Last month, the Indian Rocks Beach City Commission voted to become more dog friendly, adopting a bill recently passed by state legislation that allows for dogs in dining establishments. The ordinance, will take effect on Oct. 1 and is strictly voluntary-the decision to allow dogs to dine will be left to the business owner.
The new law applies only to dogs, and is restricted to outdoor areas such as decks or patios. There are 13 doggy dining regulations, like requiring employees not to touch or pet the dogs while serving, not allowing dogs to come in contact with any dishes or utensils used for food service, and hand sanitizer is to be provided at all outdoor tables where dogs are allowed.
Other Florida municipalities that have approved doggy dining: Bradenton, Cocoa Beach, Crystal River, Dunedin, Ft Walton Beach, Jacksonville, Manatee County, Melbourne, Miami Beach, Neptune Beach, Ocala, Orlando, Osceola County, Panama City Beach, Sarasota, Siesta Key, St Augustine, St Petersburg, Tampa, Winter Park. For a complete list visit http://www.floridapetfriendly.com/
Clearwater Beach will finally get a long awaited parking garage. The City Council voted unanimously on a 300 space 4 level garage with ground floor retail space on Beach Walk. Vehicles will enter and exit the garage from Coronado Drive.
The site is currently the home of Britt's Laguna Grill, a popular restaurant on the Beachwalk promenade. A new Britt's will be located on the ground floor. Surf Style Retail Management, who owns the site will pay to build the garage itself, with no city tax dollars.
It has not yet beeen determined what the city will charge for parking, but it will likely be similar the agreement the city has with the Hyatt, which will have 400 parking places for the public in its 750-space garage - rates must be "comparable" to the garages of other beachfront resorts.
The Beachwalk project, which was completed last year, eliminated hundreds of waterfront parking spaces on S. Gulfview Blvd, and the city has been scrambling ever since to come up with replacements. The city is currently leasing 2 vacant lots for parking.
The project is expected to to be complete by next fall.
The Indian Rocks Beach City Commission voted on Feb. 10 to make golf carts street legal on most of its roadways. If you've never been there, Indian Rocks is a quirkly little beach town dotted with cottages along a white sandy beach. Many residents get around on foot or by bike, visiting the local art shops and restaurants.
To be street legal a golf cart must be equipped with seat belts, headlights, turn signals, stop lamps and parking brakes, a windshield, rear view mirror and can only be driven by a licensed driver.
It's not all good news though. The vote permits golf carts on streets owned and operated by the municipality, but not on Gulf Blvd, which is owned by the state (South of Walsingham) and the county (North of Walsingham). In order to get to the beach, drivers must cross Gulf Blvd. The city will need to address whether or not carts are able to safely cross Gulf Blvd and identify crossing locations with signage. Indian Rocks Beach is the first of the gulf beaches to adopt golf carts, but there are a few other nearby communities that permit them.
In 2005 Ozona and Crystal Beach (although "beach" is in the name, it is not one of the gulf beach barrier islands) became the first communities in Pinellas County to allow golf carts, and Pinellas Park is now considering it.
Richard Egolf
Sand Key's only pizza shop shut down a few months back to the dismay of many residents who liked to stop in for a slice and then walk it off on the beach. Well, a new owner has taken the space and opened a new pizza restaurant. And I do mean new - new owner, new kitchen, new staff, and new pizza. This is Chicago style. Some folks will grumble a bit, missing their NY style pie, but their are plenty of Illinois residents here that wil take their place in linel I stopped in for a slice and met one of the new owners. They are from Illinois where they have operated pizza shops for many years. I have to say it was great, even though I'm partial to NY style (I can't help it, I grew up in NJ). Lots of cheese and cripsy crust, who can argue with that? They also serve salad and sandwiches. If your in town stop in, it's called Litted Italian Pizza, and it's located right in the middle of the Shoppes of Sand Key plaza.
After many years of proposed changes for the Cabana Club, a new plan looks like it will stick. The Cabana Club is owned Legg Mason, overs of the Belleview Biltmore Hotel in Belleair. The property is the "beach club" for Biltmore guests, providing a pool, beach, and gulf front dining at the Cabana Grill.
The new plan is proposed by Legg Mason, who recently purchased the Belleview Biltmore and Cabana Club. The redevelopment of the Cabana Club will be part of the historic preservation of the Belleview Biltmore. The Cabana Club changes include tearing down the exisitng restaurant and replacing it with a new one. In addition, a 6 story boutique hotel will be added just south of where the existing Cabana Club condos sit. There will be under-building parking, beach cabanas, and a water taxi to shuttle guests between the two properties.
The property has long been in need of updating and repairs, it was deemed unsafe for a time in 1998. It has never been a question of "if" but "when" the property would be demolished. Previous owners of the property had plans that called for buildings as tall as 13 stories. Neighboring condo owners were vehemently opposed to this, as it would severely impede their views. Most of the residents like the new plan, but a few still have reservations. Over in Belleair, Legg Mason has made a real effort to listen to resident concerns regarding the main resort project, and has made many changes to address resident concerns. One the concerns at the Cabana Club is the potential boat noise from the shuttle boats docking. The owners are considering using a boat slip further away to remedy this.
Sand Key, Belleair, and Clearwater
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