Public Workshop on the public lands at the Celery Fields May 14, 2109

Critical Area planning workshop about the "Quads" -- 38 acres of public lands at the Celery Fields, Sarasota FL.

A new plan for the Celery Fields

Nowadays, mammoth condo and apartment communities are popping up all around the animal sanctuary and the nearby Celery Fields, one of the last remaining undeveloped green spaces in Sarasota County. Herald Tribune, 12.22.18.

Celery Fields, Sarasota

To the Board of Sarasota County Commissioners:

A "Critical Area Plan" (CAP) is a technical tool -- an innovation first developed by Sarasota County planning years ago. According to one of the original planners who developed and implemented CAPs over many years, the purpose of establishing a boundary for a CAP project is to insure that all the important changes a proposed development will bring to a specific area are addressed.*

As a tool for gauging compatibility, clearly the CAP boundary is not intended to encompass just the area of the project. That would not make sense.

When the Fruitville Initiative was designed, the boundaries of the CAP benefited from public input, solicited by the County.

On Sept. 12, 2018, the Board of Sarasota County Commissioners decided it was time to revisit the Critical Area Plan (CAP) for the Quad parcels near the Celery Fields in light of the current context and realities. A discussion item on this is scheduled for Jan. 29, 2019 (time to be determined).

This should provide a long overdue opportunity to envision what is possible at the Celery Fields area, considering the mismatch between old plans from 1983 and the new reality of a world-famous birding destination in the area.

Before starting the CAP process, the BCC will first need to approve the boundaries (i.e. aerial extent) and criteria (plan tasks) at a public hearing.

When Restaurant Depot’s giant warehouse proposal came before this board two years ago, their Critical Area Plan was contrived to coincide with the boundaries of its own parcel. That is to say: the impacts of the giant warehouse upon the Celery Fields and other surrounding parcels were explicitly ignored by the very planning tool that's supposed to take those impacts into account.

In advance of setting CAP boundaries and criteria for the Celery Fields, the defined process requires staff to proactively conduct public meeting(s) to solicit public input on the boundaries and criteria, much as was done at this stage of the Fruitville Initiative.

Given the success of the Audubon Nature Center, the expansion of the Big Cat Habitat, and the undeniable need for more parking and complementary facilities for the tens of thousands of birders, recreationalists and eco-tourists who flock to the Celery Fields each year, it is clearly time for the County to re-envision the entire Celery Fields Area to address its current uses, context and future needs for the people of Sarasota County.

The Fresh Start Initiative

*Sarasota News Leader

Advisers of the Fresh Start Initiative

The Fresh Start Advisory Panel

Cathy Antunes' professional experience includes a twenty year career in executive sales with three Fortune 500 companies. A recipient of numerous national and regional sales awards throughout her career, she executed over a dozen successful product launches and served on national brand advisory committees. Antunes has served as an officer on the board of local civic non-profits, and currently hosts her radio show, The Detail, on WSRQ. She writes a monthly column for SRQ Daily and blogs at www.thedetail.net. She is married to Dr. Jose Antunes and lives in the City of Sarasota.


Kafi Benz author, illustrator, graphics designer, and publisher
- president, CONA — Sarasota County Council of Neighborhood Associations, Inc.
- founder and president, Friends of “Seagate” Incorporated
- studio director, Jim Gary’s Twentieth Century Dinosaurs
- appointee, Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Org Citizen Advisory Committee
- curator and narrator for muralist and film maker, MTO
- was instrumental in accomplishments in the field of public land acquisitions:
- establishment of Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, a National Natural Landmark
- acquisition of “Seagate” (Powel Crosley Estate) by the state of Florida
- partnered with Sarasota effort to acquire Rus-in-Ur’be via Florida Forever Program


Brian Lichterman, President, Vision Planning & Design. An experienced Land Use Planner with over 34 years of public and private sector Land Use Planning experience, Brian was born and raised in Racine, Wisconsin. He moved to Sarasota in 1983 and spent the next 22 years as a Senior Planner with the Sarasota County Planning Department. When working for Sarasota County, he was the recipient of numerous planning awards for innovativeness on some of the 33 corridor studies and critical area planning studies he managed throughout Sarasota County. In 2005, after leaving the County, he opened Vision Planning and Design, a Planning Consulting firm based in Sarasota, Florida.
         His firm is still very active, specializing in land entitlement by representing both public and private sector clients. As of 2018, he has successfully obtained approval of rezonings, special exceptions and comprehensive plan amendments on well over 50 properties in the Sarasota and Manatee County. In 2010, he obtained a Real Estate License and he currently works for Wagner Realty. He received a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the University of South Florida in 1996 and a Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Planning and Sociology from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in 1979. Reach Brian at 941-780-4166 or Brianl@visionplanning2.com.


Jono Miller has been a Sarasota environmental educator, activist, volunteer and sometimes consultant for the past four decades. He’s been a community leader on topics such as environmentally sensitive land protection, neighborhood parkland, voting systems, tree protection, comprehensive planning, coastal issues, cabbage palms, water supply, backyard chickens, and protection of the Myakka River. He is a member of class twenty of Leadership Florida, and in 2006 received the 1000 Friends of Florida, Bill Sadowski Award for public service at the regional/state level. He is retired from teaching and directing the Environmental Studies Program at New College of Florida.


Tim Rumage - Planetary ethicist and the Coordinator/Developer of Environmental Studies at Ringling College of Art and Design, Tim teaches courses on environmental science, sustainability, creating ecological cities, applied environmental design, food, water, biodiversity, and environmental ethics.
       Tim is also a Coordinator for Sustainability in Design Education at CUMULUS an international organization of over 200 art, design and media colleges from 50 countries. Recent work focuses on Biophilic design (the incorporation of nature’s services in urban design and infrastructure), the economic value of nature as well as climate change and sea level rise. 

       Previous endeavors include developing curriculum on sustainability and a variety of interdisciplinary projects involving habitat restoration and protection, local food production, water issues. Early research areas included Marine Mammals, Bats, Pelagic Birds, and environmental surveys. He is a frequent lecturer at other colleges and community organizations and leads workshops on Sustainability in the US, UK and EU.
       Along with David Houle, Tim co-authored the book This Spaceship Earth and co-founded the non-profit organization This Spaceship Earth, Inc.

Stephen Suau is a registered engineer with over 30 years of experience in southwest Florida. Although he has previously served as Executive Director of Sarasota County’s Growth Management and Development Services Business Center as well as Director of Sarasota County’s Stormwater Environmental Utility, he has spent most of his professional career in the private sector. His specialty is watershed management planning and water resources, including the Sarasota County’s Celery Fields and Dona Bay initiatives. Mr. Suau has engaged local communities relative to watershed management at the regional and neighborhood scales.
        A Principle and Managing Partner of Progressive Water Resources, he has a Bachelors of Science degree from the University of Illinois in Civil Engineering and a Masters in Engineering Administration from Bradley University. He resides in Sarasota, Florida and has served as chairman of the Sarasota County Stormwater Environmental Utility Advisory Committee, co-chairman of the Sarasota County Environmentally Sensitive Lands Advisory Committee, vice-chairman of the Myakka River Planning Advisory Committee, and the Sarasota County Sustainable Agriculture Policy Committee. He has also served as the Southwest Florida areas representative on the Technical Advisory Committee for the proposed State Stormwater Rule, and chaired the Manatee County Chamber of Commerce’s Green Sustainability Task Force.


Rob Wright - Mr. Wright grew up in Sarasota County and has called the area home for most of his life. Living here has sparked a deep abiding love for our water and lands natural resources and the need to manage them wisely to enhance our quality of life. His overriding philosophy is “Development should blend within nature not be placed on top of it.” He is currently Conservation Chair for Sarasota Audubon Society (SAS) and a leading voice on environmental issues.
       He served as Neighborhood Environmental Stewardship Team (NEST) Coordinator (Environmental Specialist) for Sarasota County (15 years) specializing in stormwater water quality enhancement/habitat restoration, shoreline erosion control and rehabilitation for ponds, canals and bays. He is a Certified stormwater inspector.

       Mr. Wright has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography/Coastal Zone Management, Florida Atlantic University and has been involved in the administration and implementation of water resource environmental management programs in the public and private sector for over 35 years. He has extensive experience as an environmental educator and troubleshooting water resource issues.


William C. Zoller, AIA. Architect. Born and reared in Manatee County. Graduated from MIT, worked in New York and Brussels, then returned to the area and settled in Sarasota in 1971. Established architectural practice in Sarasota. Past president of CONA, currently on Board of Directors of CONA.

Celery Fields Area