Last Stand Protest, Nov. 2, at the public parcels near the Celery Fields

Board Meets Wed. Nov. 6 to address rezoning possibly to industrial use.

1660 Ringling Blvd.

1:30 pm

Planning not to plan

Wall at James Gabbert's WTF at Porter and Palmer

Above is a photo taken yesterday (9.8.19) of the wall which James Gabbert is building to "hide" his waste transfer facility (WTF) at Porter and Palmer. It will hide his waste piles from passing motorists - millions of them on the highway annually - about as well as it will keep traffic flowing while his trucks enter and leave at Palmer Blvd. opposite Bell Rd.

Sarasota County does not plan; it prefers to offer concierge services to its friends.

On Wednesday, citizens of Miakka in East County will attempt to get the Board to allow their proposed Comprehensive Plan Amendment to proceed. I.e., they are not asking the Board to approve changes, but merely to allow the Planning Dept. to consider a rural heritage vision of East County.

The "Planning Commission" -- an appointed board stuffed with realtors, insurance people and development interests -- already said "NO" to the Miakka Community of East Sarasota. They expressed dismay that citizens would dare propose a Comp Plan amendment to protect their way of life from leapfrog intensification - which developers are now proposing.

Keep an eye on the Board action on Wednesday afternoon, when Becky Ayech and the Miakka community ask our elected officials to allow the planning department to consider an actual plan.

Because in November, the Board will once again take up our public lands at the Quads. And they will discuss a plan - not a plan made by citizens, but directed by the Board.

The time to plan for the Quads was August 2017, when the people told the Board to not even consider industry on public land on Palmer Blvd. Early evidence is that they are still considering industry at the Quads, for the parcels west of Apex Rd.

They can say, "well, Parcel #2 (SW corner) is already bordered by Mr. Gabbert's WTF" - yes, now it is - because they didn't ever have a plan, a vision for the area, which fundamentally changed thanks to the Celery Fields, to Audubon, to the Fruitville Initiative, and to new residents who do not care to live next to industry.

Let's see what happens on 9.11, 1:30 pm, when Rural Heritage values come before the Board.

Rural Miakka

Conservation Foundation seeks Rural Heritage Area

A Public Notice from the County announces rezoning of the NW parcel of the Quads at Apex and Palmer from its open use rural designation to Government Use. Hearing scheduled for July 10, 9 a.m. It appears that the rezone is solely addressing the fire station portion of the parcel - 2 acres - leaving about 7 acres for another use yet to be determined.

By the way, County notices published in the HT can be found online here  Also -- 

***HELP IF YOU CAN*** 

At the eastern end of the 1,300 acres which the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast envisions for a Rural Heritage Conservation Area (this "central park" would contain the Quads, the Celery Fields, Big Cat Habitat and more) the Foundation is trying to preserve 24 acres near Tatum Ridge Elementary from yet another housing development. If the Foundation can reach its goal, he parcel would become a permanent conservation area set aside for the community's benefit. It currently has a horse farm on it.

If you have a little spare cash, please consider helping them meet a June 30 deadline to come up with an installment payment of $650,000. Your help would also demonstrate community support for the larger Rural Heritage vision.

If the County sees we care about this "Central Park" for East Sarasota, perhaps they'll be less inclined to expand industrial uses on our public lands at the Celery Fields.

Thank you.

Scope of Critical Area Plan is what's critical

published 5.13.19 in The Herald Tribune

Opinion

Matrullo: A big idea near the Celery Fields

On Tuesday, Sarasota County will conduct a public workshop, part of a detailed study of some 38 acres of public lands adjacent to the Celery Fields known as “the Quads.” These four parcels galvanized public attention in 2017 when it became known that one parcel might be sold to a developer for a 16-acre waste processing plant.

The Quads sit at the center of a landscape in radical transition, between an aging industrial sector with giant-truck traffic on thin roads to the west; and to the east, 360 acres of open space featuring wetlands attractive to more than 220 bird species, and the unique “Mount Celery” offering humans great recreation and startling views.

The County Commission’s commendable decision to formally analyze the area’s roads, drainage, mobility constraints and more came after realizing that nothing can be done here without upgrades to the infrastructure. When such changes are considered, public comment is required.

The public’s opportunity comes at 6 p.m. Tuesday, when planners will gather input from “stakeholders” — residents, visitors, warehouse landlords, bird lovers and more — at a workshop at the Church of Hope, 1560 Wendell Kent Road.

Last year, citizens fearful of industrial development spent 10 months working on alternative ideas for the Quads. A cornucopia of ideas poured from our communities. Among them: public gardens, urban forests, meeting and exhibition rooms, an ecolodge, visitors center, exercise areas and infrastructure improvements to better serve our residents, visitors and wildlife.

The commissioners went with a different initiative, hiring a Miami firm to assess one parcel for sale, with an eye toward price, without examining compatibility or feasibility. Industry was recommended for the northwest parcel. A final decision about rezoning the parcels is expected in August. Meanwhile, James Gabbert has begun building a waste-transfer facility adjacent to the southwest parcel.

Commissioners Al Maio and Mike Moran have favored selling our land to private developers. But a far more transformative prospect is staring us in the face: a highway flyover with bicycle, pedestrian and automobile lanes is planned to connect University Town Center/Benderson with the new Waterside development and the Celery Fields. We wouldn’t need the highway — or even a car — to go from one end of this tri-dimensional area to the other.

How does this relate to the Quads? They sit at a key intersection: No car or bicycle can go from Benderson or Waterside to the Celery Fields without going through our public parcels.

Industry would add trucks, deaden walkability, and degrade visitor experience. Configured for recreational community, and visitor uses through a modest investment of tourist tax dollars, the Quads add value to this larger economic catalyst in revitalizing highway neighborhoods and businesses.

At Tuesday’s workshop, planners will listen to the public’s ideas about the Quads. But will the County Commission? Can we turn the county’s thinking in a positive direction?

Our commissioners have the power to create new value: an inland environment engaging three large and diverse assets with manifold synergies would make for a superb large-scale destination. Will the board instead choose to sell our lands so private developers can profit? Their decision will be permanent, and deeply concerns us all.

So here’s a suggestion: We citizens can offer thoughts, but we’re not Frederick Law Olmsted.

The county needs to retain a visionary planner — today’s Olmsted or John Nolen — to ensure that these three fine areas connect in a diverse, balanced, and accessible way. Because this public opportunity is big — unless our officials choose to make it small.

Tom Matrullo, a Sarasota County resident, has been actively working on Celery Fields issues for several years.

Our chance to speak for public lands

Courtesy of the Sarasota News Leader

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May 14 workshop first step in analyzing potential future development around the Celery Fields

May 2, 2019 by Rachel Brown Hackney, Editor & Publisher

Sarasota County staff seeking public participation in session at Church of Hope on Wendell Kent Road

A graphic shows the three ‘Quads’ parcels (outlined in red) originally under consideration for sale as surplus land. The Northeast Quad is home to a stormwater pond. Image courtesy Sarasota County

On Tuesday, May 14, Sarasota County staff will hold a workshop to begin discussions that could lead to new policies regarding development in the vicinity of the Celery Fields.

Formally, the event will focus on an analysis of the Critical Area Plan (CAP) for the Interstate 75/Fruitville Road Major Employment Center area. The County Commission authorized the scope of work for the study after a staff presentation on Jan. 30.

In preparation for the May 14 session, supporters of the Celery Fields have been at work on new proposals for the adjacent, county-owned parcels called the “Quads.” Last year, the County Commission allowed a group called the Fresh Start Initiative to recommend potential uses on the Quads that its members felt would be compatible with the Celery Fields, which has grown into an internationally known bird-watching park.

Although the Celery Fields was created as a major stormwater project, it is home — especially during the annual migratory season — to a vast array of avian species, its advocates have stressed to the County Commission.

Commissioners heard the final Fresh Start presentation in September 2018. After months of meetings conducted to winnow ideas from representatives of about 50 homeowner associations in the vicinity of the Quads, Fresh Start leaders implored the board members to take a commonsense, holistic approach to future planning in the area.

Among the ideas the Fresh Start group suggested for specific parcels of the Quads were an outdoor sports complex, a multi-use pavilion and buffer/visitor center, and an ecotourist lodge with a restaurant.

The commissioners did not ask staff to pursue any of the ideas.

This graphic shows the area of the Fruitville Road/I-75 Major Employment Center CAP and surrounding areas. Image courtesy Sarasota County

Additionally, in late November 2017, the commissioners directed staff to hire a consultant to analyze the potential for the sale and development of the county-owned Northwest Quad. After listening to an October 2018 presentation on the resulting report, then-Commissioner Paul Caragiulo cited ongoing concerns about the insufficiency of the road infrastructure in the area of the Quads to support any development. He indicated that a new industrial use — as the consulting firm, Lambert Advisory LLC of Miami, had suggested — could lead to greater safety issues.

Addressing Eric Luff, a principal of Lambert Advisory, Caragiulo referred to the area of Palmer Boulevard and Apex Road, saying that “just about anything [except] a lemonade stand not seating more than five people” would exacerbate the traffic problems.

Caragiulo then won unanimous support from his colleagues for staff to reopen the CAP that governs development of the area near Fruitville Road and I-75, so the Quads could be included in that CAP. The May 14 workshop is one step on that path.

The workshop has been scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Church of Hope, located at 1560 Wendell Kent Road.

This is one vista from the Celery Fields in eastern Sarasota County. image courtesy Sarasota County

A county news release about the session explains, “The purpose of this workshop is to provide the public information on the nature of the CAP study, and for staff to hear public comment on the study and other issues of concern in the area.”

Those unable to attend the workshop who would like to offer comments or ideas may mail them to Planning Services, 1660 Ringling Blvd., 1st Floor, Sarasota, FL 34236; email them to Planner@scgov.net; or call the county Contact Center at 861-5000, the release points out.

“Background information and supporting documents for the workshop can be found on the Planning and Development Services Calendar online at https://www.scgov.net/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/10155/5467or www.scgov.net; keyword: PDS Calendar, the release adds.

Proposals aplenty

The Planning and Development Services webpage already lists a number of proposals people have submitted for consideration as part of the CAP analysis.

Last year, the YMCA proposed a sports complex on one of the county-owned parcels next to the Celery Fields. Image courtesy Fresh Start Initiative

Further, leaders of the Fresh Start Initiative have offered comments in advance of the workshop. “The public record of this workshop goes to the [County Commission], which will decide the future of these public lands,” they wrote. Among their concerns, they added, are the following, with their emphasis.

• “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?” (In late 2017, facing gaps in future budgets, the County Commission talked at length about selling surplus county property. The Quads were part of that discussion, though no effort is underway to market the parcels, pending the outcome of the new CAP analysis.)
• “Industrial uses will generate traffic, noise [and] dead space incompatible with the developing natural beauty of the Celery Fields area, and its recreational potential.
• “The scope of this process is narrow.… This plan should not exclude important considerations that PLANNING should be thinking about now, such as “future protective measures for wildlife, residents and visitors”; “the impacts of coming growth in East County”; and quality-of-life “benefits from safe roads and a tranquil environment.”

The following is a sampling of other comments county staff has received:

• The Community Land Trust of Sarasota, which describes itself as a not-for-profit entity “chartered to hold land in stewardship for all mankind, present and future, while preserving and protecting the legitimate use-rights of its residents,” proposes the Celery Fields Community Estate (CFCE).

This graphic shows potential development of Quads 1 and 2, as proposed by the Community Land Trust of Sarasota. Image courtesy Sarasota County

This graphic from the Community Land Trust of Sarasota shows potential development on the Northwest and Northeast Quads. Image courtesy Sarasota County

Among the components of the CFCE, the organization says, would be additional public parkland, a multi-use conference center, a farm-to-table restaurant, a public pavilion and café, and tiny home developments.

• Former Sarasota City Commissioner Susan Chapman suggests that the Quads be used as an auxiliary location for Selby Gardens’ greenhouses “and protected storage for priceless collections. A library could be built for the preservation of the rare horticultural books.”

• Jono Miller, retired director of New College’s Environmental Studies Program, wrote that he would “love to come brainstorm” the following idea with knowledgeable birders: how to simultaneously increase stormwater capacity, diversify the habitat types at the Celery Fields, create two types of roosting/nesting areas over water, create a restaurant “with great two-story views of the roosting/nesting areas” and provide a place for birders to stay next to the Celery Fields.

• A combination of a community co-op garden, a butterfly garden, a sculpture garden and an area with affordable housing for artists that would incorporate studios and teaching and production space.

• Greg Para, who has operated his nonprofit Sarasota Parrot Conservatory out of his home office and a large sanctuary in Manatee County, wrote that he would like to relocate the nonprofit’s facilities to the Quads. From that location, he indicated, he could continue to provide avian therapy for military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); undertake excursions with the birds to senior centers; and plan events for pediatric cancer patients.

• Another person proposed a wildlife and bird rehab center, with, perhaps, a children’s educational center and art center/gallery promoting Florida artists.

• Jono Miller and Rob Wright, conservation chair of the Sarasota Audubon Society, suggest that the county History Center could be relocated to the Southwest Quad, where it would have much more space to showcase its collection.

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An update on County actions on the Quad Parcels

The County has initiated a process. Its aim is to decide what to do about four parcels of public land at Apex Rd. and Palmer Blvd. which the County acquired in 1997, commonly called the Quads.

Two parcels (#1 and #2) have lain vacant for 22 years. Parcel #3 has had a temporary fire station, but will soon have a permanent one. Parcel #4 has a retention pond.

The Planning Department's process, called a Critical Area Plan, is intended to take a new look at these parcels in the context of surrounding lands, assets and uses. Part of the decision about how these parcels are rezoned will depend on which surroundings are considered most relevant.

The immediate surroundings include:

Quads and partial surrounding context

• The Celery Fields
• Small office and warehouse facilities north and south of the Quads
• Thousands of new homes and apartments built on East Palmer Blvd., on Debrecen, on Lorraine (formerly Iona), on Cattlemen Rd., and more -- all since the Quads were acquired.
• Tatum Ridge elementary school.
• The commercial area just west of I-75 that includes Detwilers, JRs Packinghouse Cafe, and many more businesses.
• The Fruitville Initiative - now underway at Coburn and Fruitville, which will eventually contain more than 1,000 new residences.
• Ackerman Park

In mid-May (date not yet set), the Planning Department will hold one public meeting to hear input from our communities. The Board got an earful on Aug. 23, 2017, when more than 300 people attended an all-day hearing on a proposal from waste developer James  Gabbert, who wanted to buy parcel #2 and build a 16-acre, open air waste processing facility. The proposal eventually was voted down 3-2, with Commissioners Maio and Moran voting for Gabbert's waste facility.

These are public lands, but the Board, especially Commissioners Maio and Moran, have indicated preference for selling these 30+ acres to private developers. Industrial developers such as Robert Waechter and James Gabbert have long supported the political careers of Maio and Moran. Waechter owns several dilapidated warehouses just south of parcel #2 and has been strongly in favor of putting more industry on the Quads.

Here an update on the May meeting from the lead planner for the county's Critical Area Plan process, Steve Kirk:

The public workshop will be an informal event and staff will be flexible in how it concludes.  Timing speakers would be unnecessary, however, domination of discussions will be discouraged.  Any input regarding CAP should be directed  to me at my address, phone number or email address below. 

The intent  of the workshop is to present to the public all the information the staff has at the time, and then hear ideas and feedback from those in attendance.  The staff presentation will include any ideas related to the CAP or the County properties previously provided by the public, including those previously put forth by Fresh Start.* We will also include anything else we receive  prior to the workshop.  It will be made clear in our presentation that we will continue to take public input, and will welcome conversations on the CAP issues after the workshop, and until the CAP study is completed. 

Let me know if you have questions. 

Planner III
Sarasota County Planning Services
1660 Ringling Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34236
Office: 941-861-5202
Email: skirk@scgov.net

Steve Kirk, AICP, ASLA

*Editor's note: Fresh Start was a community-based initiative to propose uses for the Quad parcels that were alternatives to industry. The community provided many ideas which were vetted then voted on by community representatives. Four "finalist" ideas were presented which included a public open space and buffer for the Celery Fields birding area; an ecolodge and restaurant; an athletic complex, and an area of shops and affordable housing. The Board chose to pursue none of these ideas, or to respond to the community's vision. Instead, it paid $29,000 to a Miami consultant, Lambert Advisory, which advised industrial use on parcel #3, leading to this new Critical Area Plan.

When the date / time of the public meeting is set, we'll let you know.

Celery Fields looking west

Public input to the reopened Critical Area Plan at the Celery Fields

We last wrote to the Board requesting that citizens be included when the Board reopens the Critical Area Plan for the Celery Fields:

Yesterday came this reply from Jane Grogg of Planning:

Good afternoon, 

The Board direction was for staff to bring back a scope of work for amendment to the Critical Area Plan by January. If they decide to move forward, staff would perform the analysis and hold associated public workshop(s) before returning to the Board with the draft amendments. The Board would then have the option to authorize the amendment process for hearings at the Planning Commission and Board. Since this is an existing CAP, the boundaries of the CAP is have already been adopted.
Thank you,
Jane

Given the active and intense interest in our communities as to the fate of this area, and given that the county has not begun to provide the necessary support for its continued safe and protected existence as a bird sanctuary, public recreation space, and natural habitat for wildlife, we believe that our communities and the public in general have earned the right to play a real part in basic decision making that will result from reopening the CAP.

One key element of reopening the CAP is in fact the opportunity to take a new look at its boundaries. 

As this goes forward, the CAP can be modified to allow more robust roads, and therefore allow for industry. Or, it can be modified in accord with the values and vision of the community. Which way will our Board and staff go?

Thank you for your commitment to the welfare of our neighborhoods.

County sets discussion of Industry near Celery Fields for Oct. 10

Email Oct. 4 from Fresh Start:​

To all who care about the Celery Fields Area:

While Fresh Start was working to find, vet, and present community ideas for the public lands at Apex and Palmer, the Board hired a Miami consultant, Lambert Advisory LLC, to assess Quad parcel #3 for rezoning and sale.

In August, Lambert turned in an assessment that the county could obtain the highest price if parcel #3 is rezoned for Industrial Use. The parcel could hold an 80,000 s.f. warehouse or other such industrial operation, Lambert stated.

Without recommending for or against approval, County staff has scheduled the Board to discuss rezoning the parcel to Industrial on Oct. 10.

If the Board wishes, it will vote to forward the proposed Industrial rezoning to proceed through the public process: Neighborhood Workshop, Planning Commission, Final Board Hearing. 

Three questions stand out:

1. If the fragile roads near the Celery Fields need to be addressed before allowing a simple park on them -- as Commissioner Caragiulo stated to Fresh Start on Sept. 12 -- what would justify the Board's initiating an industrial rezoning that will generate additional large truck traffic?

2. Lambert Advisory's report compared industrial uses with residential, office, and commercial for parcel #3, and states unequivocally that an industrial zoning would bring the highest sale price ("highest and best use" actually means "best price"). Others question this conclusion, however. 

In reviewing various plans submitted to the County within the nearby 200-acre MEC area of the Fruitville Initiative, it appears that proposed land uses are all multi-family residential. Further, it is our understanding that while office and retail uses are also being considered, there appears to be little interest in industry. Given that these property owners presumably are marketing their properties to the highest and best use, there seems to be a significant disconnect between the reality created by the Lambert report and what's actually occurring on the ground. Therefore, the Lambert finding warrants rigorous review and reconciliation to assure that the return on the public’s investment is not being short-changed.

3. Fresh Start repeatedly asked to speak with Lambert, and was denied. Lambert was tasked with gaining a knowledge of the Community (see scoping document below); how was that mission helped by blocking communication with the community?

More industry

​In addition, ​James Gabbert is working out final details of his planned Waste Transfer Station on 6 acres along Porter Rd. and Palmer Boulevard west of parcel #2. Gabbert has said the facility will generate 100 trucks a day, entering and exiting on Palmer Blvd. at Bell Rd.​ If he meets a few technical hurdles, he can build without further public review, or even a new traffic study.​

Action Item:

This coming Wednesday, Oct. 10, the Board will consider the Lambert recommendation to rezone parcel #3 for up to 80,000 s.f. of industrial use (time to be announced). If you are able to attend, please put it on your calendar. No need to speak -- just being there will mean a lot. 

Fresh Start is still seeking more information and will update soon.

Thank you,

The Fresh Start Executive Council

Restaurant Depot, Tampa

Public Uses for Public Lands At the Celery Fields

This is the updated report submitted to the Board of Sarasota County Commissioners on July 11, 2018. It can also be downloaded here:

To:     The Board of Sarasota County Commissioners
From: The Fresh Start Initiative
Re:     Update Report
Date:  July 11, 2018

The Executive Council of Fresh Start is pleased to present this update report, Public Uses for Public Lands at the Celery Fields, which offers our communities’ sense of the highest and best use of the quad parcels at Apex and Palmer Boulevard at the Celery Fields.

This update focuses on progress made since our last report of April 25th, 2018 (our prior reports are attached for ease of reference). We anticipate that you will address this community request for action after your summer break, and we look forward to a positive outcome for our community.

Brief background

On Nov. 28th, 2017, the Board granted the Fresh Start Initiative time to determine the priorities of our communities in the area of the Celery Fields with regard to appropriate and feasible uses for two of the three Quad parcels. Specifically you removed parcel #1 from the surplus list, and chose not to put parcel #2 out for sale pending the Fresh Start effort. You directed that a consultant be hired to rezone parcel #3 for “highest and best use,” with the intent to sell it. [Minutes (1)]

On April 25th, we reported that our residents and an advisory panel had examined over 40 conceptual ideas and proposals from our communities. Through a process of expert evaluation and rigorous community selection (method described in April 25th presentation), four proposals were deemed to best meet the four criteria of feasibility, compatibility with the area, utility to the neighbors, and economic viability:

For Parcel 1:

1. A multi-use community facility - trails, gardens, a wedding pavilion, meeting area.
2. A Celery Fields-themed nature lodge/restaurant with platforms for birders.

For Parcel 2:

3. A boulevard style set of shops, fooderies, and upstairs residences.
4. Outdoor sports courts and fields built, run, and maintained by the Sarasota YMCA.

The community expressed the highest support -- 84% -- for option 4, the $1 million YMCA proposal featuring pickleball, tennis, basketball, a shaded exercise area, open sports field, parking, pavilion and gourmet food truck area. Since April, at your direction we have focused on refining that proposal and addressing questions raised in our individual meetings with the Board and with staff in May and June.

Survey and Site Analysis

In May, Fresh Start performed a short survey (4) of its HOAs asking what sports fields -- for soccer, baseball, football -- and sports courts -- pickleball, tennis, and basketball -- currently are available to them. It turns out that none of these facilities are publicly available East of I-75. To reach the nearest tennis, baseball or soccer fields required drives of up to 9 miles. It turns out that nearly all public sports fields and courts lie west of the Interstate at Colonial Oaks, Fruitville Park, 17th Street, each with limited facilities to serve its nearby communities.

Also in the past couple of months, Tampa-based SEER Analytics performed a site study authorized by the Sarasota YMCA which is attached to this report (3). It reveals a substantial user base within a short radius of parcel #2: More than 43,500 households would be within easy driving distance of the facility. The SEER study includes detailed demographic data and finds a ready community of households to make use of a YMCA facility there.

Learning & volunteering: YMCA and Audubon

We’ve also learned more about the YMCA’s range of programs for children. In certain counties, YMCAs lease parklands to provide summer camps. 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.

Zooming Out

We thank you for the opportunity to present these proposals, which grew out of a half-year of serious community outreach, consultation, feedback and choices. The ball is now in your court. As a final consideration, let’s zoom out from this present moment, and remember what brought us to this point.

On August 23, 2017, this Board experienced the community’s shock and outrage that an open air industrial waste facility would even be considered for parcel #2:

• Residents of neighborhoods that didn’t exist when the area was zoned MEC in 1983 spoke of profound changes the area has seen, and how much the Celery Fields means to them. 

• Environmental groups reminded you of the County’s extraordinary good fortune in having an eco-tourist wonderland attractive to 224 species of birds evolve from a stormwater project. 

• Citizens wondered what planning principles and vision would allow consideration of heavy industrial uses in this ecologically sensitive area with fragile roads.

After the August 23, 2017 hearing, many believed the Board would direct staff to take a fresh look at this area, consult residents, and work to optimize its potential. Fresh Start arose out of that concern. Even now, a year later, an industrial proposal could compromise the community.

If we zoom out further, big projects are coming. Large-scale housing tracts plan more than 27,000 homes on 20,700 acres stretching from University Parkway at the north end down past Fruitville, Bee Ridge, and Clark roads to SR 681 near Venice. Sarasota County’s open spaces and country roads are vanishing forever.

Commissioners, it is the responsibility of your office to evaluate these large proposed developments in light of public infrastructure, services, and amenities. We take this opportunity to assert the public’s right to a vision that balances private development with public needs.

Fresh Start urges the Board to take this small step towards a proactive vision and a positive direction for the future of Sarasota’s people. On behalf of our 50 communities we ask your support for a YMCA sports facility on the 10.6 acres of Quad Parcel #2. Ideally, all four quad parcels should be dedicated to sensible, interrelated uses that will become more acutely necessary as East Sarasota builds out. Staff has outlined the requisite re-zoning actions for each of our four proposals (8).

Sarasota County is at a significant crossroads: The Board can dedicate these public lands to optimal public uses, or sell them to industrial developer

                           THIS . . .         or              THIS?

Vote for your community’s future: Let’s make a healthy fresh start at the Quads for East Sarasota County.

Thank you.

The Fresh Start Executive Council
Glenna Blomquist, Carlos Correa, Tom Matrullo, Gary Walsh
Fresh Start HOA Signatories

Public Parcels at Apex Rd. and Palmer Blvd.

Parcel 1: Off Surplus List                  Parcel 2: Fresh Start                    Parcel 3: Consultant Rezone

Supporting Documents Introductory Letter to Jane Grogg Minutes Nov. 28th, 2017 Think Tank YMCA Field Proposal SEER Analytics Study for the YMCA Fresh Start Neighborhood Survey (Distance from Sports Facilities) Fresh Start April 25th Presentation Fresh Start Report of April 25th Fresh Start Report of Feb. 5th with updates Staff Zoning and Land Use Analysis East County Athletic Resources Map Letter to R. Waechter

•                   Parcel 1: Off Surplus List 

•                 Parcel 2: Fresh Start 

•                   Parcel 3: Consultant Rezone

Supporting Documents

Introductory Letter to Jane Grogg

1. Minutes Nov. 28th, 2017 Think Tank
2. YMCA Field Proposal
3. SEER Analytics Study for the YMCA
4. Fresh Start Neighborhood Survey (Distance from Sports Facilities)
5. Fresh Start April 25th Presentation
6. Fresh Start Report of April 25th
7. Fresh Start Report of Feb. 5th with updates
8. Staff Zoning and Land Use Analysis
9. East County Athletic Resources Map
10. Letter to R. Waechter