At Longboat Key’s Monday Town Commission meeting, the main event was removed from the agenda, leading to the early departure by some in the crowd.
“If you’re here to hear the items 6C and 6D on the agenda regarding the St. Regis sign, they have withdrawn the application, so you’re welcome to stay, but if that’s what you’re here for, you’re also welcome to have your afternoon free and go off and do something fun,” Mayor Debra Williams said. “You are welcome to come up and speak if you want.”
There was no public comment on the subject Monday. The topic has been discussed at length in previous meetings as developers of St. Regis have made a push to alter the town’s sign code to allow a stainless steel arch the St. Regis Longboat Key resort had installed on a private groin extending into the Gulf. Town leaders claim the arch violates the town’s sign code, but Unicorp President Chuck Whittall and legal counsel claim the town doesn’t have jurisdiction over Gulf waters and that a permit issued by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for the arch is all the permission they needed…