Longboaters set out to raise $3 million for a community room on Bay Isles Road and raised $3.8 million. Planning and Zoning passed the plan, the parking math works, and a groundbreaking is on the calendar.
The Town Center Green library still has two decisions ahead, and they fall on back-to-back days. The Town Commission's final approval on Nov. 2 is the only one made on Longboat Key. The other is a statewide ballot measure on Nov. 3, and Sarasota County has tied the building's future to how that vote goes.
What the Island Has Already Put In
The library is a $13.5 million Sarasota County project. It started out as a branch library and grew into something more after a town-led fundraising campaign paid for an enlarged community room that can host special events. The town and the Longboat Key Foundation ran the campaign together, and U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan pledged $1 million.
Piece of the project | Amount | Status as reported |
|---|---|---|
Sarasota County funding, design | $1 million | Design and permitting underway |
Sarasota County funding, construction | $10 million | Tied to the county's budget outlook |
Community fundraising goal | $3 million | Exceeded |
Community fundraising raised | $3.8 million | $1.6 million already received by the county |
The Longboat Observer gives $13.5 million as the library's total cost and lists $11 million of it as county money. It does not say how the $3.8 million raised for the community room fits within that total.
The building comes in at 11,324 square feet. Because islanders paid for the community room, the design also has to handle crowds bigger than a regular library day would bring. That's the issue the Town Commission spent the most time on in October.
The Parking Question, Answered With Bruce Springsteen
On an ordinary day, parking isn't a problem. The 78 existing spaces east of the green are twice the 39 the town code requires. Assistant Town Manager Isaac Brownman told commissioners the county's transportation consultant found no need for more, based on standard trip-generation figures for libraries and parks, according to the Longboat Observer.
Event nights are another matter. Commissioner Gary Coffin said parking has "always been a concern of everyone's." To show how a large event would be handled, Planning, Zoning and Building Director Allen Parsons used an example nobody expects to happen: Bruce Springsteen playing the Green. Anyone organizing an event that size would have to submit a parking and transportation plan before the town issues a permit.
The plan works in tiers:
- Everyday use: 78 dedicated spaces at Town Center Green.
- Events drawing hundreds: Up to 603 more spaces in nearby lots, with each owner's permission. The town's survey counted lots at Mediterranean Plaza, the post office, nearby churches, banks and the tennis center.
- Combined ceiling: 681 spaces that could be lined up.
- Anything larger: Busing from off-island or other measures, coordinated between the county and the town.
Brownman said the commercial and other properties around Bay Isles Road and Bay Isles Parkway often have spare capacity, "especially for late afternoon or early evening events, and especially for weekend events." Those are the times the community room is likely to be busiest.
With parking resolved, the Town Commission gave the site and development plans first approval on Oct. 5, after the plans cleared Planning and Zoning in September. The final vote is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 2.
Where the Decision Moves on Nov. 3
On Tuesday, Nov. 3, Florida voters decide Amendment 3. A Longboat town official has told commissioners that the county will hold off on the library if the measure passes.
At the Sept. 14 commission meeting, Commissioner Nick Gladding asked what a "yes" vote would mean for the project. "The county has made it very clear because of the magnitude of the impacts of Amendment 3 they will not be constructing a library on Longboat Key at this time if Amendment 3 passes," Brownman answered, as the Longboat Observer reported. He also said the county was still moving ahead "full steam" on design, permitting and the land use amendment.
Here is what the amendment would do, according to Ballotpedia's summary:
- Raise the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, with inflation adjustments starting in 2029. School taxes are not affected.
- Lower the yearly cap on assessment increases for non-homestead property from 10% to 5%, again excluding school-district taxes.
- Limit what counties and cities can spend property-tax revenue on to listed categories, including public safety, education, infrastructure, natural-resource projects, debt service, employee retirement obligations and government operations.
It needs at least 60% of the votes cast to pass.
Supporters say the measure gives homeowners tax relief and pushes local governments to cut wasteful spending. Opponents warn of service cuts or new taxes and fees in place of property taxes, and argue that lower homestead taxes shift more of the load to renters, businesses and other non-homestead owners.
Sarasota County's Amendment 3 page states that the county neither supports nor opposes the measure. It says the amendment could reduce county resources for services, could require cuts or other sources of revenue, and could affect libraries.
The donated money is part of the picture too. Former Town Manager Howard Tipton said that if the amendment passes, "we'll have to figure out how to refund the money that's been raised," according to the Longboat Observer. The county already holds $1.6 million of the $3.8 million.
This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. If you want to know how Amendment 3 would affect your own property, talk to a qualified tax professional.
The Green Has Changed Plans Before
The town has rethought this property before, and that history explains why the community room carries so much weight. The 4.81-acre site has been a work in progress for more than a decade:
- 2014 and 2017: The town bought the land in two pieces.
- Late 2010s: The Longboat Observer reported in 2017 that the Longboat Key Foundation had been given the job of raising money for a proposed Longboat Key Arts, Culture and Education Center on the site. Ringling College later dropped that project, and the town turned to the Green instead.
- 2020: Phase 1 covered demolition, raising the site and initial grading.
- 2023: Phase 2 added the event green, the stormwater system, the oval path and the Karon Family Pavilion.
- Nov. 11, 2023: The pavilion opened on Veterans Day. The town put in about $1.5 million and private donors about $800,000, most of it from Paul and Sarah Karon, according to the Longboat Observer.
The arts center was planned around one outside partner, and when that partner left, so did the project. The library has a broader base: county capital money and $3.8 million from residents. Even so, it depends on someone outside the island, in this case a county budget reacting to a statewide vote. The Foundation is involved again, this time as co-lead of a campaign that beat its goal.
Until the Building Is Decided
In the meantime, the island's library service is at 555 Bay Isles Road, the same road as the Green. The volunteer-run Longboat Library posted summer hours of Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., starting May 1, the Longboat Observer reported in April. Its in-season hours may be different. Sarasota County's mobile Pop-up Library also does outreach, and the county says those hours vary.
The Green itself keeps hosting the kind of gatherings the community room was meant to handle. The next one is coming up soon. Here's the calendar:
- Monday, Nov. 2: Town Commission final vote on the library's site and development plans.
- Tuesday, Nov. 3: Statewide election, with Amendment 3 on the ballot.
- Saturday, Nov. 21, 5 to 7 p.m.: Light Up Longboat at Town Center Green, with vendors, music, food and a tree lighting, according to the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce listing.
- March: The scheduled groundbreaking Tipton described, if the project goes ahead.
At Light Up Longboat, the vote will be over and the crowd will be parking in the same 78 spaces the commission spent October talking about. Everyone there will know whether the community room they paid for is going ahead.
Most of our family's work on the island happens around projects like this one: what's being built, who is paying for it, and how it changes the streets near home. If the Town Center Green decision affects plans for your Longboat Key property or your family's, we'd like to hear from you. Janette and John Schafer are glad to talk it through. Tell us your story.
