Longboat Key Letters to the Editor 2.2.17

15-story buildings will ruin our ambiance

While the passage of the March 14 referendum to increase density on the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort site would enrich me, I cannot support the proposal.

I own three units at the Colony. If the Unicorp Development proposal to increase density by 180 residential units is approved by the voters, this will greatly increase the value of my now-unusable condos.

Although I certainly could welcome the money for my family, I cannot bear to see Longboat Key, an oasis which I have come to love, destroy itself with such short-sighted development policies.

This humongous monstrosity, with its 15-story towers, does not belong on Longboat Key.

The special charm of Longboat Key comes from its low-rise character. True, there are some high-rise buildings on the south end, but mostly Longboat Key has been a casual bungalow town.

If we muck up the special ambiance of Longboat Key, wealthy, new retirees will move on to nicer, more comfortable, less busy places. Second-home owners and wealthy retirees don’t want to reside in what is mainly a tourist town. Tourists bring traffic and pollution and, frankly, they will eventually depress home values.

If Longboat Key approves such development, it will eventually kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. It would be the height of insanity to encourage more and bigger buildings.

Before the island invites future, massive developments, traffic problems must be solved first.

The Longboat Observer wrote that the essence of our stewardship over our lands is preservation and making it better for the next generation. Encouraging more development at this time will scar a beautiful piece of land and muck up everything for everyone else for decades and decades to come.

Longboat Key is just about perfect as it is. We don’t need to help future developers steal our paradise.

Blake Fleetwood

Longboat Key/New York City

Consider long-term effects of density referendum

I think it is extremely important that the voters on Longboat Key understand fully the impact that a positive vote on the referendum to increase density could have in the long term. Unlike other communities, our traffic is mostly confined to one main road, Gulf of Mexico Drive.

During busy season (Nov. 1 until May 1), the traffic is extremely slow — often bumper to bumper. A “yes” vote on this referendum would increase traffic on our roads and probably increase the number of people on the beach greatly. There are presently a possible 40-plus developers awaiting the outcome of this vote to create complexes using the possible new density codes to increase the capacity/density of their projects.

This would impact the Key as a whole and the surrounding neighbors of each of these projects. There have been numerous traffic studies over the years and, as far as I can determine, nothing has been successful in solving the problems. We have a bus (trolley), and it is not used by as many as first thought as people seem to want to use their own cars and travel on their own schedule. Traffic remains intolerable.

I can envision the “New Longboat Key,” and it is not a pretty picture. It would probably encompass numerous 12- to 15-story buildings crammed into spaces that would not be allowed presently. I envision it looking like Miami Beach or Fort Lauderdale. Although these are wonderful towns, they have more than one main road and are much bigger in land mass.

Our beautiful key would be forever gone and replaced by large buildings that would shadow and block out the wonderful views of our beautiful natural resources and homes. This could be something that we regret forever.

My final message is that I urge voters not to destroy our Key as we know it.

Vote “no” on the referendum.

Patricia Finneran

Longboat Key

A ferry would be a short-term solution

Regarding traffic congestion, consider the following short-term solution: a ferry service.

A ferry could whisk cars and people over in fewer than 15 minutes, if the right location and suitable ferry could be found.

I had mentioned this at a recent town meeting, but the response was rather negative because the location I had suggested (Coquina Beach, bay side) was thought not to have sufficient water for a ferry.

A better location might be right after the Longboat Pass bridge.

On the other side, the car ferry could unload the cars somewhere near the fish preserve on Cortez, depending on the water depth, which could be dredged faster than building a new bridge.

A ferry could be either a private venture, where there would be a fee, or a public-private partnership funded by the county.

Heiner Theobald

Longboat Key