Town of Longboat Key permits for driveways, decks and pool decks
One town government for both county halves, a flood code that checks every permit, and a lighting ordinance with a wavelength in it.
- Office
- Planning, Zoning & Building, Town Hall, 501 Bay Isles Rd, Longboat Key 34228
- Phone
- (941) 316-1999; Code Enforcement (941) 316-1966 ext. 2520
- Flood code
- Chapter 154; substantial improvement / damage review
- Turtle code
- Chapter 100, Ordinance 2021-01
What does the Town of Longboat Key require for driveways, decks and pool decks?
A Town permit and Planning & Zoning review for at-grade driveways, decks and patios, which the code treats as exceptions to be approved under its zoning criteria, and a substantial-improvement or substantial-damage check on every permit for a property in that review. The island is AE and VE end to end, so the check applies almost everywhere. Lighting visible from the beach must meet Chapter 100 from May 1 to October 31.
Checked September 10, 2026. Fees and forms change by resolution; confirm with the office before you rely on them. The Town's building FAQ pages moved during a website update and returned 404 when this site tried to read them; the summary comes from the Town's code (Chapters 154 and 158) and its turtle-lighting pages.
What usually applies
| Work | Town requirement |
|---|---|
| Driveway, deck or patio at grade | Planning & Zoning approval as an exception; building permit |
| Pool deck replacement | Permit; site improvement documented against the SI/SD file |
| Any work after storm damage | Permit; substantial-damage determination on the building |
| Beach-visible lighting | 560 nm or longer bulbs, fully shielded downward fixtures, FWC-certified where possible |
| Community review | Bay Isles, Longboat Key Club, Country Club Shores and condominiums review first |
Official links
Questions we get about this
Does the Town of Longboat Key require a permit for a paver driveway or pool deck?
The Town's Planning & Zoning division reviews driveways, decks and patios directly at grade under its zoning criteria and approves them as exceptions, and every permit on a property subject to substantial-improvement or substantial-damage review goes through the Town. Treat any driveway or deck change as a Town permit until the Building Division tells you otherwise.
What is substantial damage on Longboat Key?
Under the Town's flood code (Chapter 154), substantial damage is damage where the cost to restore the building to its pre-damage condition would equal or exceed 50 percent of its market value before the damage. A substantially improved or damaged building must be brought into compliance, including elevation to the Flood Protection Elevation.
Does a new pool deck count against that 50 percent?
Site improvements outside the building generally don't, under FEMA's guidance, but the Town documents them in the file. The permit application shows the work as a site improvement so the reviewer can exclude it.
Which county's rules apply?
The Town's. Longboat Key spans Sarasota and Manatee counties but has its own building, zoning, flood and turtle codes for the whole island.
One town, two counties, every permit reviewed for flood
The Town of Longboat Key issues permits for the whole island, including the Manatee County half, so the county line does not change the process. What does change the process is that the island is entirely within FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas, so the Town's floodplain management rules under Chapter 154 of its code sit behind every application.
Substantial damage is defined as damage where the cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would equal or exceed fifty percent of its market value before the damage. Where a building is substantially improved or substantially damaged, it must be brought into compliance with flood damage prevention regulations, including elevation to the flood protection elevation. All repairs and improvements on a property subject to that review must be permitted through the Town.
Where hardscape sits in that review
Driveways, decks and patios at grade are reviewed by the Planning and Zoning division against the Town's zoning criteria. The important distinction for an owner is that site improvements such as a driveway or a pool deck are not part of the structure, and federal guidance excludes outside improvements to the land from the fifty percent calculation. That does not mean the work is invisible to the Town: on a property already under substantial-improvement or substantial-damage review, the hardscape permit is documented alongside the rest of the file.
The practical sequence on Longboat Key after the 2024 storms has therefore been: document the damage, establish whether the building is in substantial-damage review, then permit the site work with that file referenced. Doing it in the other order is how owners end up re-submitting.
Turtle lighting is a construction specification here
The Town adopted Ordinance 2021-01 on July 2, 2021 for the protection of marine turtles under Chapter 100 of its code. All artificial lighting, direct or indirect, visible from the beach must use turtle-friendly bulbs and fixtures. Turtle-friendly bulbs are FWC Certified Wildlife Lighting, or bulbs producing only long-wavelength light at 560 nanometers or more without filters, gels or lenses. Turtle-friendly fixtures are FWC certified, or fully shielded, downward directed, meeting and exceeding full cut-off, with non-reflective opaque interior surfaces.
Code Enforcement will test bulbs and conduct property lighting surveys on request at (941) 316-1966, extension 2520. For a hardscape job this means fixture selection is part of the specification from the first drawing, not a finishing decision, because a path or step light chosen for its look and rejected in August is a rework.
Practical details
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Town Hall | 501 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key, FL 34228; hours 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Phone | (941) 316-1999; Code Enforcement (941) 316-1966 ext. 2520 |
| Departments | Planning, Zoning and Building; Building Division; Code Enforcement |
| Flood | AE and VE island-wide; Helene measured a 6.68-foot surge here in September 2024 |
| Turtle season | May 1 to October 31, Chapter 100, Ordinance 2021-01 |
| Associations | Bay Isles, Longboat Key Club, Country Club Shores and most condominiums review exterior changes separately |
Last reviewed September 10, 2026 by the Sarasota Concrete editorial team (author name pending owner input).