INDIAN ROCKS BEACH – Facing little to no serious objection, Indian Rocks Beach officials agreed unanimously Tuesday to resume the state’s doggy dining experiment.
Earlier this summer the State Legislature agreed to extend the law which allows restaurateurs the option to accommodate diners and their leashed pets in outdoor dining venues such as patios or gardens.
The law, which “sunset” in July was reintroduced and extended for 12 months beginning Oct. 1. Indian Rocks Beach officials had acknowledged the experiment last spring, but realizing the law would expire in July, left it moot with regard to city ordinance provisions. When the measure was reinstituted, that changed.
Last month the commission agreed to reconsider the doggy dining issue and city staff prepared amendments to three sections of the city code which would require City Commission action before local restaurants could legally entertain dogs on premises. Those provisions include: adding new language to the section governing business districts, allowing for accessory use – dogs/outdoor dining being the key words – and to a line amending state code by adding “doggy dining” to the section titled “Animals,” and lastly to schedule a fee for the doggy dining plan review.
It is unclear as yet which dining establishments within the city will opt to take advantage of this new customer base.
In another decision that currently dogs state legislators as well as citizens along Florida’s gulf coast, the commission voted again unanimously to oppose offshore oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. This vote came as a direct response to the BIG-C, Barrier Islands Government Council’s appeal to their member commissions for support of the council’s opposition to Florida State House Bill 1219 introduced this year, which would allow drilling for oil and gas on sites as close as three miles off shore of gulf coast beach communities.
And in other business, City Manager Chuck Coward reported progress on the proposed Keegan Clair Park project. His office authorized a budget of $1,000 to study the possibility of placing docks along the shore line of the park. The study unexpectedly revealed that the city already owned the rights to the submerged land; a potentially costly and time consuming process required to lease the rights had vanished by virtue of a preexisting arrangement with the land’s previous owner, the Holiday Inn Harbourside.
“This $1,000 investment potentially has saved us $6,000 and six months, right off the top,” Coward said.
He added it would cost $4,600 to conduct a submerged plants survey in accordance with environmental requirements and to develop preliminary design plans for the project.
