Many Proposals, One Proposition

To all who care about our public lands and Celery Fields:

Recently people from the community met with the lead planner for the Quad Parcel study now being conducted by the County. This "Critical Area Plan" will open the area to new possibilities. Below are two ways you can influence the outcome.

1. Proposals -- Many who were involved with Fresh Start either developed proposals or grew attached to one or more of those that were presented to the Board. As you know, the Board chose not to direct staff to work on any of our ideas.

What's next? The planning department is now conducting its study of the area. It will look at land uses, at the roads, and at surrounding areas. It will speak with "stakeholders," including the public - that workshop is being planned for mid-May, but the exact date is not yet set.

The results of Planning's research will be presented to the Board a few months from now - possibly in August or September - and at that time, the Board might direct staff to prepare a rezoning of one or more of the Quad parcels.

It would be great if the Board directs staff to prepare a land use rezoning that would allow one or more of the great ideas the community has birthed - and more ideas are on the way. Some truly remarkable and imaginative new proposals are in the works which you'll be hearing more about soon.

Bear in mind, Fresh Start was a limited Board/community process that is no longer active. People like you who remain committed to a bright future for the Celery Fields area must now remember that the Board can do one of three things with the Planning Dept.'s study:

It can direct staff to

a. rezone for compatible uses beneficial to the community.
b. rezone for industrial, commercial or other uses preparatory to a sale to a private developer.
c. do nothing at all (unlikely after this staff initiative).

How can we influence the decision makers to go with A rather than B or C? This is where #2 comes in:

2. Community Proposition: Residents and folks with businesses near the Quad parcels have begun working on a "Community Proposition" for the Quads. The basic idea is, prefer public uses to private development. Encourage beneficial community uses within an enabling positive framework. Note that this initiative doesn't propose specific uses for the parcels. Rather it's about preferring public A to private B - and is offering a way to benefit the entire area.

More about the Community Proposition soon. Meanwhile, if you have a proposal for one or more of the quad parcels, this is the time to send it to lead planner Steve Kirk at SKirk@scgov.net.

Mr. Kirk has indicated that part of the May workshop will involve the planning department's review of proposals that have been submitted up to that time. NOTE: this is likely to include only the 4 final proposals submitted by Fresh Start. If you developed an idea that was not one of the final 4 and still like it, please share it with Mr. Kirk.

All the information we've gathered about the proposals, the workshop, and the critical area plan process are now at this link.

Quads Workshop Info so far

When the date of the workshop is announced, it will be added, and we'll let you know.


Thank you for caring about our public spaces.

Tom Matrullo
Glenna Blomquist

Statement to Board at discussion of Lambert industrial recommendation at Celery Fields

Quad parcel #3 is near the Celery Fields, not far from an elementary school, surrounded by thousands of new housing units you have recently approved. It’s owned by the public.

Last year, when two developers tried to buy and industrialize these public lands, you saw -- and heard -- heartfelt public opposition.

Now that the Board itself is playing the role of industrial developer, people will naturally ask why. They’ll want you to show that the proposed intensification will not endanger persons, property values, roads, or the community. None is in your paperwork for this discussion.

Does the lack of analysis mean that the public, who own this land, should not expect accountability, but instead just give you our trust?

Perhaps it’s difficult for you to offer a reason because this plan is not reasonable.

You have a letter from Fresh Start that summarizes numerous reasons why this plan and the study it’s based on are inadequate.

I have time for just one factor: You’ve approved six housing projects -- Worthington, Artistry, Sylvan Lea, Garden Village, Live Oak, and the Fruitville Initiative - a total of 3,470 new homes within a short walk or drive from parcel 3 and the Celery Fields.

At the same time, you’re seeking to allow an 80,000-square-foot industrial facility on parcel #3.

It’s as if you are seeing two completely incompatible versions of the same place at the same time. Just a few weeks ago, Mr. Waechter told you these fragile roads are already too full of dangerous large trucks to allow for a simple public park. Well how much more dangerous will they be after all the new homes are built, along with the 80,000-square-foot industrial facility?

What you in fact are planning is a slow motion car wreck -- a collision of industry and human lives that will imperil people, property, and community.

This can happen when you blind yourself to the larger picture.

At the same time, you’ve made no provision for the Celery Fields. It’s a pretty magnificent place, which many counties would consider themselves lucky to have. It needs some simple things -- parking, a shaded cafe, an exercise area.

Last month Fresh Start respectfully proposed that the Board dedicate the Celery Fields Quads to beneficial public uses in perpetuity

It’s a good plan. Stop this effort to put industry that no one wants in a place it no longer belongs. Stop it today, forever. Your communities, tourists, our children and 225 species of highly discriminating birds will thank you.

-- Tom Matrullo

After hearing from the consultant and considerable discussion, the Board of Sarasota County Commissioners agreed to direct staff to study reopening the Critical Area Plan for the Quad Parcels for possible modifications, and to come back after Jan. 1, 2019.

An interim update

Quad Parcels 1,2,3

This is a preview of the Updated Report that Fresh Start will submit to the Board of Sarasota County Commissioners in mid-July, before they take their holiday break. We look forward to a public hearing after the Board return in late August or early September.

Since our April 25th report, we have deepened and refined our proposals, in particular the YMCA proposal which gained the highest level of support -- 84% -- from our community.

So here in brief is where we are:

Thanks to our HOAs who responded to our Neighborhood Survey on publicly accessible athletic facilities, we were able to visualize what East County athletic resources our HOAs currently have available to them -- virtually none. That large red oval contains no public athletic fields or sports courts. 

If you live on East Palmer Blvd., you are looking at drives of up to 9 or more miles to public athletic fields, tennis, basketball or pickleball courts, most of which are west of the Interstate.

East County neighborhoods 

The need for sports-related resources will grow more acute as the area grows. Parcel #2, with 10.6 acres of public property, seems an excellent option for a YMCA. We think the location makes sense for many reasons - including the educative potential of being near the Celery Fields. To quote from our report-in-progress:

At the Celery Fields, the Sarasota Y could offer a rich array of children’s programs making great use of the natural treasures right next door. Think of kids birding with Audubon volunteers, and fishing, hiking, and kayaking with YMCA leaders. A YMCA at the Celery Fields would amplify the range and richness of what our community’s seniors and children can experience. 

There's another element in the image shown above: The names "Hi Hat Ranch" and "Lindvest." These are but two of several large-scale housing tracts either underway, or with plans for approval -- they include Waterside, LT Ranch, Grand Lakes, as well as Hi Hat and Lindvest. These five projects (plenty more are coming) total over 27,000 units of housing on more than 20,000 acres of East Sarasota, stretching from University Parkway to SR 681 near Venice. (More details here.)

It seems reasonable that the County would see the need to plan long-range for the roads, services, and amenities all those new residents will need. Fresh Start's proposals for the Quad parcels offer a good start.

Perhaps there's a larger principle to affirm here:

We take this opportunity to assert the public’s right to a vision that balances private development with public needs. 

What do you think?

Just on the practical level of parcel #2 (parcel #1 is off the surplus list, and our proposals for it remain in place), when you take the amazing changes that have occurred in our area in the past 20 years, and add in those that are coming, the Board is facing a simple choice: 

Community asset . . . or Industrial Blight

THIS . . .

or THIS?

We intend to file our Update on July 11, but without a public presentation that day.

Please feel free to share your thoughts between now and then with us at FreshStartSarasota@gmail.com. When a public hearing is scheduled, we'll be in touch.

Thank you for your continued support and encouragement.

The Fresh Start Executive Council