SCANNING Sarasota PLANNING

Information on Smith Farms Hearing Smith Farms Hearing on Oct. 21 at 9 a.m. Sarasota County Commission Chambers  1660 Ringling Blvd, Sarasota On Tuesday, Oct. 21, the Sarasota County Commission will be asked to consider a new proposal from developer D.R. Horton for a residential community on the Smith Farms property on Raymond Road. The company revised its plans and is now asking for an  85-unit subdivision, after an initial request for 170 units. Additionally, the design reduces the number of entrances from two along Raymond Road to a single subdivision entrance in the southwest corner of the property. T his new proposal resulted from a state-authorized arbitration process that the company pursued  after the County Commission voted unanimously on Feb. 12 to deny a rezoning petition that D.R. Horton had submitted to county staff .  The discussion is No. 36 on the board’s Oct. 21 agenda. The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. in the Commission Chambers of the County Administration...

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 fo...

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