West Bridge meeting summary and next steps
Dear Neighbors,
Thanks to everyone who attended the LSCG meeting on 7/27. The information to be distributed is too much for a post or an email. Please, read the summary of the meeting and the next steps moving forward.
If you wish to help or have questions, please email keithcrusso@gmail.com
Thanks.
First, an open letter, then more details below.
To no one’s surprise, the attendees of the Lake Sarasota Community Group meeting on July 27th unanimously decided to fight the new development proposed by developer Josh Graber and his agents. We are opposed to this type of development, not to the current zoning for single-family dwellings. No number of amenities or concessions offered by the developer in the neighborhood workshop were persuasive to the twenty-thirty people who came or attended via video last night.
The community wanted me to share this message, too: please, know that this and other developments in the area will affect every one of us, from Molokai to Berkshire, From Jarvis to Bee Ridge. This is not just Molokai’s or Jarvis’s problem. If you ever go West or South, this development is going to make your life worse.
Furthermore, please, do not think me dramatic when I say that we are looking to preserve the heart and soul of Lake Sarasota by opposing this development. What kind of neighborhood are we? What kind do we want to leave our children? There are multigenerational families that have each called Lake Sarasota home in their times. That’s how great this neighborhood and the neighbors are; people stay and their kids stay or come back to homes and to a community, not just houses on a street. Over the last six years as chair of Lake Sarasota Community Group, I have heard many wonderful stories from people who have lived here far longer than me. I want to keep Lake Sarasota a family neighborhood: safe, connected, and watching out for each other.
My prediction is that Graber is going to try to push this through as fast as possible to try to catch us flat-footed when it comes before the Planning Commission.
So, now is the time for action.
We need everyone’s help. Yes, you, too. Renters and owners, workers and retirees, anyone and everyone, whatever contribution you can make. In turn, we need to inform, organize, and motivate our neighbors in any way in which they are willing to help, big or small.
To do that, we are first assembling a committee to explore several angles of opposition with several tactics. If you have any interest in being part of the planning and organization of opposition, email me at keithcrusso@gmail.com Several people have signed up already, but we still need organizers on several fronts (see below).
Please, keep reading below to help familiarize yourself with the issue and what you can do right now and in the future.
Yours,
Keith Russo
More below . . .
Now for the details.
Plans and documents for the development are currently posted here:
https://lakesarasota.blogspot.
This link was posted to nextdoor and is pinned on the Facebook group and has been sent around via email. Everything we have will be public and distributed to every platform available to us.
The main document we have right now is the pre-app comments from the various county committees that screen developments before they are formally submitted, and make clear what information, surveys, ground tests, etc. are required for submission. Note that for each element of this analysis, a county employee’s name and contact information is given. If you have questions, you can contact the appropriate person:
Here is that document: https://drive.google.com/file/
The reasons for opposition are clear, but it is my responsibility to make sure those who could not attend any meetings and those who did have their main facts and community input coordinated.
Even by their own numbers, which I can only imagine are self-serving, traffic congestion will increase 8-10 times on the West side of Mauna Loa and in the south of the neighborhood, especially Jarvis/Hand. The 208 units would produce traffic that would make our lives miserable getting anywhere. It’s already backed up on Bee Ridge in the morning from Cattlemen to the firehouse. Adding this and other traffic from the proposed developments around us and out East will make our lives a hellscape. Jarvis, Molokai, and Kahana and surrounding streets will be absolutely changed from sleepy dead ends to boulevards. Bee Ridge/ Mauna Loa/Friendship area will become a parking lot at rush hour, as will Mauna Loa/Lago/Hand/Jarvis in the morning during the school year.
This increased traffic will also become extremely hazardous to ourselves, our families, our children. The county has told us that traffic calming of the bump and hump variety is not ever happening. People have already died in our neighborhood over the years from reckless drivers. Adding 500 trips daily without extreme traffic calming measures will only make the odds of a repeat increase.
The environmental impact could be devastating.
Noise pollution from the highway will increase for the entire neighborhood because FDOT is not building a sound wall when they refurbish the I-75 interchange.
The creek already overflows during storms and hurricanes. The developers have received requirements and input from the county, but hopes are low on that front that it will be adequate to make it better, especially considering the new interstate exchange.
We are also looking into wildlife impact.
This is kind of a personal reason but shared by many last night: during the workshop Graber claimed to be part of this neighborhood because he owns rentals and because he bought these properties to develop. A good neighbor does not suddenly clear land exposing his neighbors’ backyards to Bee Ridge with no warning. And when asked what happened and why, he gave us the verbal equivalent of “none of your business.” In addition, he has been illegally attempting to clear other land along the creek where he wants to develop without permitting. Thanks to diligent neighbors, he has been fined for this activity. This man should not be trusted with the best interests of this community because he does not care about them or you.
In order to put this development in that space, Graber needs a rezone to “high density” residential from current low/moderate. If this effort fails, they are only able to develop single-family homes.
The plans and ideas for opposition are as follows:
The best thing you can do right now is familiarize yourself with the development plans and talk to your neighbors about it. Some people still don’t know.
Email me at keithcrusso@gmail.com to be part of the organization to help our neighborhood remain a family-centered one.
Once the committee meets, we will pursue the different avenues of opposition above: traffic, environmental, safety in order to show the stats to the commissioners in order to persuade them to oppose this development.
We may need to hire analysts in these areas privately and they cost money. Fundraising will be strictly voluntary; no fees will ever be levied, nor is it legal for LSCG to do so (we are NOT an HOA and no one is proposing it). We would love to hold neighborhood events at which local businesses could donate items/services in order to raffle or implement other FUNdraising. Ideas welcome.
We will then come to the community with scripts and templates to initiate several tactics which may include circulating petitions, letter-writing campaigns, and notices of when to show up to Planning Commission meetings. We may ask for help gathering information like videos of traffic at certain hours or evidence of wildlife or flooding near or on the property
I will do my best to make sure every avenue of communication is covered. Let me know if you or a neighbor is not receiving info. Point them towards the social media, etc. And if you’re receiving multiple emails, I apologize. We’re still integrating the many wonderful neighbors’ emails into the same list.
Please, if any of these requests come your way and the only help you can lend is a signature or an email or a dollar, know that your neighbors thank you. If more, please reach out. Your neighbors need you.
I love this community and look forward to helping it stay my home and yours.
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