SCANNING Sarasota PLANNING

Sarasota County is considering revising its Neighborhood Workshop policy to return to an in-person format. SCAN fully endorses this. We ask all who understand how significant this public communication is to write in favor of this resolution to the County Commission - the Board's email address is   Commissioners@scgov.net The commissioners' individual emails: Ron Cutsinger  rcutsinger@scgov.net Tom Knight  tknight@scgov.net Teresa Mast tmast@scgov.net Dr. Joe Neunder  jneunder@scgov.net Mark Smith  mhsmith@scgov.net                       ======================  December 08, 2025 Board of Sarasota County Commissioners 1001 Sarasota Center Boulevard Sarasota, FL 34240 RE: Neighborhood Workshops Dear Commissioners: For many years I participated in numerous Neighborhood Workshops, which were always in person until Covid triggered a change in policy. These meetings were a rich learning opportunity - not ...

The County Commission allowed everyone who wished to speak at Open to the Public today - the public input lasted about 90 minutes, with not a soul speaking in favor of DR Horton building at the Celery Fields. Some of the input offered by residents was extraordinary. Charlie Bailey Around 3:30 pm, the Horton agenda item came up - and was quickly denied, 5-0, with virtually no discussion. The mediated proposal is dead, but outside the Admin building Horton's attorney, Charlie Bailey, said -- in response to a question from SCAN -- that he would advise his client to sue the County. SCAN will hold its next meeting next Tuesday, Oct. 28. Come hear from three neighborhood groups - the problem each faced, how they mobilized, and what happened as a result. We will meet in Fellowship Hall at  Unity of Sarasota , 3023 Proctor Road. The hall open at 5 pm, with the meeting beginning at 5:30. You'll hear from folks who did some very fine work. More to come.

  Dear Thomas, Yesterday, 1000 Friends of Florida filed a  lawsuit against the Florida Department of Commerce  challenging  Senate Bill 180  — the sweeping state law passed during the 2025 Florida Legislative Session that freezes local comprehensive planning and strips communities of their authority to guide growth responsibly. More than just hurricane recovery, SB 180 silences local voices and blocks stronger planning measures for water, infrastructure, and environmental protection. Our lawsuit argues that it  violates the Florida Constitution  by overstepping legislative limits, undermining due process, and restricting local efforts to conserve natural resources. As 1000 Friends president  Paul Owens  said in today’s announcement: “SB 180 goes far beyond disaster recovery. It undermines communities of the basic ability to plan responsibly for growth, infrastructure, and the environment. Voters and local officials across the state are being ...

Meet the contenders to become Sarasota County's newest planning board commissioners Christian Casale Sarasota Herald-Tribune As concerns with development have become the preeminent political issue in Sarasota, the County Commission will appoint new members to its important Planning Commission next week. The Planning Commission advises the county on important development issues, including long-term growth and land use. In recent years, the board has been seen as a pro-development body and a breeding ground for future county commissioners. However, the momentum may have shifted in April with  the appointment of Jon Thaxton .  Thaxton, a former county commissioner, is the director of policy at the Gulf Coast Community Foundation and a public advocate against Sarasota’s explosion of development in recent years.  Planning Commissioners Donna Carter and Cullen Morgan have not applied for reappointment, so there are two open positions among the seven people who applied. The cand...

This column by environmentalist Jono Miller first appeared in the Herald Tribune: Sarasota County needs new approach on development Jono Miller Guest columnist Animals are able to implement some amazing plans – just consider weaverbird nests or beaver dams. But as humans we can record our intentions on paper, whether it is a clipped recipe, a kitchen remodel blueprint or a detailed trip itinerary. We’ll never know if a particular beaver dam ends up meeting the beaver’s expectations. However, we humans  do know when things don’t taste right. Or when the cupboard shelves haven’t been properly aligned. Or when the trip itinerary actually ends up taking us in the wrong direction. That’s sort of where Sarasota County is with a development theory known as 'conservation subdivision.' On paper this approach seemed to hold a lot of promise: instead of evenly spreading homes out across a rural parcel, they would be concentrated, thereby leaving plenty of open space for the residents and ...

From a powerful story from Suncoast Searchlight : Dozens of new local governments, led not by mayors or town managers but instead by businesses profiting from those who live there, have sprouted up across the Suncoast along with the sprawling new housing communities they bring. The real estate developers behind these independent special districts use their government status to float multimillion-dollar, tax-free bonds to finance construction and dictate how homeowners pay it back — all with no reins on the spending, a  Suncoast Searchlight  investigation has found. These districts now span the entire region — from Parrish’s 40-acre Rye Crossing district in northern Manatee County to the  more than 12,000 acres at the West Villages district in southern Sarasota County .  Community development districts “are a legislatively-sanctioned license to steal” . . .  “The bottom line on CDDs, if you look at them, they’re a powderkeg for the homeowner, who is paying for th...