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N 1 # AMERICA’S
PER A P WS
bserver LONGBOAT
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
RETIREMENT
DIVERSIONS
Dr. Pamela Letts retires May 5 after 18 years of service. PAGE 3A
PoetryLife strives to spark a resurgence of poetry education. INSIDE
OUR TOWN
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FREE • THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2014
RESTORATION
Party celebrates Villa Am Meer home and condo project. PAGE 15A
by Kurt Schultheis | Managing Editor
Draft ordinance excludes cell towers In response to the commission’s November request, town staff dropped cell towers from the telecommunications ordinance.
+ Lights out starting May 1
File photo
’Tis the season: turtlenesting season, that is. From May 1 through Oct. 31, it’s lights out for the sea turtles. To avoid disorienting nesting turtles and their hatchlings, turn off or shield lights visible from the beach, including flash lights and fishing lights. Avoid flash photography, pick up your trash, and remove furniture and cabanas when you leave the beach. For more information, visit Longboat Key Turtle Watch’s website, lbkturtlewatch.com.
Town staff and its planning consultants have heard the Longboat Key Town Commission loud and clear. The commission stated on the record in November that it doesn’t want a tower built on the Key. So town staff’s latest draft of a controversial telecommunications ordinance doesn’t even include a category for cellular tow-
ers. All references to a tower in the text have been struck through or deleted. The ordinance also includes stringent height restrictions for other cellular technologies, noting that alternatives such as Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) and small cell technologies must adhere to the height restrictions for zoning districts and that in
WHAT IS SMALL CELL TECHNOLOGY? / PAGE 2A no instance can the technologies be higher than 50 feet from the ground. Antennae placed on buildings can’t be higher than 30 feet above the highest point on the structure.
“The intent of the new ordinance is to focus on alternative technologies like small cells,” said Planning, Zoning and Building Director Alaina Ray. The ordinance includes pictures of various technologies, explaining that permitted wireless facilities are allowed in all zoning districts except for preserve and single-family zoning districts. Small cells sit on a pole or a
SEE CELL TOWER / 2A
SHARK TALE
CAMPAIGN AGAINST SUMMER HUNGER Here are the donation totals for All Faiths Food Bank’s Campaign Against Summer Hunger. To donate, visit allfaithsfoodbank.org or SkipALunch.org. Your gift will be matched dollarfor-dollar until May 10. Donate today and feed twice as many children this summer. Drop off non-perishable food items at Goodwills, fire stations in Sarasota County and Temple Beth Israel.
GOAL: $500,000 matching challenge
$313,699
POUNDS OF FOOD COLLECTED: 113,717 GOAL: 600,000 POUNDS
10
MAY
Number of weeks remaining: 1
Robin Hartill
Sam Von Duhn, Ryan Roberts and Tony Musca caught a 692-pound mako shark during a Double Nickel Charters fishing trip with their families April 23, off of Longboat Pass. The 12-year-olds were visiting the area from Bay View, Ohio. For the story, see page 6A.
BEACH EMERGENCY
by Kurt Schultheis | Managing Editor
Sand project to begin in early May Rather than wait months for dredging to start to bring sand to the north end of the Key, town officials worked to expedite the project. Town Manager Dave Bullock announced last week that sand is coming to the eroded north end of the Key earlier than expected. In an April 24 email to the Longboat Key Town Commission, Bullock explained he met
with West Coast Inland Navigation District (WCIND) officials and learned a sand project will begin in weeks instead of months. At the April 23 WCIND board meeting in Venice, the board approved a motion to expedite
the project at the request of the town. The motion passed unanimously. “The project is moving along quickly with the contractor ready to begin mobilization in the coming weeks once final notice to proceed is issued,” Bullock
wrote. “Based on the schedule discussed, I expect equipment placement to begin within two weeks, followed quickly by dredging and sand placement.” The project is expected to take approximately two months to complete, depending on the weather.
SEE SAND / 9A
INDEX Calendar............ 16A Classifieds......... 25A
Cops Corner....... 12A Crossword.......... 24A
Neighborhood.... 15A Opinion.................8A
Real Estate........ 22A Weather............. 24A
Vol. 36, No. 39 | Two sections YourObserver.com