STEVE REID
Editor & Publisher
sreid@lbknews.com
Longboat Key Town Attorney Maggie Mooney did her best to keep commissioners from becoming as disoriented as misguided sea turtles when talking about beach lighting violations last week.
The St. Regis Resort on Longboat Key has been the subject of violations of the island’s turtle lighting ordinance and faced a hearing before a magistrate last Wednesday.
Two days prior, Longboat Key Turtle Watcher Cyndi Seamon opened the commission meeting during the Public to be Heard in stating that, “St. Regis is an issue obviously, an ongoing issue.”
Seamon, who has spent many years walking the beach and monitoring turtle nests to help the threatened species make it through their nesting season unfettered by lights from buildings, gave an overview of several issues on the 10-mile-long barrier island. She started by saying that even though it is near the end of turtle season, there are still active nests, but issues with the streetlights on Gulf of Mexico Drive remain.
Seamon spoke of the challenges of Tropical Storm Debby that washed out numerous nests as well as stakes that are used to demarcate where eggs are buried.
But when the Town Commission brought up the situation of the St. Regis, which opened its doors last month for guests as well as residents in its condominiums, the Town Attorney waxed cautious.
“I would like to avoid talking about specific projects because there is a hearing that will review alleged violations,” said Mooney.
Mooney added that there are specific provisions in town code that are part of both permitting construction as well as mandating compliance with turtle ordinances.
Mayor Ken Schneier asked Seamon about the impact from Tropical Storm Debby.
“Definitely some areas were hit harder than others. Most of the nests closer to the water were impacted and we lost stakes and could not see where some nests were located,” said Seamon. Seamon then said the Turtle Watch organization were “pretty surprised” to discover a new nest on the Friday before the meeting. She said there were two other nests with green turtles eggs on Casey Key and one on Siesta Key. But then the meeting veered off into the very specifics Town Attorney Mooney sought to avoid.
“The lights that need to be fixed are at the Monkey Bar at the St. Regis,” said Seamon.
Attorney Mooney reacted immediately – “We should not be talking about a property (St. Regis) going to a magistrate on Wednesday, and we need to observe and honor that process.”
Vice Mayor Mike Haycock asked the Town Attorney if the magistrate can require an action plan or only simply fines.
“Can there be an action plan; something with a little more teeth? We have been promised for six months or a year that things would be fixed?” said Haycock.
Attorney Mooney laid out the possibilities ranging from docile to draconian.
“The purpose of Code Enforcement is compliance, not to punish people. We have two paths: a fine, a financial path, and a path for bringing corrective action. The magistrate can fine to a certain level and then to an exponential level if the issue creates irreparable harm. This includes not just fining, but also liens that are attached to the deed of the property,” said Mooney.
Mooney then added that if the town finds that this path is not working to its satisfaction, it can always go to court and seek corrective action from a judge. Commissioners asked if they can give testimony at the Wednesday hearing on the St. Regis case and Mooney said the hearing is evidentiary and there is no ability for public comment. She added that the magistrate is an independent contractor that the town has hired and will be sitting as a judge. The Town’s Code Enforcement Officers will present at the Wednesday hearing.
Conversation grows opaque
One commissioner asked rhetorically if the Town’s turtle regulation that dictates the opacity level, or amount of light able to emanate through windows, is stringent enough.
“The St. Regis has 45 percent opacity glass and that is clearly not working as intended,” the commissioner opined.
Mayor Schnieir said the town’s ordinance is not as strong as it could have been and the attorney confirmed that the town has a 45 percent opacity limit on Gulf-facing glass windows.
“The standards are not as stringent as you could have gone, but our code says you can shut off lights or close the blinds,” said Mooney.
Mayor Schneier said that more often than not, turtle violations arise from outdoor lights.
“Some residential properties will come on-line by the end of the year (I won’t mention who). We have to outreach to condos to let the owners know. If they have blinds open and drapes open and bright lights on with the opacity we require in our code, they will be in violation,” said Schneier.
One town commissioner said the issue of closing blinds and being aware of turtle lighting “might be a good topic for a TikTok.”
The commission was told that the Longboat Key Club reminds guests via text each evening to close the blinds and drapes and dim lights. “They’re proactive,” remarked a commissioner.
After the commission finished their impromptu discussion about turtle lighting and the St. Regis, a resident approached the dias and offered some help.
“This might help with the St. Regis. We found blinds that are semi opaque and block 96 percent of the light. They are no big deal to install and we got them at Lowe’s.”
Two days later, the magistrate gave an extension to the St. Regis to reach compliance with the turtle lighting ordinance.
Turtle lighting season ends on Oct. 31 and the St. Regis will have to demonstrably be in compliance before that time.
