End of Year Update

Bee Ridge Neighbors, as we start a New Year and the end of a tumultuous 2024, here is where we stand, some of what we have accomplished and what we want to prioritize for 2025. We have some reasons to celebrate and hope for the future, but considerable headwinds prevail here in Sarasota. This will require vigilance and more strategic participation on the part of concerned county residents.

First, on the 17th of December 2024, in what we believe is an attempt to stop us from exercising our rights of free speech and participating as citizens, TCA filed a complaint against SEERD, claiming defamation, tarnishing TCA’s reputation, and harassment. We believe that this is an attempt to use the courts to frighten us into silencing our objections, from actively participating in planning, development and local governance and protecting our unique neighborhood, communities and individual properties.

Sarasota East Enders - Summons.pdf

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We will not be silenced by frivolous lawsuits, nor will we cease to inform you of the developments both at 8000 Bee Ridge Road, as well as countywide developments that threaten our way of life here in the East End. To do this would play directly into the hands of our opponents.

Because of this pending legal action, we cannot go into further detail about our actions in this respect, other than to post the formal complaint to our website, as it is a matter of public record. Below you will find the most recent information about the issues at TCA as we see them, along with an update about countywide developments that affect us all.

Please note that our success in putting a quick end to this lawsuit will once again depend on your generous donations. Now is not the time to read about our actions and then to forget to donate. We need your support now more than ever.

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Thanks for your continuing interest and support to protect our neighborhood.

1. Ongoing legal challenges to TCA. SEERD still has two legal challenges pending against TCA and actions taken by Sarasota County.

   
   

   1. The most recent filing with the 2nd District Court in St. Petersburg seeks to overturn the granting of Special Exception (SE) 1874 in July 2023 for TCA to operate a private school with up to 1300 students at 8000 Bee Ridge Road. After participating in a neighborhood workshop and public hearings resulting in county approval, SEERD challenged the SE in September 2023 before the 12th Circuit Court in Sarasota on the grounds that the County erred in granting the special exception by not following its own criteria and failing to properly ascertain and propose effective mitigation measures to avoid detrimental impacts on adjacent land uses and the Bee Ridge neighborhood. In July of this year, we learned that the 12th Circuit Court did not agree with our challenge and so we strengthened and expanded upon our argument and completed filing our appeal with the 2nd District court in mid-December where a panel of judges will review the case.

      
      

   2. On September 19th, SEERD, the County and TCA presented oral arguments before Judge Walker on the 12th Circuit Court based on SEERDs initial challenge filed earlier in the year to the BCCs approval of a modified Binding Development Site Plan (BDSP) given in March of 2024. That approval allowed most of the 50+ modular classrooms that were first placed in August 2023 on TCA's campus without the required permits and cited by a County Special Magistrate in early 2024 as a violation, to be permitted. Based on our reading of the Unified Development Code (UDC) and underlying land use policy we believe that the BCC erred in its approval. We await Judge Walker's decision.

      
      

2. Monitoring possible TCA building and land development code violations.  As TCA struggles to consolidate its students and teachers at its Bee Ridge campus, growing resident and business concerns have been incorporated into multiple County Code Enforcement complaints filed by our legal counsel. Possible code violations relating to public safety and welfare consequences of poorly mitigated traffic congestion, suitability of existing structures and newly added modular classrooms for students and teachers were raised and met so far with mixed results. The County in early August ordered TCA to comply with several stipulations included in its Special Exception granted, over a year ago, regarding road improvements on Bee Ridge Road as student numbers on its new campus surged. Those improvements have mitigated the traffic situation since the start of the school year. Further monitoring of the road's level of service along with accident data will, according to the Special Exception's stipulations need to be considered by TCA and the County and may require additional measures be taken on this two-lane segment of Bee Ridge Road and its connecting road network.

   
   

   Currently, there are two active complaints filed by our attorney with County Code Enforcement that we are monitoring to improve compliance and seek to mitigate adverse impacts. 

   
   

   1. The first complaint raised questions based on concerns from neighborhood residents and supported by information obtained through publicly accessible databases of county permit applications. This information was augmented by several public document requests about the suitability of existing structures and the modular trailers, that were renovated and installed over the summer with county issued building permits to use as classrooms. Our attorney was informed that some of this information was unavailable.  Because we believe that there is a public interest in knowing that our schools and other structures comply with applicable codes and are indeed safe, we are asking our attorney to clarify this response.

      
      

   2. The second complaint focuses on informal parking of vehicles not provided for in the approved BDSP and incursions into a County designated wetland on the northeast portion of the site.  After looking into these matters, the County has agreed that there may be a compliance issue with the parking situation not conforming with the approved plans, but they are inclined to treat it as a case of "overflow" rather than a violation. On the wetlands incursion the county claims to be investigating. SEERD will be consulting with our neighbors, partner organizations and attorneys to get opinions on possible next steps.

1. Pyrrhic win at the Planning Commission to Save the Celery Fields and maybe Sarasota. As widely reported, the County Planning Commission by a very narrow margin voted against endorsing DR Horton's gambit to build 170 homes on flood prone land known as the Smith Farm, adjacent to the Celery Fields and located just northwest of the Bee Ridge neighborhood. Strong public opposition at the public hearing was voiced from residents with concerns ranging from stormwater management and flooding, recreation and conservation, impacts on neighbors and neighborhoods, and economic and fiscal considerations, to which the applicant had few good answers. The petition is expected to come back early next year before the Board of County Commissioners for a hearing and vote to approve or deny. At that time the developer will strengthen the case for building in that location and opponents including The Audubon Society and Sarasota Citizens Action Network will seek to have the BCC turn it down to protect the neighborhoods and the county. The definitive public hearing before the BCC is now scheduled for February 12th and SEERD together with its partners will work with those who wish to speak up to deliver their views either in writing or in person.

   
   
   
   

2. New for-profit Charter School on Fruitville Road at the First Baptist Church site reapplies for rezoning and Special Exception. The Planning Commission turned down the applicant's petition earlier this year based on access and egress concerns impacting public safety, and at the last minute the applicant withdrew its petition before the County Board of Commissioners this summer. But with TCA, the current occupants of the site almost completely relocated to our neighborhood on Bee Ridge Road along with its traffic problems, various code compliance issues and an unbuffered parking display, the Charter School developer reapplied. The Planning Commission held a public hearing on December 5th to review its new application and hear public comments. Despite continued opposition from neighboring landowners and other community interest groups, the Planning Commission unanimously recommend its approval to the BCC. What changed? Aside from reduced risk that TCA might be rendered homeless, the fact that the County after several years of studies and designs, finally earmarked around $14 million from the 2025 capital improvement budget to widen portions of Fruitville Road from I-75 to Lorraine Road and this seemed sufficiently reassuring. The matter comes before the BCC for a public hearing now scheduled for January 28th. Let's see what the County staff and the developer's traffic engineers come up with in terms of the ability of our local road system to accommodate the growing traffic load, its impacts on mobility and safety of county residents. Again, we will have an opportunity to weigh in and help neighbors participate.

   
   
   
   
   
   

3. Lakewood Ranch SE, Areas 1,6, and 7 Rezoning hearing at the Planning Commission on December 19th. Notwithstanding an enormous number of already approved and yet to be built homes, together with commercial and office space in Sarasota County, another large development made up of several individual applications is under consideration located southeast of Lakewood Ranch between University Parkway and Fruitville Road. Several of these applications were approved at a public hearing on December 19th before the Planning Commission including Rezone 24-08 and 23-21 seeking additional densities for residential development. All together these proposals will eventually encompass roughly 4000 acres of land on which developers anticipate building about 5000 new homes. The problem is less the scale because there are a number of much larger developments on the drawing board. But the location is a part of the county that currently helps absorb rainwater to mitigate flooding elsewhere in the watershed, provides deep wells from which much of our drinking water comes from, has limited public infrastructure and plays host to properties with conservation easements and homes located on larger properties. We will report out the issues raised, and answers provided by county staff and developers from several workshops that have taken place. We hope to share these details in advance of the public hearing for final approval before the BCC now scheduled on January 28th so that anyone interested in providing comments can do so.

   
   

4. County Commission to examine its capital projects with a view toward prioritizing storm water management infrastructure to mitigate flooding and met other urgent needs associated with overdevelopment. Tom Knight's addition to the Board of County Commissioners has encouraged the Board to take a fresh look at County capital investment projects in light of this year's natural and manmade disasters to consider new priorities to mitigate future damage that could meet the infrastructure and service deficits that we are experiencing and accommodate future growth. The BCC now has a workshop scheduled for its January 21st meeting to look at storm water management, identify answers to why we flooded during Hurricane Debby, and consider preventive measures so that future storms do not result in the loss of lives and property. We will provide a reminder of the upcoming BCC meeting and workshop and share the background studies that have been done for anyone who is interested and/or wants to participate.

   
   

5. Something is changing in Manatee County. Following the election of several new County Commissioners, there appears to be a change of attitude in how to handle future growth so that it can proceed in a more orderly and sustainable fashion. Development applications are receiving greater scrutiny and impact fees, one way to finance necessary infrastructure and public services are being increased. We will be watching our neighboring county which has had challenges similar to us in Sarasota to see if there are better ways to direct and manage future development and provide the necessary infrastructure.

For a summary of all scheduled public hearings on development applications of significance county-wide and likely to impact our neighborhood please see the link provided by our partner Sarasota Citizens Action Network (SCAN) below:

Planning Issues Coming Before Sarasota County Commission

Miles Toder, Ph.D.

President, Sarasota East Enders for Responsible Development