Further Dialog on Plans for the Fruitville Quadrants

For those interested in either the Fruitville "Special Planning Area," or in the question of the effectiveness of dialog between the county and the community on critical matters such as planning, growth, and environmental issues, be advised that the County will hold a series of five additional community meetings, each addressing a specific facet of the large plan for that area (basically Richardson Road and the areas in the North and South quadrants East of I-75 at Fruitville Road).

Here's the summary from the County's site.

Tuesday, Aug. 10
6:30-8:30 p.m.	What’s going on and how can I participate in this planning for Fruitville at I-75?  This session will include short presentations and audience participation on the history of the Fruitville Initiative, the County’s planning processes (rezoning, land use and planning for large land areas), and how residents can participate. This will be followed by discussions on planning options (including charrettes, “transects,” traditional neighborhood design patterns) and how they might affect the area.
Tuesday, Aug. 17
6:30-8:30 p.m.	What can go there today? What’s different about plans being discussed now? This workshop will include discussion on existing land uses (density and intensity), potential zoning districts, and how much square footage (baseline) could currently be allowed on the 325 acres. Then we will review how much square footage could be allowed under scenarios such as the "Illustrative Plan," and options with transect planning, including discussion of general impacts that baseline and transect scenarios might have on the area and local residents. These discussions will be followed by input from local residents.
Tuesday, Aug. 31
6:30-8 p.m.	How is this going to impact my Richardson Road East neighborhood?Speakers will address uses and impacts from potential development on the neighborhood, and engage residents in discussing options to protect the existing rural neighborhood. This discussion will include buffers and preserve areas, changes in uses, drainage and flooding, protection of rural character, noise, visual impacts, building heights, traffic and protection of Richardson Road East.
Tuesday, Sept. 14
6:30-8 p.m.	What about traffic?  How much will be there?  Where is it going to go?This section will build on the use and transect discussion from Workshop #2. Planners will discuss potential traffic impacts from proposed development, traffic planning options and ways to avoid traffic problems in the area with thoughts on local street networks, followed by questions from and discussion with neighbors.
Tuesday, Sept. 28
6:30-8 p.m.	What about the Celery Fields and how does this impact them?  What's next?Water and stormwater specialists and county officials will discuss topics such as protection for current Celery Fields use plans, habitat interconnectivity, floodplain compensation, remuneration agreement, and soil. This will be followed by discussion on the Celery Fields and a question and answer period on next steps for the Fruitville planning initiative.

All meetings will take place at Church of Hope, 1560 Wendell Kent Road, Sarasota.

For questions or additional information regarding the Fruitville Development Meetings, e-mail planner@scgov.net or call 861-5000.