Information page for Quads Critical Area Plan Workshop

The planning workshop that seeks public input on rezoning the public lands at the Celery Fields will be held at 6 pm, May 14, at the Church of Hope, 1560 Wendell Kent Rd, Sarasota, FL 34240. 

The Planning Department has posted community input and proposals here:

>>Index to county planning links <<
   
      Documents prepared by the Planning Department include:

1. Memorandum from Planning

2. Community proposals via the 2018 Fresh Start process:

• Proposals Submitted to Fresh Start_Part1
• Proposals Submitted to Fresh Start_Part2
• Proposals Submitted to Fresh Start_Part3
• Proposals Submitted to Fresh Start_Part4

3. Reports to the Board from Fresh Start: 7.11.17 and 9.12.17

4. Update: New proposals submitted from the community 

     Proposals are still coming in, so more will probably be added to this page.

5. Information on how the public may comment

======

This is the one opportunity for all who love the Celery Fields to come, listen, and voice their thoughts and concerns. The workshop begins at 6 pm - 

at the Church of Hope, 1560 Wendell Kent Rd, Sarasota, FL 34240, where James Gabbert introduced his proposal for a waste processing facility in January 2017. 

The public record of this workshop goes to the Board, which will decide the future of these public lands. Here are some of our concerns:

Not everyone on the Board sees the point of using public lands for the public good. With thoughtful stewardship, public lands can provide needed public facilities and activities. Why sell them to enrich a couple of private developers?

Industrial uses will generate traffic, noise, dead space incompatible with the developing natural beauty of the Celery Fields area, and its recreational potential.

The scope of this process is narrow. When Gabbert proposed his waste processing facility, the county failed to acknowledge the existence of the Celery Fields. This plan should not exclude important considerations that PLANNING should be thinking about now:

1 - future protective measures for wildlife, residents and visitors;
2 - the impacts of coming growth in East County;
3 - quality of life benefits from safe roads and a tranquil environment.

With care and intelligent stewardship, this very special area will return investments a hundredfold -- more about this here.