The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

A new blog is now consolidating information, background resources, and current conversation surrounding the proposed changes to Sarasota County's 2050 Comprehensive Plan. The blog is SarasotaVision2050 , and it can be found here: http://sarasotavision2050.blogspot.com/ The stakes are not trivial for communities East of I-75. If developers get the green light to start building all at once, not only will they choke our roads and land with excessive housing, but the new housing will dilute and degrade the market of existing homes - yours and mine - in Sarasota County. What's more, the developers will be competing against each other for a very limited resource - the high-end retiree market. Instead they should be planning a knock-out beautiful public vision of East Sarasota - and let the developers consider all kinds of housing - for working people, families, as well as rich retirees. If the changes to 2050 pass, and it is expected they will at a County hearing on Oct. 22 (...

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...

The Sarasota real estate market continued an amazing streak in July, with members of the Sarasota Association of Realtors® closing 911 sales during the month - a 30.3 percent increase over July 2012, and 3.2 percent higher than the June 2013 total. The first seven months of 2013 are still tracking to make the overall year one of the biggest in SAR's history. The other major news of the month was the major rebound in the median sale price for single family homes. The price went from $200,000 in June 2013 to $227,500 in July 2013, a 7.2 percent increase. For the 12-month rolling median price, the single family home figure was at $195,000, a 16 percent increase over last year at this time when the rolling median price was at $168,500. If current trend levels continue, this will be the biggest year-to-year increase for single family home prices in four years. "With sales up dramatically and prices also trending upward, the popularity and strength of the Sarasota market is unquest...