The limbo started on an island in the West Indies as a folk dance and grew in popularity in the Caribbean.
But it might take some time for the city of Holmes Beach and the Bali Hai Beach Resort to get in sync.
City commissioners unanimously voted Sept. 15 to continue until the commission’s first October meeting a site plan review for the Bali Hai, where a bar/lounge area at the resort has evolved into a standoff between the resort and the city that has lasted more than a year. It has led to an ongoing circuit court case.
Bali Hai, 6900 Gulf Drive, opened in 1971 and was purchased by developer Shawn Kaleta in 2019 for about $20 million. He embarked on extensive renovations, including the addition of a spa and a bar serving alcoholic beverages.
City code enforcement officers issued a stop-work order related to the ongoing construction at the property last January.
The city then filed a legal complaint in May 2020 centered around the resort’s bar and lounge, arguing that the resort never submitted a site plan for the change of use and had performed work at the property that required permits.
Meanwhile, the resort continues to operate its bar/lounge — despite accruing $1,000 daily fines since June.
Bradenton-based attorney Louis Najmy, representing Bali Hai at the Sept. 15 hearing, argued that the code allowed the resort to open the accessory uses without prior city approval.
He added that the resort had submitted a site plan to the city so that the two parties could come to a resolution on the matter.
“We’ve got an olive branch out and we want to start anew,” Najmy said.
City staff presented the site plan with several suggested stipulations — including limitations on use of the bar/lounge and a requirement to apply for special event permits — but commissioners also made it clear that the submitted plan had little chance of gaining their approval.
Over the almost 2-hour discussion, every commissioner expressed doubt in the resort’s practices, casting claims that it works in “bad faith” by continuing its bar/lounge operations despite the city’s attempts to seek compliance through warnings and fines.
“They continue with their business as if they don’t have any fines at all,” Commissioner Jayne Christenson said. “They’re operating and snubbing their nose at us….”
“I won’t vote for anything.”
Commissioner Terry Schaefer said the resort’s record of noncompliance prevented him from believing Najmy’s pleas for cooperation.
“The record of accumulated violations is the longest I’ve ever seen in my tenure,” Schaefer said. “I think you operate in bad faith, quite frankly. … I think you’re a classic example of the problem we have in this community with people who believe they can come to us, operate as they see fit, then ask for forgiveness.”
Schaefer noted that the commission recently had to deny a special event permit for a wedding at the venue due to the resort’s noncompliance. He added that the resort’s representatives previously told commissioners the business wouldn’t be advertised as a venue for special events but, in fact, it was.
During public comment, two residents spoke in opposition to the resort’s bar/lounge area, saying the operation would worsen the resort’s impact on its neighbors by attracting people to the resort and increasing the probability of intrusive noise levels.
Najmy sympathized with people’s concerns but emphasized his party’s desire to move forward.
“There is no bad faith and no bad feelings towards the city,” Najmy said. “We want to end up putting all this stuff behind us.”
“I know it sounds funny — ‘Oh, well you’re still violating our rules’ — but remember, the whole point (for our argument) — that we believe we don’t have to be under these conditions.”
Christenson said she would not consider approving the resort’s site plan until it complied with city code and ceased serving people at the bar.
She added that she would like the resort to submit a new site plan returning the property to its previous layout, with the laundry room where the bar/lounge area is now.
In lieu of a resolution, which was not forthcoming, Schaefer recommended the commission bring the site plan back at a later date so they could consider stipulations explored during the lengthy discussion, such as buffering and additional parking.
The commission planned to revisit the Bali Hai agenda item at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 12, at city hall, 5801 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach.
