The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

The third and last public meeting focusing on changes to the Sarasota 2050 Plan was held Monday evening at Twin Lakes Park. Approximately 125 people were there to listen and to discuss many ramifications of the proposed changes. There is still time to get up to speed on this very important issue. The plan will be going through public hearings in July and August and is scheduled to be voted on before the November election. Some background information is here . Many more documents focusing on parts of the plan are here, on the lower right side of the page. From this page residents can also submit comments or questions that are posted here . In brief: Many people feel that the changes to the 2050 plan dilute it and essentially open the floodgates to rapid and poorly conceived development east of I-75. They see the primary movers of the changes to be a handful of developers and builders who simply wish to put more of the same sort of housing and commerce in the rural lands to the Ea...

The Sarasota 2050 plan offers generous development options in exchange for taxpayer and community protections. But what began as a compromise and is being finagled into a free ride. More here. What one community leader is saying: The deal struck with Sarasota 2050 is this: If you want to develop rural land at high density before we need to move the USB, then you pay for the infrastructure and develop in an efficient, environmentally friendly way that creates enough tax revenue to pay for the services the development requires. Now 6 firms want to keep increased density and welch on the rest. This isn't about the free market, this is about a free ride. - Cathy Antunes, vp Sarasota CONA Find out for yourself: Sarasota County Public Information Meetings about 2050:      June 18, 2014   Robert L. Anderson Administration Center,  Commission Chamber, 4000 S.Tamiami Tr., Venice, FL  June 26, 2014  County Administration Center, Co...

This recent letter to the editor of the local paper is circulating widely. It states a position with regard to development East of I-75 clearly. Not all might agree with Mr. Kaercher (not a person known to us by any personal or other relation), but his words at least serve as a starting point for a serious discussion of the 2050 plan. The plan is complex and not easily decidable in any absolute way. It raises a host of issues. What do you think? Growth mismanagement After three years as a permanent Venice resident I finally get it. I was naive enough to believe I'd actually found a small-town, old-Florida, relatively crime-free place to live out my golden years. I've come to understand that I was horribly wrong.It is now obvious to me that the "movers and shakers" (politicians and those who pay for their elections) who control Sarasota County and, to a degree, Venice, equate more houses, more strip malls, more traffic congestion, and more people with "progre...

The latest Realtor's report is out for the Sarasota area: Median sale prices climbed dramatically in Sarasota County in October 2013 compared to last October numbers. Single family home prices were up 11.6 percent ($185,776 this year compared to only $166,500 last year), and condo prices spiked by 20.7 percent ($175,000 this year compared to only $145,000 last October).   “There was definitely a shift in October toward single family and away from condos,” said SAR President Roger Piro. “That might be a function of the price escalation, which was far more pronounced in the condo category. Also in October, there were fewer properties on the market priced under $200,000 than last year, and more priced above $200,000. So bargain hunters have had to adjust their sights upward, where there are more deals to be found.” More here. A few additional bits about the Lake Sarasota area shared by Sandy Allen,: For sold single-family properties in the past 6 months t...

Does anyone remember the 2050 plan? The idea was to respect and preserve the rural character of Sarasota County east of I-75. There was general agreement in favor of a concept -- that landowners could create master-planned communities east of I-75, in exchange for meeting higher standards of development and enhancing environmental protection. And, by supporting this alternative, environmentalists and others would accept development that protects and connects valuable natural assets.  Those were the goals then. How can they be remembered and embraced again? Source; Sarasota Herald Tribune 2.17.13 How's that working for us, facing the prospect of Racetrac 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?

From the Herald-Trib: Compromise may kill growth item on ballot Pact allows urban-rural line to change with 5-0 County Commission vote By Roger Drouin and Doug Sword SARASOTA — A battle over growth east of the interstate that was headed for a contentious ballot measure in May has apparently been averted after business groups and slow-growth advocates said they reached a compromise over the issue. Slow-growth advocate Bill Earl, who heads the group Citizens for Sensible Growth, and developer Henry Rodriguez, representing Citizens for Quality Living, unveiled the agreement to the County Commission on Tuesday. The compromise keeps the power to change the county's line between urban and rural development within the scope of the County Commission -- instead of requiring an election referendum each time the commission wants to change the boundary. More...