Mr. Spoll has now publicly assured the residents at the north end of Longboat Key that he will not force them to accept anything taller than a 3 story hotel over 2 stories of parking. Mr. Spoll may have forgotten that nice hotels usually have a spacious lobby and a restaurant on the first level. That makes 6 stories and counting the additional 14 feet allowed by town codes for elevator and stair shafts and equipment rooms on the roof.
Since the town commission is working on the second legal reading of their sweeping changes to the town's Comprehensive Plan, residents may no longer expect any sort of protection in the legal area of our codes. This commission is quickly making the process of granting variances to developers a political process. We have already reached the level of politics where our unelected mayor represents clients, as their architect, before the Planning and Zoning Board that he appoints. Who would you hire if you too wanted your building plans to have smooth sailing through the town?
No matter that two hotel developers have stated that a minimum of 150 rooms is essential to build a financially viable hotel at the north end of the island. Mr. Spoll knows better it seems. Three year ago, the same Mr. Spoll voted to spend $25K taxpayer dollars to hire a traffic engineer who would agree with Mr. Spoll that traffic roundabouts are bad and unsafe. Now that same Mr. Spoll appears to have done a 180 degree reversal and now embraces traffic roundabouts. I wish he had saved us all the $25K in the first place.
I typed into Google Images - "150 room hotel" and came up with dozens and dozens of pictures of 150 room hotels. You be the judge whether Mr. Spool has any idea what a 150 room hotel looks like. All the pictures show 6 to 9 story hotels. Please note that the two tallest condominiums at the Key Club are 10 stories tall.
When you vote, remember that Mr. Brenner publicly supports tourism development at the north end of Longboat Key. Then think about who would want to buy your home if your island becomes a commercial tourism destination at both the north and south ends.
L'Ambiance condominium - 10 stories tall
Spoll's uses the Indigo Hotel in Sarasota as an example of what he sees at Whitney Plaza. The Indogo is 93 rooms and 5 stories tall. Any structure at the north end would have to elevated above the flood plane an additional 2 stories (16 feet). That makes Spoll's hotel 7 stories high. Spoll is selling us when he should be looking after our real estate values which will plummet if as large tourist development is promoted by our town government.
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