“This is a perfect storm of incompatibility. Lido Pavilion is being robbed.”

Part of the contention, especially for Longboat Key residents, is the specter of a roundabout that is not only planned, but already funded.

The Master Plan to redevelop 53 Bay front acres in downtown Sarasota to reach Commission in the fall.

The Town has a month to respond. Plan to redevelop Colony at stake.

It was contentious. It was harrowing. But after two days of deliberations, Unicorp’s application to build a St. Regis Hotel and Residences received a 5-2 vote of approval for the first of two readings by the Longboat Key Town Commission last week.

Without an epidural and with numerous suitors claiming ownership rights to the offspring, Unicorp President Chuck Whittall, his attorneys and the members of the Longboat Key Planning and Zoning Board came together this past week and consummated the first signs of new life at the decrepit 17.6-acre site.

Politicians are a lot like babies: they must be changed often and for the same reason.

What are the three biggest challenges facing the Town Commission and how would you address these issues?

Unicorp submits revised site plan minus 24 units after contentious meeting. Final site plan heading to P&Z for review.

I find it hard to get on bandwagons. I do not wave flags for developers, but at the same time I see the rallying cry of Preserve Longboat Key as short sighted. Both are right and wrong.