The Royal Treatment of Pat Neal vs. the Common Sense of Citizens

Cathy Antunes talks with Lourdes Ramirez about the recent public (8.27.24) hearing addressing Pat Neal's 3H Ranch - a 2727-acre system of 14 gated communities stretching from Clark Road on to the south, designed to contain 6500 homes.

The hearing, a week after Hurricane Debby showed us unprecedented flooding, ended with the Board's approval by a 4-1 vote (Mark Smith opposed) of the plan as submitted.

WSLR Public Affairs Interview 9.5.24





Commissioner Mark Smith's comments on the Neal Proposal -- "more planning needs to go into it." 


 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Flooding in Sarasota County is the topic of SCAN's Oct. 24 Meeting

Image
The next SCAN meeting will be at Selby Library on October 24. Laurel Meadows after Debby, August 2024 Three serious storms in the past three months have people asking why flooding occurred in areas that should have had stormwater protection. Nearly 2000 residents have signed a Petition asking the County to study what went wrong when Hurricane Debby flooded inland communities. Join us on Thursday, Oct. 24 at 5:30 PM to hear a professional stormwater engineer talk about the recent experience of flooding in Sarasota.  Twenty five years ago, Steve Suau was head of the county's stormwater department and played a key role in developing the Celery Fields stormwater management facility. He went on to a successful career in the private sector. Hurricane Ian flooded North Port and the Myakka in 2022. Helene and Milton wreaked havoc with coastal storm surges. After Debby flooded several areas of Sarasota County including Laurel Meadows, Pinecraft, and homes along Phillippi Creek in August ...
Read more

DR HORTON at the PLANNING COMMISSION Nov. 21

Image
If you care about the Celery Fields as a healthy public amenity for humans and wildlife, tell the Sarasota County Planning Commission that you oppose Rezone Petition RZ 23-30 . The Petition would give DR Horton the opportunity to build 170 homes on the Smith Farm property, yards away from the Raymond Road Boardwalk and a critical nesting area: Smith Farm is the light green - steps away from the Raymond Rd. Bird Walk and Nesting Area. Virtually the entire Farm property is a floodplain. Below, the FEMA map indicates that a very large portion of the Farm, showing in blue, is AE - which means it's in the 100-year floodplain. The grey area is in the 500-year floodplain: Smith Property: FEMA Flood Map  According to the Comprehensive Plan, the county is not supposed to approve dense housing in a floodplain. The reasons might be obvious after this hurricane season: Smith Farm under feet of water the day after Debby THREE THINGS TO DO: 1. WRITE to the Planning Commission ( planner@scg...
Read more

Protect the Celery Fields: Write to the Sarasota County Commission

Image
Horton proposes 126 homes on The Smith Farm Dear Friend of the Celery Fields,   Your letters and emails to the Planning Commission made all the difference.  We won that hurdle in protecting the Celery Fields from the Smith Farm development.   Now we must repeat our efforts and send statements to the County Commissioners right away so the new letters and emails will go the the Commissioners as early as possible.  Please don't delay because we only have days to make sure our letters are included in the board packet.   Below is some text you can copy, add to, or  write your own comments, then sign it. Be sure to put  Deny  RZ 23-30  in the email subject line.  More here  and here.   Commissioner emails:   commissioners@scgov. net   with  copy to  planner@scgov.net   We at Sarasota Audubon thank you for your efforts and hope to see you at the public hearing on Feb. 12th!  Here is a basic brief opt...
Read more