Voices heard at the Final Comp Plan Hearing 10.25.16

Some of the people's voices heard at the Final Sarasota County Comprehensive Plan hearing - apologies for inaccuracies,  just fragments. 

If you spoke at the Oct. 25th hearing, you are welcome to send a full copy of your comments to sarasotavision@gmail.com and we'll post them.

The Comprehensive Plan was approved at the meeting.


Mr. D.

• "We need a clear picture of what we don't want."

Jono Miller -

• The plan needs measures/benchmarks/dates to track progress.
• Find better way to better engage the community on planning related projects
• Slow the Comp Plan update process down
• Staff is proposing vaguer language
• We’ve lost ⅕ of our beach - replaced with rock

Margaret C. - (shows images of torn up wetlands at Whole Foods site on University Parkway)

• Wetlands in process of being destroyed
• Not against development - do it in thoughtful, gentle way
• Environmental part of plan - “required” and “shall” being replaced by “may, voluntary,” etc.

Mike Cosentino

• I feel I’m protecting the biz community and the public from the County Commission 
• The only way to help us - make the County Charter like a phone book 

Woman -

• I would like to know how we keep natural parts safe from developers

Glenna Blomquist

• As a county we need rules that protect us from ourselves.
• Tallahassee has decimated state power to monitor local development
• My neighborhood - rezoned from 1 unit per 10 acres to 2 units per one acre - 
• Stringent language is lacking in the comp plan 
• The proposed plan may make our plan less protective
• Full text of Blomquist remarks.
• 
  

The Comp Plan Hearing:: 10.25. 2016

Michael C

• I want to believe changes are valid
• I do not hear why the controversial changes are needed or beneficial - I end with doubts.
• I respectfully request that the Comm address the criticisms the main ones - write an article, or be interviewed, answering in-depth questions.

Margaret Jean Cannon

• In 2010 - Sarasota came in 11th in growth - adding another city the size of Venice - we had been 18th
• Hypergrowth - challenges - look at 2050 plan 
• County mission statement - enhanced quality of life - 
• 1. protect the quality and integrity of our established neighborhoods
• 2. Storm surge
• 3. Looking at siloes - need traffic studies
• 4. “Should” and “shall” 

Linda Hunter

• I’ve lived here 26 years - love Sarasota
• I’m sure your goal was to protect the citizens
• Compatibility with neighborhoods
• Traffic - do you want to sit on 41, or drive on it?
• Environmental impact - Once you pave paradise, it’s gone
• Make intelligent choices
• The plan seems to remove a lot of your ability to protect our interests

Geraldine Swarmsted

• One member of Sierra Club - 2,100 members -
• I wish this were an update, not an evisceration
• Meetings when 19 people speak against something, 3 or 4 speak for, and it goes thru

Tom Matrullo

• "This new Comp plan is a behemoth. Few other than highly paid, specialized experts will master its intricacies." 
• Do you aim to govern? Or just “encourage?”
• "This is a moment of gigantism, and the new Comp Plan, in its size, complexity, and lack of clarity, looks strangely like the outsized growth it was supposed to control."

Dan Lobeck

• Density or intensity “may be lower” - it doesn’t talk about mitigation measures
• This is an evisceration of the neighborhood compatibility plan - you are taking away a very important provision
• Traffic - you are not required by state law to eliminate concurrency. If you do, your cty attorney has pointed out that you can limit a proposed rezone or special exception based on traffic considerations
• 1.3.12 - if you mean what you say, amend this to add “rezoning and special exceptions.”
• The people are right -
• Took out regs that affect mobility, environment - evisceration of 72? Policies.

Wade Matthews

• Conservation chair of Audubon Society
• We have about 1200 members
• What I hope you do is don’t approve this today
• Take some of the changes they have brought up
• Pervasive elimination of “shall”
• Majority of people don’t like the loosening of the comp plan
• Susan McManus - study - prime concerns of people of Sarasota Cty - principle concern is overdevelopment, congestion, too many people, 2nd issue is traffic
• I hope it’s not required that you make your decision today - deserves more time
• Take account of the clear feelings of the people of Sarasota County

Man from Osprey

• Your emphasis should be for the people
• Do not adopt this current update as it stands.
• Commissioner Robinson should recuse herself from this vote.

After the close of public comments, The Board of County Commissioners approved the Final Plan.