The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

ReZone Petition 23-19 On Planning Commission Agenda 9.21.23 An 80-home development is proposed to be built on the open space on Hand Road opposite the Lakeview Dog Park. As residents know, Hand Road is basically blocked by school traffic every morning and afternoon as parents and buses usher kids to and from school. The plan raises additional safety issues as well. The 90-degree curve from Lago Street onto Hand Road is basically blind, and it's at this curve that school kids cross the road each weekday to and from their schools - Lakeview Elementary and Oak Park.  Before the 90-degree curve, Lago Street is a long straightaway where drivers enjoy building up speed. During school hours, a crossing guard is posted to make sure cars allow schoolchildren to safely cross. Note Access Point #2 above.  Will drivers coming rapidly down Lago Road be able to see cars entering onto Hand Road at that access point right around the curve?  Will placing an entry from an 80-home project n...

A re-zoning long sought by the owners of the Bee Ridge Park of Commerce (BRPOC) was approved Tuesday by the Sarasota County Commission. The approval (changing zoning from PCD -> Commercial Neighborhood) was delayed due to complications of road design as well as concerns from nearby neighborhoods about impacts of the development upon traffic, tranquility, and property values. The owner/developer, the Canadian firm TerraCap, entered into discussions with neighborhood representatives that led to a compromise agreement. A voluntary Declaration or Covenant, it limits the kinds of businesses that can operate in the Park of Commerce, and imposes other constraints upon hours of delivery, lighting, noise and signage. Once signed and recorded, it is legally binding upon the developer. The Commission made the rezoning approval contingent upon the signing and recording of the Declaration. A copy of the final document can be downloaded here . In addition, the developer stipulated that no spa...

The Lake Sarasota Community Group has been working on reaching agreement on a voluntary set of Declarations (a Covenant) by which the developer (and al future owners of the BRPOC property) agrees to abide, regarding permitted uses of the property. A Public Hearing is set for the proposed Re-Zoning of 6.9 acres of the Bee Ridge Park of Commerce, directly opposite the main entrance of Lake Sarasota at Mauna Loa Blvd. Rezone petition 13-26 PCD to CN, 6.9 acres and special exception #1720 to allow an individual use greater than 20,000 square feet in a CN zone district. Nov. 4 at 1:30 pm Robert L. Anderson Admin Center, 4000 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice, FL Stay tuned for updates.

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...

On Thurs. April 3, a request to rezone a portion of the Bee Ridge Park of Commerce from PCD to CN will be heard by the Planning Commission. See here for details . Below are descriptions of what is permitted under each designation. Are there any uses we as nearby residents would prefer not to see across from our front entrance? Have a look, let us know . =========== PCD vs. CN by level of permission (Sarasota Cty Code Appendix 5) Info taken from the Municode for Sarasota County 4.7. - Commercial and Industrial District Intent Statements. 4.7.1. Commercial Neighborhood District (CN). a. The CN District permits small-scale, neighborhood-oriented commercial facilities. Their proper development and use shall be facilitated through design techniques and sufficient buffering (as set out in Article 7 ), which provide for walkable, pedestrian-friendly uses compatible with nearby residential uses. The district is not intended for use by major or large-scale commercial...

The Planning Commission will review TerraCap and Peter Dailey's request to rezone the Bee Ridge Park of Commerce from PCD to CN, and to create a right-in/right-out turn on Bee Ridge so cars heading West can enter 460 feet East of the Mauna Loa intersection.

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...

The next regular meeting of the Lake Sarasota Community Group is Thursday, March 14th, 7 pm, Sarasota Alliance Church offices (behind the church). It has been suggested that we in Lake Sarasota identify what we consider as "acceptable kinds of businesses" for the TerraCap development. Why? Because if TerraCap's petition to rezone to CN is approved, a lot of what is now supposed to be medical use can become any of a wide variety of other uses, in some cases needing no approval from the county or the neighboring communities. TerraCap at Mauna Loa and Bee Ridge Rd. Sandy has compiled a very good comparison of potential uses in PCD zoning (the current designation), and those in CN (the designation TerraCap is seeking). (More  here. ) In general, PCD is much broader - e.g., light industrial uses are permitted, so are loud activities such as shooting ranges -- which are not allowed under CN. CN also requires more buffering and landscaping. Gluttons for punishment...

The topic did not come up at the Neighborhood Workshop, but aside from the 90,000 square feet that TerraCap is seeking to rezone to CN for retail, offices and restaurants, there are other parcels totaling another 85,000 square feet which are already approved for a bank, drugstore, etc. Yet another parcel of unspecified size is approved and designated for a hotel. Here's the letter from Peter Dailey stating all this - click to enlarge:

The Neighborhood Workshop regarding Rezoning of Bee Ridge Park of Commerce is now scheduled for Wed. Feb. 20th, 6 pm. at the Disabled Veterans Lodge. Here's the confirmation from County Planning: Peter Dailey contacted our office this afternoon to confirm that the neighborhood workshop IS ON for February 20th at 6 pm at the Disabled American Veteran’s Lodge located at 7177 Bee Ridge Road (the lodge is located approximately a ¼ mile east of Mauna Loa Blvd. on the north side of Bee Ridge Road). Note: As of this posting we still do not know whether Racetrac, which plans a 24-pump gas station on this site, will be included in the proposed rezoning (in which case it will need a special exception to have more than 4 pumps), or whether it will stay with the PCD, which allows for 24 pumps. If built as planned, it will be the largest Racetrac on the West Coast of Florida. Here is a letter to Racetrac from local neighborhoods  (also here ) - as yet we have received no response from the...

As many know, a Canadian investment firm, TerraCap, is seeking to rezone 10 acres that front on Bee Ridge Rd. directly across from the Mauna Loa entrance to Lake Sarasota. The site is known as the Bee Ridge Park of Commerce , or BRPOC, for short. TerraCap and its representative Dailey Design are seeking to change the designation of these fronting 10 acres from PCD to CN, and in order to do this, they must hold a public meeting, called a Neighborhood Workshop. A meeting date will be set and announced soon, we're told. The governing land use and zoning codes are very detailed, Some members of the community have attempted to make a side-by-side comparison of what is permitted in PCD vs. what can go into a CN. None of us is an expert, but the information has been drawn from an authoritative source, the Municipal Code of Ordinances of Sarasota County . Generally, a PCD allows for a broader range of uses - including bars, liquor stores, warehouses, lumberyards, extreme sports, ...

As of yet there is no word as to when a Neighborhood Workshop on Terracap's proposal to rezone part of the Bee Ridge Park of Commerce will be held. We'll send out an email as soon as we know. It's easy to get on the email list  -- just send a note to lakesarasota@gmail.com . The Bee Ridge Neighborhoods Committee , which for several years has worked with planners on the widening of Bee Ridge Rd., has written to Racetrac Inc., noting several concerns with the large, 24-hour gas station the company wishes to build opposite the front entrance to Lake Sarasota, at Mauna Loa and Bee Ridge Rd. The full text of that letter is here . The key concerns noted in the letter that relate to Lake Sarasota were: The Committee recognizes that Racetrac will be a large, tall, highly visible and active presence on East Bee Ridge Road., a road consisting mainly of bedroom communities that has heretofore been completely without commercial activity after 5 p.m. In view of the desire of ...