Longboat Key's Town Center Green Already Made Room for a Library. Next Week Decides Whether It Gets One.

"The county has made it very clear because of the magnitude of the impacts of Amendment 3 they will not be constructing a library on Longboat Key at this time if Amendment 3 passes," Assistant Town Manager Isaac Brownman told town commissioners in September, as reported by the Longboat Observer.

The library on the Town Center Green now comes down to two dates in a row. On Monday, Nov. 2, the Longboat Key Town Commission is scheduled to give the project final approval. On Tuesday, Nov. 3, Florida votes on Amendment 3. The building isn't up yet, but the Green has already started making room for it. Its seasonal market is gone, donors have paid in, and the county has the design and permits underway. What happens next week decides whether those steps lead to a building.

The Market Stepped Aside First

The Market on Longboat Key set up on the Town Green every season from 2022 until it was canceled for 2025–26. Organizer Nancy Ambrose had planned to run it twice a month from Dec. 1 through April.

The Observer's account of the cancellation points to two problems. Ambrose had expected to lose the season to library construction, and by the time she learned that summer that the market could go ahead after all, many vendors had committed to other markets. Cost made it harder to recover: permits for the whole season and liability insurance were both due Nov. 1, and she said a market needs about 60 vendors to have enough variety.

The same report said any return of the market would have to wait until construction is finished. Brownman said a new market "may revive after the library and community hall project comes to fruition in the future." The Green's biggest recurring winter event is now tied to the library's schedule, and that schedule depends on next week.

What the Money Has Already Committed

The library is budgeted at $13.5 million. Sarasota County is putting in $11 million, with $1 million for design and $10 million for construction.

Longboat Key paid to make the building bigger. The town and the Longboat Key Foundation set out to raise $3 million for event space and brought in $3.8 million, including a $1 million pledge from U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan. The county has already received $1.6 million of that total. Former Town Manager Howard Tipton told commissioners that if Amendment 3 passes, "then we'll have to figure out how to refund the money that's been raised."

That fundraising shaped the plan. As described to the Planning and Zoning Board, the 11,324-square-foot building includes:

• A community room enlarged to seat 200
• Large "sitting steps" where visitors can read
• A covered outdoor terrace facing the Town Green

Sarasota County Facilities, Parks and Recreation Manager Brad Gaubatz said the county expected to apply for building permits in October. Tipton said groundbreaking is scheduled for March.

This is also the site's second try at a public cultural building. An earlier plan for a Longboat Key arts, culture and education center ended when Ringling College dropped the project in 2019.

Monday, Then Tuesday

The approvals have moved one step at a time, and the last two land on back-to-back days:

1. September: The Planning and Zoning Board unanimously approved the county's requested changes to the site plan, on the condition that a revised plan be filed for the record.
2. Oct. 5: The Town Commission gave first approval to the site and development plans.
3. Nov. 2: The Town Commission takes its final approval vote.
4. Nov. 3: Amendment 3 is on the general election ballot. Like any amendment to Florida's constitution, it needs at least 60% of the vote to pass, according to the Florida Division of Elections.

The amendment's official ballot title is "Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments." Part of the ballot summary, as printed in the Division of Elections amendment booklet, reads:

"This amendment increases the homestead exemption, for all non-school taxes, to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, and adjusts for inflation thereafter... This amendment reduces the annual cap on assessment increases for non-homestead properties from 10% to 5%."

The full summary also covers how the new exemption would phase in for people who are not Florida residents on Dec. 31, 2026, and it limits what counties and municipalities can spend property taxes on. If approved, the amendment takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. The Pinellas County Property Appraiser's explainer takes no position on the measure. It notes that an actual tax bill still depends on millage rates and other factors. All of this is general information, not tax or legal advice. How the amendment would affect a particular property is a question for the property appraiser's office or a tax professional.

For the Green, what matters is the county's stated position. If the amendment passes, Sarasota County has said it would put the project on hold because of the possible effect on its budget. At the Sept. 14 meeting, Brownman said the county was still working "full steam, full blast with design, with permitting and with the land use amendment."

Where 200 People Would Park

If the library is built, everyday traffic won't change much. A 200-seat room is a different matter, and commissioners spent much of the Oct. 5 meeting on it, according to the Observer.

The 603 nearby spaces are spread across Mediterranean Plaza, the post office, nearby churches and banks, and the tennis center. Brownman said businesses around Bay Isles Road and Bay Isles Parkway may have spare capacity, "especially for late afternoon or early evening events, and especially for weekend events."

Planning, Zoning and Building Director Allen Parsons explained the upper limit with a deliberately unlikely example. If an event expected thousands of people, "if Bruce Springsteen or something is coming," the organizer would need a parking plan in place before getting a permit. Anything bigger than the 681 spaces could cover would take buses or other arrangements, coordinated between the county and the town.

The Green This Season, Construction or Not

Whatever happens next week, the Green will still have the buildings and events it has now.

The Longboat Key Historical Society reopened in October in its cottage on the Green. The building was the laundry and linens cottage of the Whitney Beach Resort, built in 1926, and it was moved to the Green in 2021. It's open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. According to the Observer's report on the reopening, the collection includes what the society calls "the earliest known photographs of Longboat Key," taken between 1914 and 1920. It also holds photos from a 1953 fish fry, bound copies of the Anna Maria Islander from 1963 to 1976, Ralph Hunter's "From Calusas to Condominiums," and old plaques from post offices and bridges. Society President Michael Drake plans to add hours during the busy season if enough volunteers sign up, and the society also welcomes donations and artifacts.

The Karon Family Pavilion is the Green's covered stage, surrounded by benches, plantings and a walking path. The next date on the calendar is Light Up Longboat, which the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce lists for Saturday, Nov. 21, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Town Center Green, with food vendors, music, prizes and a tree lighting. Later in the season, the organizer's listing puts the 6th Annual Longboat Key Festival of the Arts at 600 Bay Isles Road on Feb. 20 and 21, 2027, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. It's worth checking the listing before you go.

The tree lighting comes 18 days after the election. By then, residents will know whether the county is still planning a March groundbreaking on the Green or has put the library on hold.

I'll be following the Town Center Green after both votes. If you'd like to talk through what the library decision could mean for the Bay Isles and Town Center area, Pamela Hagan is glad to help. Request a Private Consultation.