Jewfish Key residents withdrew a petition to withdraw from the town of Longboat Key.
The action May 31 resulted in the cancellation of a June 3 public hearing for the potential deannexation of the key.
Jewfish Key is a 38-acre island off the north end of Longboat Key that is home to 21 parcels owned by 11 entities, according to the Manatee County Property Appraiser website. There are nine residences.
The Jewfish Key Preserve Association, a homeowner’s association, in January requested disengagement from the municipal boundaries of Longboat Key to fall under the authority of unincorporated Manatee County.
JKPA’s submission required the town to complete a feasibility study and schedule a public hearing within six months of the petition submission.
An email from Aaron Thomas, an attorney with the Najmy Thompson law firm of Bradenton, to the town of Longboat Key Jan. 16 stated that more than 15% of eligible JKPC voters favored deannexation.
However, Thomas sent an email May 31 to town attorney Maggie Mooney retracting the petition.
“This decision comes as we are currently in the process of reassessing the Voluntary Contraction Petition in light of the findings and recommendations contained within the requested Voluntary Contraction of Jewfish Key Feasibility Study conducted by the Town of Longboat Key,” Thomas wrote.
So the town commission held its scheduled meeting, but not a public hearing.
Mayor Ken Schneier spoke at the meeting about the cost of time and resources to prepare for the hearing to an audience of just under 10 people.
Schneier also said more than 200 residents opposed deannexation on a petition circulated in the town.
Commissioner B.J. Bishop said the town might ask the Florida League of Cities to consider proposing legislation to protect municipalities from frivolous deannexation petitions.
“There are a number of other small communities that this could have a serious impact on,” she said.
She added, “The whole way the process is set up right now it is to the benefit of the petitioner, which in most cases is a developer. It put a lot of burden on our town staff, our town attorney and the extra legal counsel that we brought in. I truly believe there should be a financial consequence.”
“Why are we, the taxpayers, spending money for the benefit of someone? And then they go, oh no, just kidding,” she continued.
Jim Haft, a Longboat Key resident who attended the meeting, suggested a town fee for the filing of a deannexation petition.
“I am afraid these guys might be back. As much as I like to think this is the end of it, it’s probably not,” he said.
One possible reason the deannexation was proposed might lie in the difference between Longboat Key and unincorporated Manatee County policies on short-term rentals.
In residential zoned districts of Longboat Key, a short-term rental minimum stay is one month. And Jewfish Key is zoned as an island preserve residential district, meaning stays must comply with the one-month interval.
Meanwhile, Manatee County has no limits on short-term rentals.
“While no reason was given for the withdrawal, it’s my sincere hope that having reviewed the extensive study prepared by the town, our staff’s analysis of that study and the overwhelming opposition, the petitioners saw the wisdom of terminating this matter and remaining a part of our community, as they have been since its founding in 1955,” Schneier said.