Cabana Club Restaurant To Be Before Code Enforcement BoardBy Anne McKay GarrisThe Cabana Club Restaurant on Sand Key has been sited for violations of the Clearwater Building Codes. The restaurant is a controversial part of the overall plan for redeveloping the Belleview Biltmore Hotel, in Belleair. When the plans were first presented, residents of Sand Key expressed vigorous opposition because, they said, the plan called for overdevelopment of the Sand Key part of the property. It also called for a serious reduction in the required parking to serve the restaurant, leaving a potential for overcrowding of the available parking in the area. An organization, which was named Save Our Neighborhood, had a record number of people at the Clearwater City Hall when the permission to rebuild on the site was obtained from the City Council. Currently the plans are in limbo as there have been changes in the schedule of developing both the Hotel in Belleair and the property on Sand Key. In the interim Clearwater Code Enforcement officials have cited the restaurant owners because of the "extreme deterioration of the building and the chunks of concrete falling to the ground," causing a safety hazard for the neighborhood. A hearing before the Clearwater Code Enforcement Board will be held on Thursday, August 25, at 3:00 p.m. at Clearwater City Hall. The leaders of Save Our Neighborhood and the Cabana Club Home Owners Association urge their members to be at the hearing before the Code Enforcement Board to support the City's efforts to remove the safety hazards on the property. It is believed that the restaurant's owner will be present to protest the City's finding. If the Board determines that the conditions are hazardous and have not been corrected, they will place a daily fine on the property until conditions are corrected.
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