The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

As many know, Lake Sarasota and other Bee Ridge neighborhoods tried to work with RaceTrac to add some buffering to their landscaping - a few more trees, etc. Normally such large gas stations are not situated directly across from residential neighborhoods. Unfortunately the plans for the gas station were submitted years ago and approved by the Sarasota County Commission before virtually anyone in the community knew about it. The letter to County Administrator Thomas Harmer from a couple of days ago came from the Bee Ridge Neighborhoods Committee, which represents 14 communities along Bee Ridge Rd. and Bee Ridge Extension, comprising a total of over 9,000 rooftops. Mr. T. Harmer     tharmer@scgov.net County Administrator Sarasota County Dear Mr. Harmer:   Recently a RaceTrac gas station opened at the intersection of Manua Loa and Bee Ridge Road, (Northeast corner). While facing Bee Ridge, it sits directly across the street from ...

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...