Lack of details big hurdle for Siesta Key hotel

Gary Kompothecras, a Siesta Key resident and entrepreneur behind 1-800-ASK-GARY, knows he wants to put a hotel on the island.

It’s what he doesn’t know — where, how tall, how many rooms, what flag — that was one of the biggest concerns during the first public meeting for plans to alter the Sarasota County comprehensive plan Wednesday. Land use attorney Charlie Bailey and planning consultant Bo Medred were laying out plans to allow more density on the island as long as a property is redeveloped as a hotel.

“This is a pig in a poke,” said Joe Volpe, a Siesta Key Association board member. “We have no idea what you want to build there.”

Bailey said in an interview with the Siesta Observer that because this is a policy change rather than a tweak of the county’s future land use map, they don’t have site-specific information available. But it likely wouldn’t be more than five stories.

“It’s going be neither a mega nor high-rise hotel,” he said.

Still, during the meeting at St. Boniface Episcopal Church, Bailey said a viable hotel would need more than the 26 units-per-acre afforded by current regulations, while Medred narrowed the location of the hotel to three areas on the island: Old Stickney Point Road, the current Wells Fargo property on Midnight Pass Road and Siesta Key Village. Those are the only regions with properties zoned commercial general, which are targeted by the proposed comprehensive plan changes.

Their argument: The density regulations have been in place for the last 27 years, and only three bonafide hotel rooms have been developed above Gidget’s Coastal Provisions in the Village. The changes could spur redevelopment of blighted areas.

But neighborhood activist Lourdes Ramirez contended that if a developer really wanted to build hotel, they would cobble together the four acres necessary for more than 100 rooms. 

“Why should we change any comprehensive plan policy we have had since 1989 just to accommodate some hotel owners,” she said during the meeting. Further, traffic generated by a new hotel would only exacerbate problems on the Key, and it would be impossible to provide enough parking, she said.

Siesta resident Jeanne Francisco said she fears changing the Comp Plan language will lead to a proliferation of hotels on the island.

“The first thing I thought about was the ugly, out-of-control-mess that has become downtown Sarasota,” she said. “I don't like to go downtown anymore, but I still like Siesta Key.”

But supporters maintain the demand for rooms justifies the proposal.

“The island is in desperate need of more than just one hotel — we could use several boutique hotels,” said Chris Brown, one of the largest property owners in the Village, in an interview with the Siesta Observer.

Having a legitimate hotel would cut down on illegal rentals, which don’t generate bed taxes, and would actually decrease traffic, as the free shuttles would service tourists who would want to stay on the Key, he said.

Although Bailey said the team would be working on a zoning text amendment next year that will provide more details, most of the attendees at the public meeting said they would oppose a hotel in any form.

“I think in it’s an uphill battle because there are so many naysayers,” Brown said. “But, I truly believe Gary has the cojones to actually try something innovative for Siesta.”