SAND KEY – Residents of this island community have long enjoyed the convenience of being able to drop in at the Shoppes of Sand Key to do their banking or a little shopping.
So when the word spread that the Marriott hotel chain was negotiating to buy the 3-acre parcel, residents panicked, afraid they would lose their neighborhood shopping center.
But that may not be the case. Preliminary renderings displayed by Marriott executives show 10,000 to 20,000 square feet of free-standing retail shops in addition to an upscale 265-room hotel, condos and boat slips. But the Marriott executives don’t know if the city will let them build what they are proposing.
“They’ve assured us that they will maintain the necessities as a separate building, not within the hotel,” said Joe Calio, vice president of the Sand Key Civic Association. “We’ve had several meetings with them and they’ve been very upfront about what they’re trying to do. But all they’ve shown us is a computer-generated plan. They’re waiting to see what the city will do.”
A 1986 lawsuit by U.S. Steel Corporation, the owner at the time, ensured that the parcel would be zoned “B” (business) for 20 years. But by the time the court-mandated time expired, Clearwater had done away with “B” zoning citywide, so Marriott is seeking to have the parcel rezoned to “Tourist,” which would allow the hotel complex to be built. A hearing on the proposed rezoning by the city’s Community Development Board is scheduled for Dec. 18 at 2 p.m.
“We don’t have a site plan yet, so we don’t know exactly what they’re planning to build,” said Gina Clayton of the city’s Planning Department. “But what they’re proposing is consistent with the underlying land use designation. It’s consistent with our Comprehensive Plan, and our staff will probably recommend approval of it.”
The Sand Key Civic Association isn’t sitting still in the meantime.
“We’ll be meeting with an attorney to see what our options are,” said SKCA president Mike Dooley. “We want to make sure that what the Marriott is planning is consistent with the lifestyle on Sand Key and the environmental issues.”
If there are things SKCA doesn’t like, Dooley added, he would like to try to resolve them before taking a formal position in opposition to the project.
Despite pressure from individual condominium associations, Dooley said, the SKCA will not take a position for or against the project until it has more information.
“It’s very difficult to take a position without seeing a site plan,” he said.
“We haven’t seen enough to be for or against it at this point,” Calio agreed.
