SCANNING Sarasota PLANNING

A letter from a SCAN member who asked to remain anonymous - the argument against Rezone 23-30 - the Smith Farm / DR Horton proposal - speaks for itself: On February 12, Sarasota County Commissioners will reveal whether they take flooding concerns seriously when they vote on a 50-acre rezoning request. Their decision on the Smith Properties project will indicate whether they are committed to preventing future flood disasters or continuing a troubling pattern of approving developments without fully assessing the risks. Recent storms have made it clear that Sarasota County has a flooding problem. In response, the commission asked stormwater expert Stephen M. Suau to conduct an independent review of the county’s stormwater regulations and operations. His recommendations are clear: the county should stop approving rezonings that increase housing density in 100-year floodplains unless developers first conduct a complete flood model analysis proving that the project will not cause off-site fl...

  Request to Attend The Gulf Gate Golf Course Acquisition has been listed as a 2025 Policy Agenda item for the Sarasota County Board of Commissioners.  A key to purchasing the 49-acre parcel is funding.  Your prior participation in emails and attendance in 2023 was effective and thank you.    Sarasota County will receive $210 million in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds to support long-term recovery efforts from the 2024 storms Debby, Helene and Milton.   The Gulf Gate Golf Course acquisition qualifies and will be submitted by the Gulf Gate Community Association.    We are reaching out to request that you attend and speak for one minute at the County’s Resilient SRQ public meetings.  Numbers of attendees is important. The County Commissioners will get a tally of how many people showed up for the public meeting about the Gulf Gate Golf Course acquisition  and the number of s...