The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

The Sarasota County Planning Commission voted 6-1 to forward the re-zoning petition for the Bee Ridge Park of Commerce to the County Commission. That is, the Planning Commissioners, after about an hour of probing discussion and remarks from nearby neighborhoods, agreed to give Mr. Peter Dailey and Richard Fischer the right to convert 6.9 acres of the Park of Commerce -- adjacent to the north and east of the Racetrac parcel - to Commercial Neighborhood. In a separate ruling, they allowed the agents to expand from CN's usual limit of 20,000 square feet to 37,000 square feet for one building, without committing to specific uses for it, or for two other parcels. In return, Dailey and Fischer on behalf of TerraCap agreed to honor a 50' setback buffer along Bee Ridge Rd. The CN designation does not require that large a buffer, but it was already built into the plan and will remain intact. Commissioner John Burrus cast the only dissenting vote, stating that the absence of specif...

As of now, these are the items on the Thursday, Sept. 13th Lake Sarasota Community Group agenda for its general meeting (all residents are welcome) at Sarasota Alliance Church, 7 pm:  Mr. Donald Hadsell, Director of the Office of Housing and Community Development for the City and County of Sarasota will talk about zero-interest rehab loans from the county. No monthly payments and the loans don't have to be paid off until you sell your house. Ryan Cooke is coming to talk to use about the new LA Fitness that's opening at Bee Ridge and Cattlemen and to give us a great price break on membership. Discussion of the Bee Ridge Road Plans that was presented to the community on Sept. 6. ***NEW*** Do we want SCAT to consider expanding its bus service within Lake Sarasota ? Sarasota Planners say it is possible that SCAT could route public buses to go more deeply in to Lake Sarasota, which could shorten walks to bus stops. How do you feel about that?  A possible up...

Some highlights of the July 2010 Meeting: - The  Neighborhood Clean-Up will take place on Saturday, July 24,  from 8 a.m. to the afternoon. Dumpsters supplied by the county will be near the Fire Station and next to the Dog Park on Hand Rd. - Residents of Lake Sarasota came to report a house owned by an absentee landlord where criminal activity is suspected. They were given some advice and will keep us posted on developments. - Ted as always welcomes new volunteers for Citizens Patrol . He noted that in June, there were nine incidents reported to the Sheriff from Lake Sarasota: three burglaries, four thefts, and two juvenile disturbances. The dates and times of the incidents formed no clear pattern, but occurred towards the beginning and end of June. To sign up, contact him at 379-0758, or at TCover6161@aol.com . - A tentatively planned neighborhood gathering that was scheduled for July 17th has been cancelled , and will be rescheduled at a later, hopefully cooler, dat...

The July meeting of the Lake Sarasota Community Group takes place this Thursday at 7 p.m. at Sarasota Alliance Church, 7221 Bee Ridge Road, in the back building. On the agenda: Update on planned community events. Treasurer's Report Citizens' Patrol - Ted is looking for volunteers - contact him at 379-0758, or at TCover6161@aol.com - he's a busy guy, so don't delay! Update on developer's proposal to create a special taxing district for 23 acres between the Western edge of Lake Sarasota and I-75. Other business as may arise.