Planning & Zoning chair to move from Longboat and board position

David Green stepped down from his position after six years on Longboat Key’s Planning and Zoning Board, four of which were as board chairman. 

“It was a hard decision to leave the Planning and Zoning Board,” Green said. “I really enjoy it a lot.”

Ultimately, Green and his wife, Linda, decided to move to North Carolina. As a new grandparent, Green said he wants to spend more time closer to family. 

Because Green is selling his home on Longboat Key and will no longer be a resident, that means he wouldn’t be able to serve on the board. But he said he intentionally timed his departure around when new members are appointed to the board in May. 

Green lived on Longboat Key for about 15 years but had been visiting for about 30 years. Over the years, he’s become involved with the community in more ways than one, such as serving as the president of the Friends of Tennis, a nonprofit group that helps enhance the Longboat Key Public Tennis Center.

Tenure of service

A Florida native, Green practiced law, specializing in land use and environmental law. For 20 years, he served as in-house counsel for Waste Management. 

“So being on the Planning and Zoning Board was very comfortable for me with my background,” Green said. 

Green’s initial interest in joining the board stemmed from the town’s unique land use codes and density restrictions, he said. He admired the way that the Longboat Key Town Commission and Planning and Zoning Board have continued to preserve the parts of Longboat Key that make it unique. 

“People care about what’s going to be developed on a piece of property and what it looks like,” Green said. “Land use is a big part of what makes Longboat unique, and the Planning and Zoning Board is the tip of the spear.”

Green served as the board chairman since Commissioner-At-Large BJ Bishop became a town commissioner. Over the years, Green said he’s valued working with many other board members who have gone on to become town commissioners, like Penny Gold, Mike Haycock and Gary Coffin.

“His work on the board and as chairman over the last few years has been great,” Mayor Ken Schneier said. “I’ve sat in on a bunch of those meetings. He runs a great meeting, and there have been a number of difficult issues before him.” 

The board is a volunteer position appointed by the town commission. There’s a monthly meeting, which could last anywhere from 3-8 hours, Green said. 

But there’s a lot of homework the board members need to do before meetings, which can mean reviewing extensive packages of information depending on what will go before the board. Overall, it could be a commitment of 20 hours a month. 

Green said he remembers one of the most challenging parts of his tenure being the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, the board couldn’t meet face-to-face in the chambers. There were several meetings, he said, where he was the only person in the chambers. 

It was an especially challenging time, he said. 

But overall, Green said he’s valued the work he’s done with the board and commission. 

“It’s been a pleasure to be on the Planning and Zoning Board all these years,” Green said. “We’ve done a lot of good work.”

Over the past six years, the Planning and Zoning Board worked to update the town’s land development code, rewrite the town’s comprehensive plan and approved many restaurants and developments like Sage Longboat Key. 

“I think the most rewarding part has been to work with the town commission and the Planning and Zoning Board to update the comprehensive plan for the town, and to update the land development regulations for the town. I’m proud of the work we did on both of those fronts,” Green said. 

Schneier said Green and the board did a “wonderful” job on the revision to the comprehensive plan.

“Which made our work easy,” Schneier said. “Because then it comes to us, we review what they’ve done and we’ve approved it with very few, in many cases no changes. They did great work.” 

Schneier added that as chairman, Green was the one who brought all that together with a calm demeanor. 

“He’s a good example for all of us,” Schneier said. 

Green’s last Planning and Zoning Board meeting was in March because the April meeting was canceled. 

The next meeting of the Planning and Zoning Board will be in May when new members will be appointed.