Sarasota News Leader
December 6, 2013
Page 57
which rent equipment such as bicycles and As a result of the crackdown, Martha Smith
Segways, for example; the other would cover told SKVA members in June that she saw
retail companies.
sales at her shop, Le Grand Bisou Caribbean
Boutique, drop from $1,600 a day to $195 a
Several businesses on the south end of the
day in one week.
island have been involved in the process along
with those in Siesta Village, he noted.
James Ritter, owner of Siesta Key Outfitters,
added that his sales fell 90 percent the day
In May during a meeting organized by the SKVA,
after a Code Enforcement officer told him
Sarasota County staff explained provisions of
he no longer could display items outside his
the Siesta Key Overlay District (SKOD), the
front door to attract shoppers.
zoning ordinance that governs all of Siesta
Key. In the following weeks, several business The SKVA hosted another meeting on the
owners protested that Code Enforcement staff SKOD on Nov. 12, SKVA President Cheryl
had warned them they no longer could display Gaddie pointed out during the regular session
merchandise outside their shops because the on Dec. 3. About 30 people were present, she
SKOD did not allow that.
said. "It was really a good forum."
Le Grand Bisou had no outdoor displays after Code Enforcement staff warned business owners in late
spring that such activity was not allowed by the Siesta Key zoning code. File photo
