You Should Know

You should know that your developer-friendly town government is rapidly trying to install tall cell towers up and down Longboat Key. The planning and zoning board is discussing opening up all town property for tall cell towers in direct repudiation of cell tower codes put into place less than three years ago after strong opposition to cell towers by the community. The town is doing this without any needs assessment or economic impact studies. Below are the results of a few studies about the impact of cell towers on real estate values.

The Bond and Hue - Proximate Impact Study:

The Bond and Hue study conducted in 2004 involved the alanysis of 9,514 residential home sales in 10 suburbs. The study reflected that close proximity to a Cell Tower reduced price by 15% on average.

The Bond and Wang - Transaction Based Market Study:

The Bond and Wang study involved the analysis of 4,283 residential home sales in 4 suburbs between 1984 and 2002. The study reflected that close proximity to a Cell Tower reduced price between 20.7%
and 21%.

The Bond and Beamish - Opinion Survey Study:

The Bond and Beamish study involved surveying whether people who lived within 100' of a tower would have to reduce the sales price of their home. 38% said they would reduce the price by more than 20%, 38% said they would reduce the price by only 1%-9%, and 24% said they would reduce their sale price by 10%-19%.

"As a licensed real estate broker with over 30 years of experience, it is
my professional opinion that the installation of a Cellular Tower can significantly reduce the value of neighboring residential properties"

Lawrence Oxman, Licensed Real Estate Broker

The United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit upheld a denial of a Cell Tower application based upon testimony of residents and a real estate broker, that the Tower would reduce the values of property which were in close proximity to the Tower.

From Longboat Key real estate brokers:

Bruce Myer, of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, said that he doesn’t believe a tower is needed. “Based on the level of service that is achieved, I don’t see that it would be a help to real-estate values,” he said.

Hannerle Moore, a veteran Realtor with Michael Saunders and Co., also questioned whether a cell tower was needed. She said that she uses Verizon, which works with few interruptions on the north end, and said that she recently had a buyer for a $3.2 million home who walked away from the sale out of concerns about the proposed tower. “People perceive it as ugly, but, more importantly, as a health hazard,” she said. “Today’s buyers are into living longer and healthier, they take the time to go to Whole Foods and exercise, and they’re not going to move into a community with a cell tower.”

I have discussed cell towers on Longboat Key with several other island brokers. They all agree that cell towers in an exclusive community negatively impact real estate values and sales.

Oddly Longboat Key real estate agent Barbara Ackerman of Caldwell Banker responded to a request by Jim Eatrides, who is trying to get a 150 foot cell tower at the Island Chapel, to evaluate the impact of a "stealth" tower on Longboat Key. It should be noted that Ms. Ackerman recently sold Mr. Eatrides home on Longboat Key. Ms. Ackerman states “As a real estate professional with extensive knowledge of and experience in the Longboat Key real estate market, my opinion is that the proposed tower would not have a negative impact on nearby residential properties.”  Perhaps Ms. Ackerman did not know that the proposed tower is not a "stealth" tower but a rather imposing edifice 42 inches in diameter at the top (see picture below). It should also be noted that in Mr. Eatrides cell tower application, now before the town, that Ms. Ackerman's assessment stands alone with one other impact study from a blue collar neighborhood. 

Ask yourself if you had options would you purchase property close to a cell tower? If no, is it because you believe that other people will not want to purchase a home near a tall cell tower?

What the planning and zoning bord and the commission are about to do may seriously impact real estate values on Longboat Key in the tens of millions of dollars in lost property values as a direct result of unsightly cell towers in an upscale community.

Is it worth it to apease a few residents and a local cell tower developer? That is for you to decide. Do we need island-wide wifi for our notebooks, smart phones and IPads more than we need improved indoor cell phone reception for a few seasonal residents on the north end? Our mostly appointed commissioners are most likely on the verge of causing real damage to our real estate values. Why?

I urge every resident to become part of the discussion. I feel things are bad enough without our commissioners causing further declines in property values.

Proposed 150 foot cell tower as Island Chapel.

De-constructing Longboat Key

I admit I am apprehensive about the flurry of activity taking place in our town government during our summer doldrums. There are more town commission appointed committees than I can keep tabs on. Each one seems to be tasked with rewriting major parts of our comprehensive plan, a plan that has created one of the most successful communities in America.

To date our energetic commission has not told us why we need so many committees making so many major revisions to the town's land use policies. Since the commission has chosen to use committees to carry out the commission's grand design, very little that is being done is recorded or tracked by the two town newspapers. It appears that the commission is operating in a stealth mode via committees and when no one is around.

Somewhere down the road, or at the end of the summer, we will see a glimmer of the commission's grand design for our island, and one suspects that the developers will be happy.

Since there is little to no unused land on Longboat, one wonders how and where the developers plan to create something out of whole cloth, so to speak. If the commissioners do not have a fairly robust development effort in mind, one wonders why the long hours, during what is usually a quiet period in town government, and why all the committees?  Do they see opportunities to expand tourism and increase retail business on our island?  And if so, where do they see these opportunities?  It has been over 5 years since the 250 room referendum was approved by the voters, and not a single room has been taken.  Publix may actually reduce retail at Bay Isles, including all the shops behind Avenue of the Flowers that they now own. One doubts the owners of all the newly acquired land on the north end of the island at Whitney Beach Plaza will be using the land as any sort of retail center. They have had enough time to understand what happens on Longboat during the nine months of off-season to want to repeat the mistakes of their predecessors.

For now it appears that both tourism and retail are diminishing on Longboat, in spite of the assurances by some commissioners that they will save Longboat by promoting new tourist facilities that will in turn support a burgeoning retail renaissance on Longboat. I do not see that happening even after the commission has done serious damage to what have been an effective comprehensive plan and building codes. Have many residents have said they even want more tourists and more development?  Have residents been asked whether they want it?

If all this extra effort, and all the hours of committee meetings, and all the extra costs of  two town attorneys, is on behalf of the Key Club, I will be stunned at how the tail now wags the dog on Longboat. Hopefully all this effort is not for one developer, who says he plans to build a hotel at one of the least desirable locations one can imagine. There are already too many lovely, sparsely occupied, hotels located right on some of the most beautiful beaches around. The Key Club hotel has no Gulf beach, only a view of an ordinary and noisy bridge and the boat docks of a few nice homes on Lighthouse Point. I doubt a hotel will be built at that location. Mr. Lesser understands location, location, location.

Why then all the sound and furry and rush to recast our comprehensive plan as a testament to lax control of land use and overly permissive building codes? Do the commissioners really believe they are fashioning a panacea for our future?  The coming economic times may have a far greater impact on our futures than any machinations of a small group of like-minded individuals, well-intentioned though they might be, who have gained the power to alter what was working, without really understanding what the ramifications might be.

I do not believe our beautiful community should welcome developers. They make their money and then leave. If we are doing well, as I believe we are, there is really nothing that needs doing. Especially increases in density solely for the sake of promoting retail commerce which is what some of our commissioners are telling us.

A School on Longboat Key

Talking with friends who have children and live on Anna Maria Island, I have learned that they love Anna Maria Elementary School. The same is true for my friends with children in St. Stephen's School in Bradenton. What if Longboat Key had a small first class middle school? I know people with young children move to Anna Maria Island because of the highly regarded elementary school. I also know parents who are concerned about finding quality schools in Manatee County after their children reach 5th grade and have to leave the Anna Maria school. I have personally worked with students attending the nationally ranked Pine View public school in Sarasota County. I has greatly impressed.

Would a quality math and science magnet school on Longboat attract families to our community? Talking to friends in places such as Rye and Scarlsdale, New York, their schools attract families who purchase homes and pay high taxes to have access to some of the best public schools in the country.

There could be a captive school population comprised of students graduating from the Anna Maria school who already live in close proximity to a school located on the north end of Longboat Key. I have neighbors who willingly transport their children to Bradenton charter schools because education is important to them.

I have no idea what the new owners of Whitney Plaza have in mind for all the land they have recently acquired on the north end of Longboat Key. With the specter of a new Publix retail complex at Bay Isles, the new owners may be dissuaded from retail development on the expanded Whitney Plaza site. For years I have advocated a tasteful low-rise residential development (two stories over parking and not more than 35 feet high) on the property as the best and most appropriate use of the land, in keeping with the beachy residential flavor on the north end of Longboat. However, I also recognize there could be density issues trying to build homes on the Whitney land. The Conrad Beach development, now a decade old, still has vacant lots for sale, so selling planned unit developments on the north end appears to be challenging, especially in this depressed real estate climate. Mixed-use has not worked well at Lakewood Ranch where there are numerous condominiums over empty retail shops. This is an unattractive situation for the condominium owners who are powerless to improve their situation.

There may be an opportunity for a top-notch school to attract families to Longboat who are in search of a good educational experience for their children. Additionally, I believe that parents of students graduating form the Anna Maria Elementary School would welcome a middle school close to home for their children.  A good charter school would attract families and improve the demographic mix on Longboat Key.  Keep in mind, one year-around family of four is equal to 8 snowbird conominium units in terms of yearly on-island retail sales. 

The town and the community needs to look for new community alternatives as we look into the future. Longboat taxpayers are major supporters of the county school systems. Perhaps it is time to get something in return and help our community at the same time.

Of course people can raise all sorts of arguments about the difficulties of creating a new charter school on a barrier island. However, we need to seriously explore opportunities instead of using negativity as a rational for doing nothing.

All Together Now

Are you, like me, wondering what the Publix folks have in mind for Avenue of the Flowers. I have great respect for Publix's business acumen, so I doubt we will see them build a larger retail complex.
We will probably see a modest expansion of the current market with added drug and liquor operations and otherwise a reduction in retail space within the complex. However, this is a guess and it might be totally off-base.

Over the past few years several residents have advanced concepts of turning Avenue of the Flowers  and the surrounding Bay Isles area into a community activity hub, where island residents and visitors can congregate and share social activities such as dining and casual refreshments, etc. I think this is a good idea for our community. However, a greatly expanded retail presence is not practical given our seasonal demographics. Several tourists have responded to my past articles saying they wish there was a place where they could meet people on Longboat. Perhaps the Bay Isles locality is the logical place to start. Perhaps Publix will seek people oriented businesses such as Starbucks, and other casual meeting establishments, where people may enjoy one another's company. Whatever happens at Avenue of the Flowers, I believe it will need to draw people out of their self-sufficient condominium complexes and offer a unique and compelling social experience. There are a sufficient number of year-round residents and visitors on Longboat to support a properly sized and populated commercial center on the Publix property.

A town community center located adjacent to the new Publix center can further aggregate social activities around a central geographical hub that is already well established. On the north side of the Publix site lie several banks, the town library, town hall and several churches. Locating a community social and recreational facility in the existing Mattison's building, that lies adjacent to the south side of the Publix property, would further concentrate social activities in the area and offer patrons easy access to nearby cafés and casual meeting places. A community center located adjacent to the Publix redevelopment could be mutually beneficial for both the community center and whatever Publix developes at Avenue of the Flowers.

If we manage to create a viable critical mass of activity in and around the new Publix renovations, we just might attract enough people to sustain a healthy retail presence at that location, while at the same time creating a social activity hub within our community that is essential, if we are to attract the next generation of people looking for an exclusive, beautiful, thoughtfully developed island community.

I wonder what the new owners of Whitney Plaza and environs are thinking. If Publix does create a new attractive retail center at Avenue of the Flowers, that can only decrease the need for additional retail operations on the north end. If the new owners at Whitney Plaza decide to reintroduce retail operations at the north end, I suspect the same thing will occur that happened when Publix opened years ago, and that was to siphon business away from the two northern shopping centers.

In spite of the proclamations made by some commissioners that we need more retail and more tourists on Longboat, I suspect the business community is smart enough to read the writing on the wall. Longboat Key became an affluent seasonal retirement community because that is what perspective home buyers were looking for. As a result of two decades of slow development, we are finally just that, and now all the spare retail real estate needs to also fall in line with the community profile that has evolved over the years. We are what we are and that is a good thing according to the great majority of residents and visitors alike.

Longboat Key is and remains an exclusive, beautifully developed, jewel on the west coast of Florida. The housing problems will pass and we will all be thankful that we did not succumb to the aspirations of the developer element within our community. I think we will find that being an upscale seasonal second home community will remain attractive through the years and that property values will benefit from our exclusivity and low density.

However, we do need to change to some degree with the times. A centralized community district will enhance our lifestyle and offer residents convenient access to social activities including a recreational center in the Mattison building beside the Publix property.  I, among others, believe that we need to strive to create a critical mass of things to do, places to meet people and shop at the center of our island. Having a recreation center as part of that complex appears to be an essential element to the mix of activities. The opportunity to create a vibrant community center in the Mattison property, for a relatively small investment in renovating the building, is too good to pass up. We need to start moving to secure the now vacant property and to turn the building into a part of a greater town center.

Let's all get together and promote a new town center.

The best laid plans of mice and men

Commissioner Duncan is now advocating a long-range 25-year plan for our community. I guess he is saying that we need to follow his plan if we ever want to see our community prosper again. Unfortunately, none of us will be around to see if he was right. As justification for his call for long-term planning, Commissioner Duncan states " the town has to look no further than the current state of the island’s deterioration, in the form of aging shopping centers and foreclosed homes."

I do not disagree with Commissioner Duncan that our residents and town government need to become more pro-active in maintaining all aspects of our community. We differ is tactics and strategies.

Commissioner Duncan uses the community center as a focal point in his discussion and appears to be advocating a community dialog, whereas Commissioner Brown appears to feel that he and his fellow commissioners are the only people who need to be involved in both the design and the method of financing a community center. I prefer Commissioner Duncan's more inclusive approach. Commissioner Duncan raises the question if we even need a community center. A few weeks ago I proposed re-purposing unoccupied commercial property as a community center, both to test the waters for a need for a center, without committing the community to yet more bonds, and alleviating the glut of empty commercial buildings on the island. We could also have a community center up and running before the coming season. I do not see any downside to this idea.

It has now been 18 months since the current commission assumed power and assured our community that they would solve all the problems left unresolved by their predecessors. I believe the phrase "fix town hall" was used at one point. I do not see that anything has transpired since then. Actually, it looks like we have actually slipped further behind. The Key Club expansion has experienced one setback after another during the 2.5 years since the KC hearings first began. I remember the town attorney saying that he and the town planning staff would resolve any lingering questions in a couple of weeks. That was long ago and the most recent missive from the town attorney, concerning referendums, portends of even longer delays. I have always advocated a responsible rejuvenation of the Key Club since it is is an attractive and classy part of our community. The KC helps us stand out as an affluent retirement community. Unfortunately, the Loeb group chose an uncompromising political solution that has become a statutory and legal quagmire, with no end in sight, inspite of the town attorney's repeated assurances that everything will be OK any day now. The commission should have prevailed upon Loeb to come up with a viable project. They did not and a majority of the commissioners still press forward with their grand design for us all without paying any attention to the economic and legal realities that surround them.

Some of the actions by our commissioners, including what I believe to be unfortunate exchanges between commission members and residents who are experts in the area of land use, seem to be leading our town towards becoming a poster child for a possible future Florida Harris Act ordeal.

Commissioner Duncan is quite correct in his assessment that commercial property is deteriorating on Longboat and that more and more homes are coming onto the market. It would be nice to counter his appraisal with some good news. However, the longer our country sinks into economic decline, the more people will hit the wall, and be forced to unload the economic burden of a second home that they only used a few months a year. This is an economic reality for a seasonal retirement community. No amount of long-range planning will alter the course of events. Commissioner Duncan decries employing tactics where he feels long-range strategies are needed. I disagree. When the house is on fire it is not the time to look into pension plan alternatives with the fire fighters union. We need to take more immediate measures to improve our community image and to attract the baby boomers to buy here instead of Anna Maria Island or The Villages in central Florida.

I have written several columns about what I believe we need to do to improve our market position and that does not include still more hand-picked committees of head-bobbers to rubber stamp the ideological beliefs of the current people in power. I wish the current people in power were more effective than they have been over the past 18 months. From failed referendum votes to a stalled Key Club project, to failing to look at the root cause of our failing commercial real estate, there's a lot of smoke and a lot of rhetoric and little else.

The realities of the national and global economics cannot be solved by strategies, no matter how well-meaning. No one knows what socio-economic conditions will prevail twenty years from now or even next year. We need to be nimble and seek solutions for tomorrow not after we are all dead and gone.

One place we need to start looking is in the area of retail real estate. Remember we have enough retail real estate to support a community of 75,000 people. We actually have fewer than 8,000 averaged over the year. If people want to have the commercial tail wag the dog, then we will need to tear down a lot of older two astory condominiums to make way for tall buildings that will house 75,000 people on a year-round basis. That most likely means tourists, since our current residents don't stick around after April. If we manage to get 75,000 people to stay on Longboat during the hot season, than we will have an economic base to support the present commercial real estate property, and I guarantee we will have terrific traffic jams every day. Of course, we will need new water, sewer and electric services along with a solution to the impediments of the Circle and Bradenton Beach. I already know people who prefer to live on Anna Maria rather than fight the traffic at the Cortez Road light in Bradenton Beach.

Short of accomplishing all the above, there is simply too much land on this island zoned commercial. If Publix does decide to fully develop their land at Avenue of the Flowers, that will draw customers away from the Center Shops and any future for the new mega Whitney Plaza. One can only divide a pie so many ways before everyone goes hungry.

We need good news now. We need a community center now, not years from now. A lot of delay and strife will occur if the commissioners attempt to force an unpopular tax burden on the voters, before we even know if the people will support a community center. Keep in mind that the proposed town budget shows a deep cut in funding for recreational activities. Let's use common sense not theoretical strategies and lets get moving and get something accomplished. There has been too much posturing and not enough actual improvements over the past 18 months.

See picture at: http://lbk-folk.blogspot.com/2011/06/best-laid-plans-of-mice-and-men.html

Collateral Damage

(Key Club Project Model)

Bank of America recently sold the Grand Mariner to investors at about one third the original construction loan and after the project sat idle for several years. The original investors, in their zeal to optimize their investment, proposed a project that sailed too close to what was allowed by the town's codes and ordinances and a suit ensued. Eventually, the Grand Mariner developer declared bankruptcy. There is no blame here, only financial loss and missed opportunities. Perhaps if the planning and zoning board had applied the town codes more strictly things might have turned out better for the developer.

Land use suites have been lodged against the town by several developers and residents. My experience only goes back to the mid 80s when the Klauber suit cost taxpayers more than $6.5 million dollars. That loss actually shows up in your utility bill today since the utility fund was used to pay the plaintiff.  There was collateral damage stemming from the Klauber suit in the form of about 70 upscale resort/spa suites, with overflow from the spa into surrounding hotels and motels, that were never built. Instead we gained a few more condominiums that are occupied perhaps a month or two a year. Klauber's resort/spa might have become another island hallmark similar to the Colony. We will never know. But we do know that if the project had been completed there would now be around 70 more tourist units to support local businesses.

The collateral damages from the failure of Klauber's resort/spa, and other projects such as the Grand Mariner, the Poseidon and even the proposed house on Longboat Drive North are twofold. First, the vitally needed redevelopment of older properties is impeded. Second, and perhaps a more important consequence of land use suites, is that the the suites may discourage future developers from venturing onto our island. Each time a developer or a resident files a suit against the town for perceived grievances, our stature as a stable, developed community with well founded codes and ordinances may be diminished. Additionally, perspective home buyers may begin to shy away from purchasing property in a community where developers are able to compromise existing property values with the help of a developer-friendly town government.

I am not questioning that the suites I am referencing were necessary or that the outcomes were not just. I am simply saying that if a different course of events had occurred we might now have more tourist units and new luxury condominiums in our community. The suites I am referring to involve actions by the town in land use applications. The town has an unfortunate record in court for those town government actions that displeased developers or residents enough to go to court.

I see the Key Club expansion project as perhaps the best example of how things might have been different. Many people in our community believed that if the Key Club and IPOC could have reached an amicable arrangement, we would not now be witnessing a protracted litigation that will certainly delay the proposed project. Instead our town attorneys and commission decided that it was more to their liking to accept the Key Club proposal in toto, even if it plunged the project into a succession of lawsuits and government interventions. It may come to pass that the Loeb Partners reach a decision to withdraw the project just because of the specter of more and more legal costs and lengthy delays. The current commission and the town attorney appear intent in fashioning some sort of revisionist version of what existed when the Key Club began its tortuous journey through quasi-judicial proceedings. Only the courts will decide if what the commission is currently doing can be substituted for what existed when the commission passed the Key Club expansion plan.

For the commission and the town attorney it seems all to possible for them to legislate their dreams. But they may find that at the end of all the court proceedings, it might have been easier to change the past.

Just as when an 80s commission asked Ms. Stroud about the Klauber suite, and if they had the right to revoke Klauber's building permit, Ms. Stroud has assured the current commission that they have the right and the power to take things into their own hands, this time to rewrite the codes and the comprehensive plan to suite the developer. We will have to wait to see if the courts agree with Ms. Stroud this time.

As for the Key Club proposal, I do not recall any other time in my life when I have witnessed a public entity being paid by a developer for its services on behalf of the developer. I am personally very uncomfortable with the financial arrangements in what to me looks just like a pay-to-play government deal. Let's hope there is not too much collateral damage this time.

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."