The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

Thursday, June 17, 2021: The Sarasota County Planning Commission unanimously voted to recommend approval of TerraCap's proposed mixed-used project on North Mauna Loa Blvd. The Commission is a volunteer board appointed by the Sarasota County Commission. It reviews proposed plans and offers comments before deciding whether to recommend approval or denial of the project, which then goes to the Board of Sarasota County Commissioners for final approval. Planner Brian Lichterman presented an overview of the project, which is called The Enclave at the Bee Ridge Park of Commerce (BRPOC), which will be behind, and to the left and right of the RaceTrac at Bee Ridge Road and Mauna Loa Blvd. Lichterman shared some artistic renderings of what it can look like when completed. Here are three captures: Artistic rendering of commercial and residential buildings seen from the West Aerial view of the Enclave on the right and the area already built out (left) Rendering of The Enclave with Commercial i...

Virtual Neighborhood Workshop Notice: PLEASE NOTE: The previous Zoom Meeting for July 15, 2020 is Cancelled. We apologize for any inconvenience. The New Date is Thursday, July 23, 2020 at 6 pm. This Rezoning/Special Exception will allow for the creation of a mixed-use development consisting of a maximum of 270 multifamily units and 8.87 Acres +/- of PCD commercial uses on four parcels fronting along Bee Ridge Road. The entire project is contained within two PID Nos. 0240100030 and 0240140010. Please visit the following scheduled Zoom Meeting: Topic: Proposed Small Scale Comprehensive Plan Amendment; Rezone Petition/Special Exception for the Enclave at BRPOC, Sarasota, Florida 34231 Time: 6:00 PM (Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting :  [Click link above or type the entire link into your browser] https://zoom.us/j/9336201982?pwd=VHA0dFZ3dVRmNS91UUJQeU1qemdLUT09 Meeting ID: 933 620 1982 Password: 123456 Call-In Number: 1 646 876 9923 T...

NOTE: This meeting has been postponed to Thurs. July 23, 6 pm, on Zoom. A plan for the land behind the Racetrac at Mauna Loa Blvd. - and for four commercial parcels along Bee Ridge - has been submitted to Sarasota County.  See the data below for some detail. It appears that TerraCap, which owns the property, intends to build 270 multi-family apartments - with allowance for more than 500 parking spaces. Additionally four commercial buildings on Bee Ridge Rd. are planned - no uses specified. Lake Sarasota and TerraCap have a Covenant that places limitations on lighting, noise, kinds of businesses that are acceptable.  Use this link to ccess the Covenant . A few residents may have received notice of a Neighborhood Workshop on Wed. July 15 at 6 pm. ONLINE. The Workshop is an opportunity for neighbors to ask questions, express concerns. How will this impact traffic, noise, lighting, and more? More details about accessing the Workshop will be posted o...

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Mauna Loa intersection close to fully functional - two northbound lanes to be open turning left, or East. More details below.

UPDATE Crews were scheduled to pave the intersection at Mauna Loa Boulevard Sunday night and Monday night, May 15 - 16. However, due to an issue with the asphalt plant, the Sunday night work did not happen. Everything is rescheduled for tonight (Monday) and tomorrow (Tuesday) night, barring any unforeseen problems. The night work is scheduled from 7 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. on both days. Please be cautious of the traffic control officers and flag men controlling the intersection. From 6 pm to 6 am Sunday and Monday, May 15-16, expect to find workers at the Mauna Loa intersection. Those entering or exiting Lake Sarasota might wish to use one of the other available access points.

No night work expected as work on Mauna Loa Intersection continues.

Night work Sunday, Monday and possibly Tuesday April 17-19 will restrict traffic at the main entrance of Lake Sarasota. Drivers should take another way out to get onto Bee Ridge as the intersection is being built up to the proper road level.

The roadbed for the two lands that have yet to be raised will be elevated over the next weeks. The plan is to raise the road East and West of Mauna Loa, and then to fill in the gap right at Mauna Loa, according to project managers. This way has been devised to minimize blockage of the intersection. Note that some nighttime work might occur next weekend.

The March 10th meeting of the Lake Sarasota Community Group was an opportunity to share some information, meet new residents, and ask new questions. Additionally a new Board was elected. Some questions that were answered:  1. Waste Management Trucks might be backing up streets like Chaucer, where there is a new cul de sac. According to the County, the cul de sacs should be wide enough to allow even WM trucks to do a three-point turn, so they should not be backing up the street - some people are concerned because of small children playing in the road. Chaucer Lane is not a circular cul-de-sac. Because of limited right of way, it has been designed as a T, so bigger vehicles may have to make a 3 point turn in order to turn around. There should not be any reason for the Waste Management trucks to back up the street, they should be making a 3 point turn at the end of the street. (Note: A letter from Lake Sarasota will be sent to Waste Management to follow up)  2...

A detailed update on the Bee Ridge Rd. project came from the Bee Ridge Neighborhoods Committee, a volunteer group representing some 14 communities impacted by the Bee Ridge Rd. improvements. The information was shared at the Dec. 10th Lake Sarasota Community Group meeting , and is in addition to the latest official report  from Sarasota County: The new completion date for the project as a whole is now June 2016 (original date was April), mainly because of unusual amounts of rain. The traffic signals at Mauna Loa are currently under control of the contractor, and they are being monitored to cope with changes in traffic levels due to returning snowbirds and seasonal fluctuation. The Mauna Loa intersection is considered "very difficult" and will require ramping. The south lanes need to be resurfaced and elevated to match the northern lanes of Bee Ridge. Asphalt plants go offline this time of year, however, so the timing of the southern lane elevation has been moved to b...

Traffic will shift to northern lanes soon. Access to Bee Ridge will be closed on five streets in the near future: Maui, Allan, Coleridge, Chaucer and Eton.

Beginning Feb. 8 - Mauna Loa at Bee Ridge will be closed for approximately two weeks from 8 pm to 6 am. Signs are already up indicating detour on Brentwood. The contractor will start night work on the intersection for approximately 2 weeks. The lanes will reopen each morning. This is to allow extensive utility work to be done in the intersection. Bee Ridge traffic flow will not be affected except for the right turn lane into Mauna Loa.

The Lake Sarasota Community Group meeting of 3.13.14 took place at Sarasota Alliance Church. Here's a brief summary: 1. Tax Attorney Mary King presented some tips on what to do if you're audited by the IRS, and gave out a copy of each of her books: Resolve IRS Problems , and Protect and Defend . 2. The Board will ask the Treasurer to renew the LSCG's 501(c)3 status and its CONA membership. The Group also noted that the Treasury is running low and some means of replenishing it need to be found. This will be an agenda item for the next meeting, set for June 12th. 3. The Garage Sale is set for March 29th . So far some 35 homes are on the Neighborhood Garage Sale Map . Sandy has asked for volunteer to help distribute the maps on the day of the sale. To get on the map, or to help hand them out anytime between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., contact her at Sarasotadreams@gmail.com. 4.  A letter to the County Commission expressing a desire that the County proceed cautiously wit...

A future road alignment plan coming up before the County Commission on March 18th could have major repercussions on Lake Sarasota. Basically, county planners wish to justify the eventual creation of a north/south artery that would connect Mauna Loa Blvd. with Fruitville Rd. via a road that right now only exists on future maps, called Spine Rd. The planners' reasoning and details are in a Board Memo available via this link.   Spine Rd. will be the subject of discussion at the Board of County Commissioners sometime during the afternoon session on March 18th. The session begins at 1:30, but will have other items. Public input will be possible. Here is the basic scenario as we understand it: The developers of the Bee Ridge Park of Commerce (TerraCap BR and agent Peter M. Dailey and Richard Fischer) wish to remove Spine Rd. from the future plans, presumably because it will save them money to do so.  The planners wish to retain Spine Rd . because they s...

The January 16th Brainstorming Meeting (of the Lake Sarasota Community Group) produced some doable project ideas. Folks also clarified what purpose any such project is about. It's really about contributing in any way we can to the 1,600-home community we call home. Here's the thinking: If you own or rent a house here, then Lake Sarasota matters to you. If bad things happen, chances are the value of your property will sink. If good things happen -- because people care -- the value of the neighborhood will rise, not just in Realtors' eyes, but in the eyes of all of us. Here are the ideas that came up at our January Brainstorming meeting. The one we have committed to putting into action is the March Neighborhood Garage Sale. The rest will depend upon support from you -- not necessarily money, but a bit of your time and energy. UPDATE: Take a moment after reading this to use the POLL at the right tell us which one or two projects matter most to you. It will be open fo...

The agent for the Canadian owner/developer of the Bee Ridge Park of Commerce -- the site opposite the entrance to Lake Sarasota -- offered a more detailed, pared-down version of a plan he presented in February . The plan now calls for creating a 77,400-square-foot commercial building and two restaurants on land on the north and east sides of the site designated for a Racetrac gas station. The presentation by Peter Dailey contained a few surprises, and was somewhat different from what appeared on earlier paperwork submitted to the county planning department. This is a summary of key items. A longer analysis will come later. 1. The petition seeks permission to build a single commercial building about 77,400 square feet in size. Earlier, the developer had wanted two separate buildings. The single structure now proposed would have one floor, eliminating a second-story residential floor sought in earlier stages of the plan. 2. The developer seeks to raise a limit to 33,700 square f...