Town of Longboat Key
Longboat Key
One town, two counties, its own building division. Gulf of Mexico Drive is not a Sarasota County permit with a nicer address.
The Town is the jurisdiction
Longboat Key spans the county line. That does not mean you pick Sarasota County or Manatee County for the building permit. You file with the Town. Chapter 150 of the Town Code, the Building Official, Accela, and a staff that only reviews Longboat work. Guesswork on a mainland checklist gets rejected.
Site development plan review can be required before a building permit. Seawalls, shoreline work, and floodplain development have their own chapters. After Helene and Milton the Town was explicit: substantial improvement and substantial damage pull a house up to current flood elevation, mechanicals included. Below the flood level you get parking, access, and limited storage. Not a family room.
Wind, flood, and the CCCL
The Town states the island is a coastal high-hazard area. Design criteria they publish include 150-mile-per-hour wind load and wave action from storm surge. New residential construction in A-zone is elevated one foot above BFE. In V-zone it is three feet above BFE or the FDEP elevation, whichever is higher. Seaward of the CCCL, the same three-foot / FDEP rule applies across flood zones.
Those numbers are the Town's published rules, not a sales pitch. The lot's FIRM panel, elevation certificate, and whether you are west of Gulf of Mexico Drive will decide which of them actually govern. We read that before we argue about a roof pitch.
How the work has to feel
A narrow island, high expectations, and owners who travel. After the keys are handed over, many leave for a season. That is why Estate Management exists in the same family. Construction still has to be quiet, complete, and climate-honest while they are gone.
Gulf and bay exposures punish the wrong metal, the wrong window, and a casual flashing detail. We treat Longboat as its own place — not a Sarasota job with a boat.
Relevant work
Private Project Review
Planning work in Longboat Key?
Tell us the property and the intent. We will tell you whether Gulf & Key Construction is the right door — and which government you are actually filing with.