June Update on Public Lands at the Celery Fields

Barely had June 2019 begun when two new proposals involving our public "Quad" parcels at the Celery Fields came forward -- one from a County Commissioner, the other from a private foundation. The differences in their approaches are revealing.

The Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast proposes to acquire 24 acres on Palmer Boulevard across from Tatum Ridge Elementary School to set aside for conservation. Currently it holds a horse farm called "Graceland," but a developer is seeking to put a housing development there -- 42 quarter-acre homesites.

The Foundation's vision goes beyond acquiring this parcel, however. Graceland, says Foundation President Christine Johnson, would be the easternmost parcel within a continuous area extending from the highway to Tatum Ridge Road: a 1,300-acre "rural heritage conservation area" comprehending the Quad parcels, Audubon Nature Center, the Celery Fields and a 140-acre wildlife conservation park that includes Big Cat and beyond to Tatum Road.

Under this plan, the 24-acre Graceland parcel would receive a conservation easement barring development in perpetuity. The land could be dedicated to equestrian uses benefiting the public: riding, hippotherapy, school visits, education, and more, says Johnson, who noted that several schools are nearby, including Tatum Ridge, Fruitville Elementary, McIntosh Middle, the Farm School, and more.

As the map legend below shows, the Foundation projects beneficial public uses on the Quad at Apex and Palmer, including an urban forest and wildlife habitat, a history center, a school bus shelter:

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The second new idea involving our public lands came on June 4, when Commissioner Charles Hines suggested selling the southwest public parcel (#2, 10 acres) to a developer of affordable housing.

Quads Parcels at Apex & Palmer

Mr. Hines noted that developers of affordable housing have not been knocking down his door, but didn’t articulate why. Perhaps, for example, the Board's willingness to tolerate developer overreach -- e.g. Siesta Promenade, LT Ranch, Waterside and more -- has disincentivized low-profit housing construction.

And, while affordable housing is indeed a goal that requires careful planning and policy incentives, Mr. Hines' fixing on public land that has been the subject of intense community interest for more than two years seemed to lurch suddenly out of left field.

In fact all four Quad parcels were the subject last year of a 10-month citizen effort to recommend compatible public uses that would rule out private industry. Sarasota Audubon has proposed an urban forest, others including Jono Miller have spoken of a history museum, a multi-use community estate, and more. Commissioners Al Maio and Mike Moran have both gone on record favoring sale to private industrial profiteers, including waste plant operator James Gabbert.

In January the Board found the Quads to be an area of critical concern, and, given the current narrow two-lane roads and levels of service, admitted that industrial development is not possible on these parcels. It ordered staff to reopen the Critical Area Plan, or CAP, for the area. This launched an in-depth, 11-month process examining all factors relating to potential uses of the public parcels -- roads, surrounding uses, trending demographic and environmental changes and much more. A public workshop held as part of the CAP process on May 14 brought out some 300 residents -- not a single one of whom spoke in favor of industrial development or affordable housing.

A Board decision approving affordable housing on parcel #2 by July 22 (Sarasota News Leader) will disrupt the methodical critical area planning now underway, as well as fly in the face of community and environmentalists' long-held views.

A view of "Graceland"

Clearly two very different approaches are exemplified here. The Foundation is advocating uses in keeping with the trends and surrounding human communities, integrating a long-range vision of a lasting rural heritage and wildlife conservation for future generations.

Mr. Hines conversely is promoting a quick fix to motivate the private construction of less costly housing, apparently without regard to how such an initiative would impact a host of significant social, environmental, economic and infrastructural concerns in a complex, radically changing area.

Another difference has to do with scope. The Foundation is looking wide and long term. The Board appears to be looking at one 10-acre parcel as if it existed in a spatio-temporal vacuum. The history, context and future of the Quad cannot be ignored -- which is why the county ordered the Critical Area Plan in January.

A credible CAP will form a faithful portrait of the entire Quad/Celery Fields area -- so that Sarasota as a community can assess the future needs and benefits of realistic options in a meaningful public process.

A lot is riding on this. If our elected officials have insufficient information, their decision-making authority is compromised. But if they have that information and choose to ignore it, a different public response will be needed.

It’s in our voting power to change the political landscape -- as dramatically as 246 species of birds have transformed the nature of a former industrial area. When good things happen -- like the Celery Fields -- they deserve prudent stewardship for all our citizens.

The Conservation Foundation seeks donors to help realize its vision

(This conservation effort ended June 30)

Update: Quad Parcels, Gabbert, Audubon Workshop

With the new year, there are two updates about the Quad Parcels near the Celery Fields, and news of  a coming workshop.

1. On Tuesday the Board will discuss reopening the Critical Area Plan for the Quad parcels. These four parcels are Public Lands. It's the next to last item on the day's long agenda.

This entire process is about public lands, and requires that the public be recognized as stakeholders on a par with all other interested parties. Please advise your neighbors. The staff notes for Tuesday's discussion are here.

Quad Parcels are Public Lands

Critical Area Planning can be useful when an area in transition needs to be rezoned, and its surroundings have changed. The idea is to look at what could be the best uses for the Quad parcels given the current context. How that context is defined will be key. It could include Celery Fields, the Fruitville Initiative, Big Cat Habitat and the businesses of the Packinghouse district, as well as nearby neighborhoods and office parks.

When a critical area plan is opened, new possibilities can be created. The county will seek input "from stakeholders and the general public." This is tricky. If the critical area plan is just about the quads, who are the stakeholders? Robert Waechter and James Gabbert, who own industrial properties bordering on parcel #2? The key will be the borders and scope of work, which need to include the full range of options for future uses on this land -- not simply the "lens" of the Lambert Advisory report. More background here and here.

Seen from highway: Owner James Gabbert who plans a Waste Transfer Station
on this six-acre site.  Beyond the treeline is Parcel #2, with the Celery Fields in background

2. It is confirmed that James Gabbert will receive the long-sought permit to build his Waste Transfer Facility, or WTF, on the six-acre parcel he owns at Porter and Palmer (the left rectangle of parcel 2). It's the first property one sees when coming from the West through the Palmer I-75 underpass.

Mr. Gabbert is expected to receive final approval (no public hearing required) within two weeks. For those wondering what can be done  to mitigate this authorized blight, we'll have some suggestions in the coming week. We'd like to hear yours as well.

3. Sarasota Audubon will hol a workshop about saving public lands from development - see the attached flyer. It's an opportunity to learn some important things. It's free at the Audubon Nature Center (at the foot of Mt. Celery) on Feb. 15, 1:30 pm.

As always, thanks for caring about our entire Celery Fields area -- and about honest, transparent, sensible planning.

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