The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

Commercial Center Planned around Racetrac Thursday, Aug. 22 - 7 pm - there is an important meeting to look at the plan for a commercial center behind and East of the Racetrac at Mauna Loa. Why does this matter? For one thing, whatever is built there will be visible, audible, and potentially smellable for the residents of Lake Sarasota who live along Bee Ridge Road. Also, our community has a  legal Covenant  that gives us some say over what kinds of businesses can be there, and their hours of operation. But if we are not watchful, if we do not participate in the planning process, we could lose that power forever. Come to the meeting in the offices at the rear of Sarasota Alliance Church Thurs. 7 pm. A version of the proposed commercial site Meeting Thursday 8.22.19 7 pm Sarasota Alliance Church -- offices behind church 7221 Bee Ridge Rd. Sarasota, FL 34241 To help understand the issue, here's the County's Zoning Use Table that clarifies what can...

Thanks to Lewin for some helpful research on location issues with large, busy gas stations. The full article is here . Good & Bad Convenience Store-Station Locations Given the impacts and corrective measures described above, an optimum convenience store-gas station location would have the following characteristics: At least 300 feet from the nearest home; or Buffered so the store cannot be seen or heard from the nearest home; For ultra-high volume gas stations, a minimum if 300 feet away; Not within view of historic resources; Away from highly sensitive ground or surface water resources; Accessible by foot and bike as well as cars; Located in a downtown or neighborhood commercial area; Well lit, but not to the point of causing light trespass into nearby homes; In an area with many passersby and few escape routes for criminals; and In an area where the market can accommodate a new store without putting existing ones out of business.

A developer is going to build up to 90,000 square feet of retail on 8 acres across the road from Lake Sarasota's entrance. They've applied to the County for rezoning in order to break ground. What will it look like?  How will it affect traffic at our entrance? What sorts of businesses will it attract other than Racetrac? How will it affect the character of Bee Ridge east of I-75? If you're wondering about these and other questions, you're not alone. The Feb. 20th public meeting is our one chance to listen, ask, and comment. Racetrac won't be there -- they plan to build under the existing zoning, but we hope to meet with them separately. The meeting with the developer is: Wednesday Feb. 20th, 6 pm , at the Disabled Vets Hall on Bee Ridge Rd., opposite Middlesex. Bring copies of your written questions. Hand them in to the County and to the developer.

On Wednesday, November 7 several members of the Lake Sarasota Community Group and the Bee Ridge Neighborhoods Committee met with Tom Hardy, project manager of RaceTrac gas stations for Southwest Florida. Mr. Hardy confirmed that the privately-owned RaceTrac Corp. , which is based in Atlanta, is “rolling out aggressively” in Florida. Over the next few months the company plans to open 30 new gas stations around the state. While most Floridians are familiar with the current RaceTrac format, these 30 stores will use a new design sporting a substantially larger footprint. An example of the current design is found on Fruitville Rd., just west of I-75. That station has a 5,000-square-foot footprint for its store. The new models will have a 6,000-square-foot floor plan . New, Larger Format The new stations will have 24 pumps, open 24 hours a day. The larger structure will enable RaceTrac to offer a broader variety of foods, including hot dogs, sodas, burritos, chicken parmesan, quesad...