboat Key Density Referendum 

May the Town allow contiguous properties located at 6990, 6960, 6920, 6916, and 6910 Gulf of Mexico Drive and 6931, 6927, and 6919 Palm Drive (collectively totaling approximately 2.62 acres of land), currently zoned as C-2, C-3, or O-I districts with no density, to increase density to T-6 tourism use (which allows a maximum of six [6] units per acre), and thereby become eligible to apply for tourism pool units?

□ Yes - In Favor of 
□ No - Against

The wording is misleading because the voters aren’t just being asked to permit the town to allow a change of density from zero to six tourism units per acre (for 2.62 acres, that’s 15 units). By voting “Yes," voters would enable a hotel developer to be eligible for as many as 165 additional tourism units. Floridays Development Co. says it “only” need 105 more.  Even so, the total of 120 for their proposed hotel is a lot more than 15 and equates to a density of more than 45 units per acre — the highest tourism density on Longboat Key!

Fellow voters, beware of what you are authorizing. We already have more than 750 tourism units in the works for the former Hilton, Colony and Key Club, and more traffic than our roads can handle.  

Please vote NO on Aug. 30.

Georgia Walters

Keep Longboat Special

Longboat Key

Commission should address sand trucking for long haul

Your article on the sand trucks rumbling through St. Armands Circle was right on the problem.

We were entertaining friends at a restaurant on St. Armands Circle last month. Every few minutes, conversation stopped while a sand carrier banged and rumbled past our table. Our friends were aghast, and we were embarrassed. It repeated every four or five minutes through lunch.

Why was the contract not written so as to restrict the sand brigade to night hours? The noise level would affect far fewer residents and visitors, and the additional cost in driver salaries would be less than $5,000 per day. That is less than 5% of the $11 million contract. (This estimate is based on a back-of-the-napkin estimate of 90 days of hauling from Immokalee and a 25% night wage premium. Napkin available on request.)

Alternately, by hauling only from 6 to 10 a.m. and extending the project time accordingly, the major noise impact would be alleviated at no cost.

Sand hauling is part of the future on Longboat and the other keys. The town commissioners should give more consideration to contracts for night-only or early morning hauling through St. Armands.

John Bellantoni

Sarasota