November Update for Our Bee Ridge Residents

After three consecutive hurricanes and an election, life is starting to return to a new normal for those of us living in the Bee Ridge neighborhood. There is even talk of our storm debris being picked up soon so we will not have to look at it every day and be reminded of what we went through this summer. Let's hope that whatever is brewing in the Carribean this late in the season does not materialize or at least does not land here in Sarasota, further complicating our rather defenseless and already fragile situation.

Here is what is happening in terms of development, things you need to know, and some opportunities for you to get involved.

1. A new County Board of Commissioners (BCC). Shortly after the official election results come out on November 15th, we will have a newly constituted County Board of Commissioners. There will be some familiar and some new faces to fill three of the five seats up for re-election on the Board. The previous Board rarely saw a land use development application that it objected to. Moreover, they tried to advance many applications over the hot and stormy summer with its crowning achievement being the approval of Pat Neal's 3H Ranch located just off Clark Road to the south of Bee Ridge on flood prone land with a large number of exceptions granted from our zoning and building codes. But the BCC concluded it term with a whimper after a number of canceled meetings interrupted by unprecedented back-to-back hurricanes, subsequent storm damage including to the County Administration Building Downtown Sarasota where meetings previously took place. The new BCC will get back to work shortly. We will highlight its agenda, planned public hearings and supporting documents as we look for more effective ways for our neighborhood residents to be informed and involved.

   
   

2. Change may be good. BCC Commissioner Ron Cutsinger for District 5 was "re-elected" without opposition and thus did not appear on the ballot. Tom Knight with concerns about overdevelopment, beat Neil Rainford in the GOP primary for District 3 and went on to prevail over independent Sharon Thornton in the general election. With our district representative Mike Moran's term expiring and his eyes focused on becoming our county tax collector, Teresa Mast with Planning Commission experience and developer support beat Alex Coe in the GOP primary for District 1 and ran unopposed in the general election (except for possible write- in candidates). Neither the Sarasota Elections Supervisor's website nor the local press have published the" results" of Mast's electoral showing indicating how many votes she received and confirming her election to the Board of County Supervisors. Apparently, we have to wait for the final results to be certified in the next few days.

   
   

3. Changes in composition of County Advisory Commissions. A new BCC eventually means changes to the people appointed to the County-created commission's that advise our elected leaders once their terms on the advisory committees expire. We are particularly interested in the Planning Commission (PC) as it is the first stop for all the rezoning and special exceptions. Five of the current nine voting members' terms expire in 2025. This will give the new BCC a chance to replace the majority of the PC with new members to serve four-year terms and for Bee Ridge residents or others concerned with sustainable growth to raise their hands and volunteer. We will alert Bee Ridge residents about such opportunities as they are published on the County website.

   
   

4. Another controversial rezoning application. The Planning Commission will conduct a hearing at 5 pm on November 21st in Venice on DR Horton's application to build 170 residences on the Smith Farm, adjacent to the Celery Fields. Recall that this area flooded extensively earlier this year as it was planned to as part of the County's inadequate storm water management defenses. Sarasota Citizens Action Network (SCAN) is challenging this application for a rezoning and special exception, arguing that such development on flood prone land is irresponsible both for future residents who might live there and the rest of the county that needs a more resilient and up to date system for handling future storm water events. We could use support from all of our Bee Ridge neighbors by writing to our Planning Commission members, showing up at the hearing and speaking out. If interested in challenging this ridiculous application, please contact us and we will provide briefing materials with any number of issues that need to be raised.

   
   

5. Site development at Hi Hat and 3H Ranches. SEERD and our partner organizations are monitoring site preparation and emerging site development plans for the two large communities taking shape to the east and south of the Bee Ridge neighborhood. There will be many twists and turns over the coming years of consequence to our neighborhood and which are anything but transparent or allow public input. We will need more volunteers who are interested in following these developments via contact with County staff, filing public document requests, and meeting with the developers from time to time. SEERD is considering taking on some interns who want growth management experience working with a not-for-profit organization such as SEERD and help our Board and its small group of planning and development professionals. We will have more to report on this next month.

   
   

6. Resuming BCC public hearings. The new BCC which is probably monitoring the clean-up and recovery after our busy hurricane season has announced a number of public hearings on rezoning and special exception applications also to take place in Venice until the County Administration Building in downtown Sarasota has been repaired. We will share the announcements and meeting agendas with our Bee Ridge neighbors so that you are aware of what is being proposed even though the county has not yet figured out how to make future growth sustainable.

   
   

7. No hurry to prevent future flooding. The BCC has not yet addressed the causes and possible solutions to avoid reoccurrence of the flooding during and after Hurricane Debby earlier this year. Steve Sauer, a retired county water engineer has completed his analysis of the likely causes and recommended solutions, shared those with the public at a recent SCAN meeting with findings posted on its website. Steve has conferred with County staff but appears unable to get on the BCCs busy agenda until perhaps January. Why the rush?

   
   

8. The Classical Academy (TCA) expansion plans are entirely inconsistent with the nature of our neighborhood, contain additional improvements not envisioned in its approved Binding Development Site Plan and still is not supported by adequate roadway infrastructure. TCA is raising funds to finance the purchase the Grace Church property on Bee Ridge Road where it had been a tenant until early October, by using a $18.1 million municipal bond issue. It also seeks to refinance its modular classrooms, retire some of its debt from the site improvements made recently, and cover the costs of its move and ongoing consolidation of students from Fruitville Road. TCA also has ambitious plans, if it can muster the resources, to construct new buildings and facilities by 2026 so that it can expand its student body beyond the 900 or so students it currently claims to have enrolled and reach the 1300 student body threshold that it applied for permission to operate under SE 1874. SEERD is studying the solicitation being pitched to school families, many who were previously on a waiting list and replaced those who moved their children out of TCA last year. The bond offering is also being marketed to potential "large investors" who will be needed to realize the goal of $35 million sought to complete the school's expansion. More on this to come.

   
   

9. TCA's ongoing site development struggles create adverse Impacts on surrounding property and the entire neighborhood. TCA is still struggling with site development to accommodate its current student load and consolidate those from its Fruitville Road campus to make way for another for-profit Charter School that is seeking County approvals. After completing most of its traffic related improvements on Bee Ridge Road, it's not clear if the school has completed the upgrades to existing structures and the proper installation of its modular classrooms needed to comply with County building codes and other safety standards. It's also unclear if those traffic upgrades as required by BCC stipulations will be adequate to prevent expected traffic congestion and unsafe conditions that SEERD forecast over a year ago. This is especially concerning as the intensity of land use increases at the Bee Ridge Road site from the estimated 300 or so students there at the start of the school year to as many as 900 after consolidation, not to mention the goal of a 1300 student body all located on Bee Ridge Road. We continue to carefully observe and document the site development underway and welcome input from all Bee Ridge residents who are being impacted.

   
   

SEERD will continue to monitor developments at TCA with the intention of mitigating negative impacts on our neighborhood. With the help of our attorney and volunteer subject matter experts, we are in contact with County Planning and Code Enforcement staff to provide to us public information and get updates on compliance and enforcement actions. We are also actively pursuing our original judicial appeal against issuance of the Special Exception currently with the 2nd District Court in St. Petersburg. Finally, we are awaiting judgement from the 12th Circuit Court here in Sarasota concerning our challenge to the County's controversial approval for modular classrooms after oral arguments were heard before Judge Walker in mid-September.

Our ability to continue oversight on TCA to force effective mitigation measures and where necessary challenge key aspects of its operations and future site development depends on contributions from our Bee Ridge neighbors. Our work to keep tabs on these other consequential developments to our east and south would greatly benefit from more residents volunteering and joining those of us who have been involved from the beginning. We would also welcome more direct neighborhood HOA involvement as appropriate to protect the interests of community members. Your time, energy, and ideas would be welcome and give fresh impetus to our efforts to protect our neighborhood and address the County-wide overdevelopment problem head on.

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

Miles Toder, Ph.D.

President, Sarasota East Enders for Responsible Development