The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

This evening, June 12, is our quarterly Lake Sarasota Community Group meeting. It begins at 7 pm at Sarasota Alliance Church, on the North side of Bee Ridge Rd., opposite Chaucer, in the meeting rooms behind the church. Here is the Agenda: Discussion of Neighborhood-Friendly Covenant for the development opposite our front entrance with Representatives of TerraCap. Rescuing the existing Lake Sarasota signs at Mauna Loa and Bee Ridge before the road widening begins. Update on the timing of the Bee Ridge Road Widening. Update on Sheriff's report for Lake Sarasota. Brief background on the first item: Ever since the residents of Lake Sarasota were surprised to learn about the plan for a supersized Racetrac gas station at Bee Ridge Rd. and Mauna Loa Blvd. in 2012, some of us have tried to keep an eye on plans for "Bee Ridge Park of Commerce" (BRPOC) to avoid further surprises. In April, we wrote a letter to the developer asking him to work with us o...

Sarasota County approved a construction contract for Bee Ridge Road on Tuesday May 20th. Work should begin between 45 and 60 days from that date. It's not yet determined where on Bee Ridge the work will start. Here's the latest we have on the plans. ADOPTED/APPROVED      57. PUBLIC WORKS A. Public hearing to consider a proposed Resolution, Budget Amendment No. B2014-037, amending the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget to appropriate funding to Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Project No. 75830 - Bee Ridge Road East, for the improvements associated with Bee Ridge Road from Mauna Loa Boulevard to Iona Road, in the amount of $375,333.00; B. (Not a public hearing.) The Board considered a proposed Contract with Westra Construction Corporation, for construction of the Bee Ridge Road Improvements (from Mauna Loa Boulevard to Iona Road), in the amount of $22,019,093.83; C. (Not a public hearing.) The Board considered a proposed Contract with CDM S...

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...

One of Sarasota County's project managers for the Bee Ridge Road widening provided some updates on that project at Friday's meeting of the Bee Ridge Neighborhood Committee. State to put in Sidewalk  In a surprise move, the state plans to build a sidewalk on the South side of Bee Ridge from Cattlemen to where the state's portion of Bee Ridge ends -- near the exit ramp from I-75. This project was moved up -- originally it was not expected to happen before 2018, but with this funding, it might be completed before the end of this year. This is great news for those who have had to walk along the roadway, or in the weeds, to get to businesses West of the highway. State's portion of Bee Ridge begins at the dark area marked with the yellow pointer. When the County completes its widening of Bee Ridge, a sidewalk will run along the south side, connecting with the state's sidewalk and providing a continuous walkway from Cattlemen out to the Bee Ridge extension. Ther...

The upcoming Lake Sarasota neighborhood meeting this Thursday, Dec. 13, is set to discuss these items: The style of entrance we'd like after Bee Ridge Road is widened. A possible expansion of SCAT routes through the neighorhood A recent proposal to make the real estate development directly opposite our entrance on Bee Ridge Road larger and more intense. On this last item, I attended the development review meeting this past Thursday about enlarging the commercial development. Here's a very brief recap: TERRACAP’s Proposed Rezoning A private group of Canadian investors (Terracap, a Canadian group that bought the land from Horton in 2011 ) is now asking the county to expand their original agreement, which was made in 1997, and which allowed for four (4) acres of commercial space on the Bee Ridge Park of Commerce (zoned PCD), opposite the front entrance to Lake Sarasota at Mauna Loa and Bee Ridge.They wish to rezone it to Commercial Neighborhood (CN)...

As has been mentioned, plans are in the works to reconfigure the intersection of Mauna Loa Blvd. and Bee Ridge Rd. The plan appears to call for the removal of the first median and the creation of a third lane that would be left turn only. Here is a picture of the concept that is being proposed: We'll post more information as it becomes available.