Boatel planned for part of Bradenton Beach Marina
By Paul Roat. Islander Reporter
Changes may be in store for the Bradenton Beach Marina.
Owner Allan Bazzy
highlighted renovation plans for the marina on Church
Street, just south of the Cortez Bridge on Anna Maria
Sound, at a planning and zoning board meeting last
week. No plans have been filed at the city, he admitted,
but he wanted to be sure that the city's ongoing
review of the comprehensive plan would concur with
his thoughts on changing the use of the property.
Specifically,
Bazzy said, he contemplated tearing down the dry-storage
facility and replacing it with a 40-unit "boatel." The
boatel would accommodate "short-term stays, three
to five days, with people who would come on a boat
to stay in Bradenton Beach."
Bazzy said traditional
marinas "are going away. The taxes, insurance,
all are going up. It's easier to go to condos,
so we're trying to decide whether to discontinue
the marina and go condo, or stay in the marina business
and just do away with dry storage and build a boatel."
He said the actual
marina operation of repair and service, complete with
lifts to accommodate larger vessels, would remain under
his boatel vision, but the 80,000-square-foot storage
building would be replaced by the rental units. There
would also be dedicated space for 40 boats for boatel
patrons, he indicated.
Planning Board
Chairman Bob Dale said that since no plans had been
submitted to the city, the board should not address
the matter. He added that he hoped that planning consultant
Tony Arrant and other board members would "think
outside the box" to allow boatels and other uses
that may not currently be considered in all land-use
designations in the city.
The marina was
one of the more controversial issues facing Bradenton
Beach in the mid-1990s after Bazzy applied for land-use
changes (residential to commercial) to permit the storage
structure, part of an estimated $1 million in renovations
to the site. The city commission at the time denied
his variances, prompting him to go to court, where
the city's decision was overturned.
During the
process, Bazzy took 19 residents to task in federal
court on grounds that they "... conspired, reached
a meeting of the minds, and commenced their scheme
to defeat Bazzy's application." An out-of-court
settlement was eventually reached between Bazzy and
the residents. |
