Email on the Bee Ridge Park of Commerce, 6.11.2021

Letter to the Planning Commission

June 11, 2021:

Andrew.Stultz@sarasotaadvisory.net,
Colin.Pember@sarasotaadvisory.net,
Kevin.Cooper@sarasotaadvisory.net,
Laura.Benson@sarasotaadvisory.net,
Teresa.Mast@sarasotaadvisory.net,
Neil.Rainford@sarasotaadvisory.net,
Drew.Peters@sarasotaadvisory.net,
Justin.Taylor@sarasotaadvisory.net,
Frank.Strelec@sarasotaadvisory.net,

The community of Lake Sarasota consists of more than 1,600 homes along and to the south of Bee Ridge Road immediately east of I-75.

The Lake Sarasota Community Group has had constructive communications with TerraCap, the developer of the Bee Ridge Park of Commerce (BRPOC), since 2013. The developer voluntarily signed a 2014 Covenant by which it committed to certain constraints upon uses to avoid nuisance issues. The original of that Covenant and a newly revised version of it are in your packets for this public review, and a document with both the original Covenant and the developer's proposed revised version is attached to this email.

Two quick points:

1. The Bee Ridge intersection at Mauna Loa will be challenged by intensification. Of equal or greater concern is the impact on our main neighborhood road, Mauna Loa Boulevard, going south from Bee Ridge. This road is entirely residential - it's not a thoroughfare, artery, or connector road. School Buses drop off many children at various times; they walk and play along Mauna Loa's sidewalks. A school crossing is heavily used mornings and afternoons for children who walk to Lakeview Elementary or to Oak Park School.

Image of proposed BRPOC

Adding 270 apartments and 37,000 square feet of commercial buildings (with 773 additional parking spaces) can only intensify both the flow of Bee Ridge traffic and impact the residential tranquility and safety of our main internal road.

Please consider recommending that the Board of Sarasota County Commissioners moderate the quantity of new residential units. (Within the same North Mauna Loa cul de sac, Ridge Lake and Horton's Townhouses have added hundreds of new residences in recent years). 

Another recommendation for you to consider: In order to offset the new intensity, the county can install traffic calming both near the Mauna Loa entrance and along its length.

2. The 2014 Covenant worked out by Lake Sarasota and TerraCap goes back to concerns expressed by residents of our community who live across Bee Ridge Road from the BRPOC. The intent was to forestall intrusive light and sound, truck noise and fumes, disturbances to homeowners arising from outdoor entertainment, speakers from drive-throughs, and the like.

Proposed BRPOC

The Lake Sarasota Community Group has not yet finalized its review of TerraCap's proposed revisions to the Covenant. Certain constraints that the Group has proposed - including a total ban on outdoor music or entertainment on the Bee Ridge side of the commercial buildings -- remain an ongoing part of our dialogue with Mr. Lichterman, Mr. Sivitz, and TerraCap. We believe all parties have acted in good faith, but the final accord is not there yet.

If at all possible, I'd suggest that each of you drive to our main entrance, view the intersection and drive south on Mauna Loa Boulevard from Bee Ridge. 

Then please consider appropriate recommendations to the BCC in support of these reasonable neighborhood concerns.

Thank you.

Tom Matrullo

Lake Sarasota