Longboat Key, Florida
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Longboat Key is a barrier island situated off of the central western coast of Florida in the United States of America. It is situated south of Tampa Bay, between Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. It is within both Manatee County and Sarasota County. Longboat Key is divided almost equally geographically between the two counties, with the entire island located within the boundaries of the Town of Longboat Key, a Florida municipality incorporated in 1955.
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[edit] History
The history of Longboat Key includes that of the Calusa and Timucuan Indians, who resided there in the 1500s--when the Gulf of Mexico was six feet lower than it is today. Longboat Key was initially settled by hardy pioneers who were awarded land grants under the Homestead Act of 1862.
Farming was extensive, with tomatoes, guavas, avocados and citrus crops abundant. The steamboat Mistletoe, out of Tampa, put in at Corey’s Landing, at mid-Key, and Longbeach, at the end of Broadway, to load crops and debark passengers during the early 1900s.
The 1921 hurricane flooded the Key and ended truck farming. That same year, Florida amended the Florida Constitution to include under it Sarasota County--and Longboat Key was divided in half: Manatee County in the north and Sarasota County in the south.
During World War II, the center of the island was a target range for Army Air Force pilots flying P-40s, B-26s and P-51s.
Tourism rose in the 1950s, the Town was incorporated in 1955, and Condominium living began in the late 1970s.
Today, located on Longboat Key are about 1,500 single family homes, 7,000 condominium units and about 1,000 tourist accommodations--a far cry from the fourteen families the Sarasota Times reported as residing on the Key in 1915.[1]
[edit] Government
The Town of Longboat Key municipal government includes a Commission that functions as an autonomous legislature, consults with a tenured Town Manager, and is advised by an expert and vital Planning and Zoning Board and a Zoning Board of Adjustment. The Town of Longboat Key operates the Town of Longboat Key Police Department[2] and the Town of Longboat Key Fire Department[3].
The United States Postal Service operates a Post Office on Longboat Key, with the entire island serviced within ZIP Code 34228.
The quasi-governmental form of the Condominium Association exists in one of its most complex forms in and on Longboat Key, comprising the Federation of Longboat Key Condominiums. In addition to the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce, and in concert with the Town of Longboat Key, these entities have made Longboat Key an exemplar for local government and citizen cooperation in participation and management for communities of its type.
Longboat Key is served by two newspapers, published year-round, the Longboat Observer and the Longboat Key News[4].
In recent years, 'federalizing' the Key, by having the U.S. Congress create the 'Longboat Key National Seashore', has been suggested. Currently, Longboat Key is located within two Florida counties: Manatee County in the north, and Sarasota County in the south, but there have been calls for the Florida Legislature to pursue an initiative to create a 68th county, 'Longboat Key County', to simplify governance of the island. Neither of these initiatives are likely to be realized, however.
The town's population was 7,603 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population of Longboat Key recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 7,622 [5].
[edit] Geography
Longboat Key is located at (27.396931, -82.644751)GR1. It is north of St. Armands Key, with its circle of shopping and dining, and Lido Key, and south of Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach, which are located on adjacent Anna Maria Island. The nearby cities of Sarasota and Bradenton and the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport round out Longboat Key's varied list of geographic amenities. Gulf of Mexico Drive runs the length of the island, with ancillary boulevards branching off to residential neighborhoods. In some places, one can see both Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico while remaining stationary in one spot. At other points, the island widens and accommodates various homes owned both singly and in condominium, hotels, and sports clubs.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 44.2 km² (17.1 mi²). 12.7 km² (4.9 mi²) of it is land and 31.5 km² (12.1 mi²) of it (71.18%) is water.
Some Longboat Key residents are "snowbirds", who vacation on or own second homes on Longboat Key, and are present only during the winter months. Others are homesteaders, utilizing the various homestead exemptions provided to Florida citizens who own and occupy their principal residences within the state, as set forth under the Florida Constitution.
There are numerous restaurants on Longboat Key: The Dry Dock, The Longboat Key Club Restaurant, and The Colony comprise a partial listing. There are also full-service grocery stores, including a Publix grocery store, and pharmacies, located centrally.
Most of the "Gulfside" of Longboat Key is comprised of beaches which front on the Gulf of Mexico.
[edit] Real Estate
Much of the land area of Longboat Key is annexed to homes owned both singly and in condominium. Most of the condominium associations co-own common elements which are comprised of pools, tennis courts, sites with water views, and access to the beaches.
Longboat Key is also home to the Longboat Key Club[6] club and resort. The Longboat Key Club is open to both visiting tourists and club members, and features an indoor restaurant, an outdoor restaurant, a pool, resort buildings, several golf courses, tennis courts, and easy access to an adjacent gulfside beach. The club is expertly decorated in various flora, and the grounds of it are, of course, extremely well maintained.
Almost the entire land area of Longboat Key is now occupied. The remaining older, singly-owned houses are as much as 45 years old, annexed to comparatively small parcels. In the last few years, these properties have been purchased by new owners who sought to and did demolish them in order build small, ornate homes worth much more, many being valued to amounts on the order of as much as a few million dollars, a peculiar outgrowth of the unlimited-in-value homestead exemption for principal residences from forced sale provided to homesteaders under the Florida Constitution. This diverse mix of homes owned both singly and in condominium line the many cul-de-sacs and boulevards branching off main roads towards both the bay and the gulf, with the length of the island served by Gulf of Mexico Drive.
[edit] Water
A perennial problem that had been adversely affecting Longboaters was water quantity and quality. Salinity and sedimentary factors threatened the availability of potable water to island residents, visitors and businesses. This problem was alleviated sufficiently as the Governing Board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District approved a connection to Sarasota County's water supply, augmenting the existing connection to that of Manatee County.[7]
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 7,603 people, 4,280 households, and 2,846 families residing in the town. The population density was 596.7/km² (1,546.4/mi²). There were 8,834 housing units at an average density of 693.3/km² (1,796.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 99.24% White, 0.07% African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.01% from other races, and 0.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.67% of the population.
There were 4,280 households out of which 3.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.3% were married couples living together, 1.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.78 and the average family size was 2.11.
In the town the population was spread out with 2.6% under the age of 18, 0.9% from 18 to 24, 5.7% from 25 to 44, 32.4% from 45 to 64, and 58.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 68 years. For every 100 females there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $90,251, and the median income for a family was $107,983. Males had a median income of $61,157 versus $30,104 for females. The per capita income for the town was $80,963. About 1.4% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.9% of those under age 18 and 2.0% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] External links
- Town of Longboat Key
- Longboat Key Center for the Arts
- Longboat Key Historical Society
- Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
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