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Home » Blog » Protect Siesta Key Inc Summary

Protect Siesta Key Inc Summary

Posted on July 10, 2025 by Our Town Staff

Protect Siesta Key Inc.

Summary of Our Position regarding proposed changes to our Comprehensive Plan for Voluntary Condo Rebuilds

Summary of our Position

  • Protect Siesta Key, Inc. opposes the proposed changes to our protective policies in the Comprehensive Plan.
  • We urge the County Commission to reject moving forward with the amendments due to legal, environmental, and policy conflicts.

Primary Concerns

  • Violates the Comprehensive Plan by increasing intensity and density of development on Siesta Key.
  • Disregards zoning intent established since 1975 to phase out nonconforming uses.
  • No demonstrated need or demand from property owners for voluntary demolition and rebuilds.
  • Undermines equal protection by favoring voluntary demolitions over disaster rebuilds.
  • May legitimize illegal density created post-1975 through loopholes or misinterpretation.

Legal and Policy Conflicts

  • Conflicts with existing zoning and UDC provisions regarding nonconformities
  • Violates Comprehensive Plan goals and policies, including:
  • Environmental Goal 4 – protection/restoration of coastal systems.
  • Coastal Policy 1.2.1 – limits on development in high-risk coastal areas.
  • FLU Policy 1.2.6 & FLU Goal 2 – restrict intensification in Hurricane Evacuation Zones A & B.
  • Policy 2.9.1 – requires conformance to 1989 zoning for rebuilds.

Practical and Community Impacts

  • Increased costs for property owners, potentially pricing out current condo/timeshare holders.
  • Benefits large investor corporations, not individual owners (e.g., 550 Golden Gate Point).
  • Increases impervious surfaces, potentially worsening flood risks.
  • Creates taller and denser structures, reducing light, air, and visual openness.
  • No support from the community, including the Siesta Key Condominium Council.

Zoning and Density Issues

  • New ordinance language conflicts with current UDC standards and definitions.
  • Uses flawed density verification methods
  • Unclear rebuild guidelines create confusion

Constitutional Concerns

  • Unequal treatment of property owners may violate the 14th Amendment.
  • Voluntarily demolished structures would face fewer restrictions than disaster-damaged ones.

Recommendations to County Commissioners

  • Reject moving forward with the proposed Comprehensive Plan amendments!
  • Focus staff resources on hurricane recovery issues including:
  • Review the Post Disaster Redevelopment Plan.
  • Review the “Expedited” permitting process.

Link to PSK position paper

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