01/05/06

Key outlines goals for 2006

Noise ordinance, shuttle service considered

ENGLEWOOD -- After accomplishing its biggest goals in 2005 by securing a new community plan and overlay ordinance, South Manasota Key officials have turned their 2006 attention to supporting issues.

Members of the Manasota and Sandpiper Key Advisory Committee outlined their year's objectives Wednesday at the committee's regular meeting.

Issues waiting to be tackled include creating a mooring area in Lemon Bay, a noise ordinance, hurricane disaster plan and fish-kill cleanup plan.

Other topics include spreading information on the effects of invasive plants, developing standards for zoning districts not mentioned in the community plan and possibly creating a public shuttle service connecting the key to the mainland.

The shuttle service, committee members said, could reduce parking problems caused by the scores of new Charlotte and Sarasota county residents relocating to the area.

"Where else are they going to go to the beach?" asked committee member Mike McClain. "That's going to impact every one of us."

A mooring station, members said, would prevent derelict boats from sitting in Lemon Bay, while a small pump-out station could cut back on water pollution.

Meanwhile, a noise ordinance, likely to be tackled first by the committee, could limit both construction and entertainment noise on the island.

Committee members said they're hoping to meet with Charlotte County Sheriff's Office officials and eventually county leaders to determine the best way to implement and enforce a noise ordinance.

"We're going to need a lot of coordination with the Sheriff's Office," said county planner Jorge Perez.

"The non-entertainment part of this is very important because we're so close together," McClain added.

Manasota Key officials have long argued that contractors driving pilings for new developments not only create noise problems, but also create reverberations that can damage nearby homes.

Advisory committee members said they're also hoping to develop a fish-kill cleanup plan. Red tide-related fish kills are a yearly problem for the key, with several kills striking the island in 2005.

The island currently has no such plan or funding for fish kill-cleanup -- except on the public beaches -- and relies largely on homeowners to clean up beaches in front of private homes.