Sarasota County Planning Commission serves the developers
Herald Tribune columnist Carrie Seidman on the way Sarasota planning governance excludes the people it is supposed to represent. Originally published by the HT in 2020 under the title: "County appointments deserve wider field, deeper scrutiny" Former Sarasota County Commissioner Jon Thaxton, an expert on the Florida Scrub-Jay and an advocate for protection of Sarasota’s natural resouces, was among nine applicants for recent vacancies on the county’s Planning Board. It was the 16th time his application has been rejected, dating back to the mid-’90s. Carrie Seidman carrie.seidman@heraldtribune.com Within the Sarasota community, there are few people as informed, connected, community-minded and collaborative as Jon Thaxton . A fifth-generation Floridian born on a farm near Osprey, Thaxton has earned broad-based respect for his reflective judgment and his willingness to cross traditional boundaries to examine all sides of an issue. His dedication ...