At the Celery Fields: A brief request to planners reviewing the Horton proposal

Letter sent 4.15.24 to Sarasota County planners examining the DR Horton proposal to build 170 single family homes adjacent to the nesting area of the Celery Fields:

Celery Fields, Quads to the west,
Horton proposed site marked by yellow

RE: 23‐136008 PA

Planners,

I know you're all busy people - real quick: 

The Formal Review of the DR Horton project on Raymond Road faces one overriding issue: Will the still young, successful Celery Fields Trifecta - storm water management, bird sanctuary, and human/tourist recreational area - be compromised in any way by the intense construction of 170 single family homes on an adjacent former farm? 

The amenity that already exists is a magnet for residents and visitors, a gift loved by all.

The Celery Fields has also become a magnet for development along Axis Road, Palmer Boulevard and Fruitville Road. Had an open-air "recycling" facility been allowed on the southwest Quad, the real estate market could very well have lost its appetite for development close by.

Should the Horton project be permitted, and should it prove to compromise the growing success of this area where Sarasota Audubon and the Conservation Foundation intend quite soon to invest $5 million in a "re-wilding" program, the admiration for the Celery Fields could readily turn to disbelief, disdain, and even disgust with Sarasota County's administration, Board, and staff.

Before all else, the question is clear: Will existing beneficial uses of this amenity -- that took ingenuity, intelligent wildlife, and more than $70 million of our tax dollars to come into being -- be impacted by a developer's profiteering plan?

Much is at stake. As a successful enterprise used to say, "First do no harm." What targeted, binding stipulations can you require that might eliminate the manifold negative impacts of the Horton proposal upon the unique and fragile characteristics of the Celery Fields land uses? 


It's incumbent upon the County to demonstrate clearly and incontrovertibly how the Horton plan might be compatible with what our people, birds and other wildlife now enjoy. How many pool parties filled with lights and noise will it take to disrupt the peace of this area? Sufficient funds may be available to purchase the Smith family's land at the price they've agreed upon with Horton - a price inflated by the valuable amenity this proposal threatens to destroy.

Why take the chance? 

Respectfully,

Tom Matrullo

Sarasota Citizen Action Network
Citizens for Sarasota
Fresh Start
Lake Sarasota Community Group

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