The Bradenton Beach Planning and Zoning Board voted Jan. 7 to recommend approval of a major redevelopment plan for the Bungalow Beach Resort.
The decision advances an application made by owner Gayle Luper to rebuild the resort destroyed by hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024.
The plan calls for a 15-room hotel with two habitable stories elevated over ground-level parking and an outdoor pool on three parcels in the 2000 block of Gulf Drive North. The site is zoned R-3 multifamily with a high-density residential future land-use designation, which allows hotel and motel uses.
City planner Luis Serna said the former resort would exceed today’s hotel density limits, but it is eligible to be rebuilt under the city’s post-disaster redevelopment provisions. Nonconforming structures destroyed in a natural disaster can be rebuilt at the same density and building volume, provided modern flood and setback requirements are met.
Project architect John Garra of Square One Architecture said the redesigned resort consolidates the former bungalow-style layout into a single elevated structure to comply with floodplain regulations.
The proposed resort, in addition to 15 guest rooms and parking, would include an elevator and offices.
Serna said staff reviewed building volume calculations, comparing the former and proposed structures, and found the project consistent with land development code, comprehensive plan and concurrency requirements.
Also, he said the redevelopment would not increase impervious surface area and would consolidate three driveways into one access point to improve traffic safety along the curved stretch of Gulf Drive.
Board members spent much of the hearing discussing proposed conditions of approval, particularly related to parking.
Staff recommended limiting on-site parking to use by hotel guests, employees and associated hotel operations, a condition intended to prevent the property from being used for paid public parking or other accessory commercial activity without special permit approval.
Garra said the language could limit lawful use of the property.
“The way this is written, it excludes vendors and guests from using the parking lot, which is more restrictive than the land development code,” Garra said.
“It would be clearer and more accurate to say the project must follow the zoning code, rather than making up new rules through the approval process that could come back later and restrict the property owner,” he added.
Serna said the condition was meant to ensure the site operates as a hotel.
After some discussion, the board voted to recommend approval. Dan Morhaus voted against the application, citing concerns that the parking restriction should have been removed.
Luper, in a Jan. 8 email to The Islander, said she accepted the parking condition “under protest” to keep the project moving forward. She said the board exceeded its authority by imposing operational restrictions not in the LDC.
The city commission will consider the P&Z’s recommendation at noon Thursday, Jan. 15, at city hall, 107 Gulf Drive N.