Frog in the Fryingpan

Put a frog in a fryingpan of hot water and it will immediately jump out. Put a frog in a pan of cool water and gradually heat the water, the frog will stay put until it is soup. We are I fear proverbial frogs in a fryingpan. Our community is more and more rapidly being commerciaslized, yet it appears we either do not notice, or we are so disconnected for this community that we simply do not care what happens, just as the frog does not notice the steadily warming water.

I wonder how many Island Side property owners would have bought into the Longboat ambiance and perceived investment security of this island if the Key Club, in its expanded form had been already in existence. Somehow I feel the people who live at Island Side might have looked elsewhere for a more spacious and relaxed environment. A place where their investment would be in more caring hands.

I have several friends in Bay Isles who are worried that the planning and zoning board, in concert with the commission, will legislate a massive expansion at Avenue of the Flowers Plaza that might, if we are lucky, include an assisted living facility. It is not clear what height and density increases are being contemplated by the planning and zoning board. Of course all this is being done without the participation of the owners of the properties in question. It might be a good idea to find out what they want. Has anyone found out why all the businesses at Avenu of the Flowers left?

Blackpoint Partners, who have some sort of connection with Loeb Partners, who are trying to increase the Key Club land value at Island Side, are still planning a 1600 unit condominium addition on the golf course at Bay Isles as Blackpoint Partners states is their intention on their web site:  Blackpoint states they will be able to expand their presence on Longboat by changing the development codes. It appears from the actions of our town government that Blackpoint knows what it is talking about.

I attended a party in the village this evening where people are in shock at the thought of a 7 story mixed-use structure that covers several properties in addition to Whitney Plaza at the entrance to one of the most charming enclave of old Florida homes on the west coast. Wouldn't it be appropriate to ask residents what they want instead of forcing commercial development on them? I have always believed that local government was supposed to be responsive to its constituents. Here the residents are not asked.

6 story mixed-use structure

What if the present town government gets its way and abandons a comprehensive plan that, up until 2008, has been responsible for making Longboat one of the premier residential retirement communities in America? 75% or more of our residents are retired so let's not quibble about being a retirement community. Do the people on the commission and the planning board believe that people will spend more time on the island if they greatly expand commercial development on the island? One need only look at the percent of part-time residents to see that that is unlikely. Who then will patronize all the new stores and hotels that are envisioned by the current government? If you lived in Sarasota or Bradenton would you fight the traffic over the bridges just to go to a small community with a few more stores and no beaches? If you were an investor would you build a six story strip-mall on the north end with its seasonal sparse population that did not ever support Whitney Plaza? A few people clambering for more development do not fill stores and shops.

Perhaps a decade from now, if ever, investors will take a gamble and build more commercial space on Longboat. Then retailers will have to be persuaded to open business where more than half the people leave for 8 months a year. Businesses on Longboat have not failed because of a lack of store space. They failed for lack of year-round business.

Meanwhile our local government has not introduced a single initiative to expand social amenities in our community to attract home buyers to a more inviting environment.

For an in-depth analysis of what is happening please goto:
 http://lbk-folk.blogspot.com/2011/03/modest-proposal.html

Foot Notes:

Blackpoint: http://www.blackpt.com/portfolio_LongboatKeyClub.html "refinanced property’s $45 million non-performing loan under a new lender, installed new management and developed master plan to add approximately 1,600 new units to density."

Whitney Plaza: "Consensus was reached by planning board members at their Tuesday, March 15 regular meeting in making plan changes that would allow Whitney Beach Plaza to rise from its current one-to-five stories with 65 feet of height in total. The board also agreed that a developer coming forward with a project should be allowed to include plans for a residential component, as long as it doesn’t exceed 20% of the total project." 

Bay Isles: "The board directed town special counsel attorney Nancy Stroud to come back with potential plan amendments that would allow for a residential aspect of a town-center overlay district, which would include Avenue of the Flowers and land east through parcels along Bay Isles Road, such as the Longboat Key Public Tennis Center and the religious institutions. Stroud suggested a policy that would allow the town to provide fiscal incentives for proper revitalization to both areas when funds are available. Although the planning board isn’t looking for a new residential component along Bay Isles Road, consensus was reached to see if developers might come back with a senior-living facilities component."