Town Commission rejects 80-foot building height limit

Currently, the highest a building can be constructed on Longboat Key is 65 feet above elevation, depending on the zoning the property falls within. For now, it appears it will stay that way.

At a meeting last month, the Planning and Zoning board approved language in an ordinance that would have allowed additional height — up to 80 feet over elevation — for new buildings, as long as buildings were set back 2.5 times the height of the building from Gulf of Mexico Drive. In other words, an 80-foot building would have to be no closer than 200 feet from GMD.

But at a workshop meeting on Wednesday, the Town Commission rejected the Planning and Zoning Board’s 80-foot recommendation and returned to the 65-foot benchmark.

“I have never heard a criticism of the 65-foot number,” said Commissioner George Spoll, who also serves as president of the Federation of Longboat Key Condominiums. “But I’ve heard an incredible amount of pressure on going to 80 feet.”

Spoll’s sentiment was shared by newly re-elected Jack Daly, who spoke of hearing the concerns of the public while campaigning. He said voters questioned whether increasing the town’s height limit is necessary.

“I share their concerns,” Daly said.

Former commissioner Pat Zunz addressed the commission, stressing that the height regulations in question do not include the base heights required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“In reality, you’re talking about 80 feet and 95 feet,” she said. “That’s very different.”

In the end, the commission decided to maintain the 65-foot height limit as the ordinance moves forward to the April 3 regular meeting for first reading and public hearing.

The Planning and Zoning Board’s 80-foot recommendation came as part of the conclusion of about a year of deliberations about planned-unit developments, or PUDs, which are designed to encourage redevelopment of old properties through a voluntary zoning process.

The new ordinance also includes adding more distance from neighboring properties and providing plans to show no effects on the shadowing from taller buildings, planting vegetation to minimize the “canyon effect” from GMD, and even a determination from the Town Commission that the proposal is “consistent with the character of the surrounding area.”