Lack of details big hurdle for Siesta 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 last 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. 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. And the changes could spur redevelopment of blighted blocks on the island.

One such area, as pointed out by Siesta resident and former Sarasota GOP Chairman Bob Waechter during the meeting, is along Old Stickney Point, where a derelict club and restaurant has sat empty for at least five years. Developer Rod Connelly owns that building, which was once the home of Fandango International Café. Kompothecras happens to own the neighboring storage building.

Combined, those two parcels equal more than an acre of land.

“I'm very concerned about the redevelopment in that area,” said Waechter, who lives on Peacock Road, about two houses away from the buildings. “We need to have a provision where economic redevelopment is at least a possibility.”

But neighborhood activist Lourdes Ramirez contended that if a developer really wanted to build a hotel, they would cobble together the four acres necessary for more than 100 rooms. She added that traffic generated by a new hotel would only exacerbate problems on the Key, and it would be impossible to provide enough parking.

“On projects like this where there are folks who are engaged, it’s not uncommon for us to sit down and have a cup of coffee with them and share information both ways.” — Charlie Bailey

“Why should we change any comp plan policy we have had since 1989 just to accommodate some hotel owners?” she said during the meeting.

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.”

Richard Collard, manager of Flip Flop Cottages on south Siesta, said the demand is certainly there for more vacation rental options on the island, noting his revenues are up 10% over 2015. However, he doesn’t believe that translates into demand for a hotel.

“It’s not something that I would think the Key would want,” he said.

But supporters maintain the demand for rooms justifies the proposal. Chris Brown, one of the largest property owners in the village, sees a litany of reasons for bringing a hotel to Siesta. Having a legitimate hotel would cut down on illegal rentals, which don’t generate bed taxes. He thinks it would actually decrease traffic, as free shuttles would service tourists who would want to stay on the Key, bringing fewer visitors over the bridges from the mainland.

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

Bailey said beside community meetings — Volpe requested he speak at a Siesta Key Association meeting — he would be reaching out to island stakeholders for one-on-one meetings.

“On projects like this where there are folks who are engaged, it’s not uncommon for us to sit down and have a cup of coffee with them and share information both ways,” Bailey said.

Although he 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.”