JEWFISH KEY – The proposed de-annexation from the Town of Longboat Key of homes on Jewfish Key could potentially open the door there for the less restrictive short-term rental policies of unincorporated Manatee County.
Jewfish Key is currently zoned for residential use.
“In general, unless a property is zoned for tourism uses, minimum stays are required to be for a month or more,” Allen Parsons, director of the Longboat Key Planning, Zoning and Building Department wrote in an email to The Sun.
Manatee County has no short-term residential or vacation rental ordinances.
Parsons said that 22 properties would be impacted by de-annexation.
The town is conducting a feasibility study, which Parsons defined: “Per the Florida Statutes, a “feasibility study” means an analysis conducted by qualified staff or consultants of the economic, market, technical, financial and management feasibility of the proposed de-annexation.”
The Jewfish Key Preservation Collective (JKPC) presented the de-annexation petition to the town on Dec. 19, 2023 with the goal of disengaging from the town’s boundaries.
Attorney Aaron Thomas, of the Bradenton-based Najmy Thompson law firm, is representing the applicants. An email request from The Sun for comment was answered with the response that Thomas had no comment. JKPC President Michael Mincberg is listed as a principal in Sight Development, a Tampa-based multi-family development company. Mincberg did not respond to The Sun’s email request for comment.