Now that developers are writing our Comp Plan, who needs regional planners?

Chairman Maio supports effort to detach counties from regional planning expertise:

In the 1980s, forward-seeing elected officials in Florida helped create a group of regional planning councils charged with the responsibility to take a wider view of planning and growth. They had the independent expertise to examine large development proposals and critique them, and the power to require developers to adhere to sound planning principles.

Under Gov. Jeb Bush the regulatory powers of the councils were weakened, then essentially removed by Gov. Rick Scott. 

The councils continue to provide regional perspective, population and traffic data and more to their member counties, but the rigorous effort to restrain growth in favor of quality of life, economic stability, and sustainable development is no longer a step in the approval of large developments (e.g. Hi Hat Ranch, Skye Ranch, Lakewood Ranch, etc.).

In a letter submitted for Board approval, Sarasota County Commission Chair Alan Maio supports a Lee County initiative to change state law regarding county commission attendance and participation in Regional Planning Council meetings from mandatory to "permissive" status. If the measure passes, counties basically would no longer need to participate or benefit from regional planning advisories unless they felt like it. 

Earlier this year, the Board enthusiastically agreed to have developers Rex Jensen and Pat Neal create a new component of our Comprehensive Plan - one which would allow Jensen to ignore constraints built into the plan.

The Comp Plan is the legal, binding vision of the people of Sarasota - or was, until this Board and its developer overlords begin to shred it. 

Here is the draft of Maio's letter attached to the Tuesday, May 24 Sarasota Board Agenda:

DRAFT 

May 24, 2022

The Honorable Cecil Pendergrass

Chairman,

Lee County Board of County Commissioners
P.O. Box 398
Fort Myers, FL 33902-0398

Dear Commissioner Pendergrass:

Thank you for your recent letter dated May 4, 2022, regarding the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council (SWFRPC).

The Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners has considered your request and authorized me as Chairman to advise you of our support of legislation amending Florida Statutes making membership in Regional Planning Councils permissive rather than mandatory.

This position will be included in our 2023 State Legislative Priorities which the Board will consider later this year.

Sincerely,

Alan Maio

Chairman

C: 

Sarasota County Commission
Jonathan R. Lewis, County Administrator
Robert R. Lewis, Director, Governmental Relations

===================================== 

Documents:

Letter from Lee County

Maio letter to Lee County

Question 36: Manipulation in Sarasota County survey

In 2018, Sarasota County citizens approved Single Member District Voting by a substantial margin. (Background here.)

Commissioner Alan Maio  

Now, elected officials are attempting to question that vote, ordering a telephone opinion survey to include a specific question about it.

In that survey now underway, a "policy question" is asked of voters. Here it is:

36. Sarasota County now operates with single-member districts. This means that the county is divided into separate geographic areas, creating districts, and each district is represented by only one commissioner. In the next election, Sarasota County residents will now only be able to vote for the one county commissioner that will represent the district they live in. Please tell me how much you approve or disapprove of your ability to vote for one county commissioner for your district.

⎯ Strongly disapprove
⎯ Disapprove
⎯ Approve
⎯ Strongly approve
⎯ Unsure/DK/NA/Refused

Our five County Commissioners specifically directed that citizens be asked this question (last year's survey resulted in 1,250 responses):

A citizens advocacy group for Single Member Districts has found misrepresentations of fact in the framing of Question 36.

Citizens for District Power offers another way to ask it:

36. Sarasota County has always recognized five districts, but only recently did the people vote to give each district specific voting power. In the 2018 election, 60% of Sarasota voters across all five districts voted to structure Board of County Commission elections by district. That is, instead of having five Commissioners elected by no particular district (and therefore accountable to no voting constituency), each district elects one Commissioner to represent its unique issues and needs. All five commissioners still vote on all issues that come before the Board.

Do you approve or disapprove giving each district the power to hold its representative accountable?

- I approve

- I disapprove 

Sixty percent of Sarasota's voters in 2018 voted to approve Single Member Districts. Surveying voters on SMDs before 40% of our residents have had the opportunity to vote even once in the SMD format is a derelict preemption of voters' experience and a calculated attempt to distort public exposure of this issue.

Citizens for District Power puts it this way:

The County has not provided an open public forum in which all points of view have equal time to present and to be openly discussed. 

At a recent meeting of the Charter Review Board, 38 citizens spoke in favor of Single Member Districts.  

Sarasota County's 2021 survey should not be cited as evidence of anything other than the county's own effort to bias and preemptively reverse a legitimate election decision by Sarasota voters.

Sarasota County Voters: Were You Confused?

Dear Voter:

When you voted to approve Single Member Districts, were you confused? County Commissioners believe you were. 

Maio

Commissioner Alan Maio says no one could possibly be "happy" about Single Member Districts:

 "I’m still waiting for that [one] person [to say he or she is happy about the election system], and I’m never going to meet that person, ’cause they can’t possibly be happy” about having a single vote for representation on the County Commission. Sarasota News Leader

 

One of the many citizens who worked to change Sarasota's election structure thinks the Board might be confused:

"The people who voted for single member districts in 2018 understood the issue exactly and voted to elect their own commissioner and not have their vote for their own commissioner diluted by 80% of voters all over the county," [Kindra] Muntz said. 

 

"If county commissioners don’t think the voters know what they are doing, maybe they would be so kind as to resign and call for a new election now." Herald Tribune

Perhaps you'd like to let the Charter Review Board know how you feel. At the request of Mr. Maio that Board will discuss this on May 19th. 

Their email addresses are below. Offer your thoughts, or if you prefer, just send them a brief message like this:

To the Charter Review Board:
I'm happy with Single Member Districts. 

I was not confused in 2018. 

Perhaps certain elected officials are confused now. 
I'll be paying close attention to your May 19th discussion of Single Member Districts. 
Thank you.

jim.gabbert@scgcrb.net

kennedy.legler@scgcrb.net

ray.collins@scgcrb.net

david.samuel@scgcrb.net

scott.williams@scgcrb.net

elaine.miller@scgcrb.net

alexandra.coe@scgcrb.net

richard.dorfman@scgcrb.net

joe.justice@scgcrb.net

deborah.lapinska@scgcrb.net

cc:

Commissioners@scgov.net

Class Action Suit against Sarasota Commissioners Maio, Moran and Detert filed 12.11.19

Below is the heading and paragraphs 1-2, and 19-24 of the class action lawsuit filed today against Sarasota County, charging three Commissioners with violating the US Constitution and the Federal Voting Rights Act:

The entire suit is here.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

FREDD ATKINS, MICHAEL WHITE and 

MARY MACK, individually and on behalf of all CLASS ACTION

others similarly situated, (Jury Trial Demanded)

Plaintiffs,

v.

SARASOTA COUNTY, FLORIDA, COMMISSIONER 

NANCY C. DETERT, COMMISSIONER MICHAEL A.

MORAN, COMMISSIONER ALAN MAIO,

Defendants.

____________________________________________/

CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT

Plaintiffs, FREDD ATKINS, MICHAEL WHITE and MARY MACK, individually and on behalf of a class of all others similarly situated, sue Defendants, SARASOTA COUNTY, FLORIDA, NANCY C. DETERT, in her capacity as a member of the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners, MICHAEL A. MORAN, in his capacity as a member of the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners, and ALAN MAIO, in his capacity as a member of the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners, and allege as follows:

NATURE OF THE ACTION

1. Sarasota County and its Board of County Commissioners (collectively, the “County Commissioners”) have recently approved, by a 3 – 2 vote, a resolution defining new boundaries for the five County Commission districts (the “Resolution”). The Resolution was designed to deprive, and has deprived, thousands of African-American voters living in the Newtown community of the right to vote in the 2020 election for members of the Board of County Commissioners. It also was designed to deprive, and has deprived, Plaintiff Fred Atkins, an African-American candidate for the Board from District 1, of the right to run for election as District 1 Commissioner in the 2020 election.


2. The Resolution violates the United States Constitution and the Federal Voting Rights Act. This Action seeks to rectify the County Commissioners’ unconstitutional and illegal race-based redistricting, and restore Plaintiffs’, and similarly situated Newtown residents’, right to vote in the 2020 Sarasota County election.

SARASOTA COUNTY COMMISSION ELECTIONS

19. While the voting rights lawsuit helped to rectify the unfair electoral system in the city of Sarasota, the Sarasota County system continued to inhibit election of African-American county commissioners.  The County Charter divided the County into five single-member districts, but did not limit voting to residents of each district. Rather, it permitted all voters in Sarasota County to vote in each County Commission election, notwithstanding the actual District in which the voter resided.  For years, this system impeded Newtown’s ability to meaningfully participate in the election of Sarasota County commissioners, because the community’s votes were diluted by the overwhelming caucasion majority throughout the County. An example of this was the 2016 election for District 1 Commissioner, in which Plaintiff Atkins garnered the most votes from District 1 residents but lost the countywide vote. 

20. One solution to this unfair situation was a citizen initiative in 2018 to amend the Sarasota County Charter to eliminate countywide voting and limit voting in each district to residents of that district.  Over 15,000 citizens signed petitions enabling the initiative to be placed on a referendum to be voted on in November 2018.

21. As described by one proponent of the plan, the citizen initiative generated “a tidal wave of opposition” by Sarasota County’s entrenched power structure.  One of the most vocal leaders of the tidal wave was Robert Waechter, the former head of the Sarasota Republican Party. Waechter publicly opined that the initiative should be voted down because it was designed to prevent Republicans from “gerrymandering,” which is an oft-used technique to protect those already in power.  Even though political or racial gerrymandering is prohibited by Article III, Sections 20 and 21 of the Florida Constitution, Waechter and others in the Republican Party wanted to gerrymander because it would protect the seats of existing commissioners and preserve control of the County Commission by white residents and the Republican Party.  Not only were they determined to gerrymander, they ultimately decided to do so based upon race.

22. Waechter was less than a perfect advocate for the opposition to the initiative.  He had been arrested in 2012 for engaging in a political “dirty trick” – making campaign contributions to Democrats on behalf of Republican primary candidate Lourdes Ramirez, thereby falsely portraying Ms. Ramirez as supporting Democrats.  Ms. Ramirez had run afoul of Waechter and his patrons by challenging proposals for commercial development made by large Republican donors. Waechter ultimately pleaded guilty to a felony violation of election laws and a misdemeanor fraud charge.  He was sentenced to three months of house arrest, two years of probation, 100 hours of community service and $5,000 in fines.  

23. Notwithstanding the efforts of Waechter and others to preserve the unfair voting system, the Charter amendment was adopted by almost 60% of the voters.  By this important reform, each Sarasota County Commissioner would now be elected only by the voters in his or her district.

SARASOTA COUNTY’S REACTION: RACE-BASED REDISTRICTING

24. The reform had another consequence, however, that existing Commissioners and their money patrons feared.  With single-member district voting, Newtown would have a real opportunity to elect a county commissioner who was either African-American or who was responsive to the needs and priorities of the Newtown African-American community in District 1. Indeed, absent countywide voting, Plaintiff Atkins would have been elected District 1 Commissioner in 2016.

Read entire class action suit here.

District 4 Race - Candidates at CONA Aug. 13

Sarasota County Council of  Neighborhood Associations - CONA                - monthly meeting -          Monday  7 p.m.   August 13, 2018      -     candidate forum       - county commission district four race     Candidates Wesley Ann Beggs, Mike Cosentino, Al Maio, and Lourdes Ramirez have been invited to participate in the CONA forum on August 13, 2018. They are the candidates qualified to run in the district four race for the county commission in the August primary. Voters elect all county commissioners, who are supposed to represent the entire county. Candidates run in the race for the district in which they reside.         The forum is free and open to the public. Written questions may be submitted in advance or at the meeting to be included, as time allows, following the questions posed by our moderator.           Qualified candidates for any scheduled local race are welcome to attend the social before the meeting in order to make contact with voters and to distribute literature and yard signs, even if not scheduled as a member of the panel for the forum. Information about amendments and referenda appearing on the fall general election ballot also may be provided to inform voters.                   Following our traditional half-hour social beforehand, the meeting opens with brief neighborhood updates about their issues, to include Chris Bales on Arbor Lake Preserve, Ben Cannon on Bath and Racquet Club, Sura Kochman on Siesta Promenade, and Tom Matrullo on the Celery Fields.                          CONA election forums will be held each month through October.                                                           See www.conasarasota.org/meetings.html for more information.             social 6:30 p.m. -  meeting 7:00 p.m. at the Sarasota Garden Club neighbors helping neighborhoods since 1961                        save the date  -  our anniversary party  -  November 5, 2018

About the August Primary in Sarasota

Recently at Tiger Bay, Sarasota Commissioner Al Maio said he thinks selling our public lands at the Celery Fields for industrial use makes sense, because an 11-acre industrial warehouse parcel sits next to it.

Tiger Bay Commission Candidate Panel l to r:
 Wesley Beggs, Mike Cosentino, Al Maio, Lourdes Ramirez, Moderator Kevin Cooper

The Commissioner didn't mention that the Celery Fields happens to be a short walk away, or that the 11-acre industrial parcel happens to be owned by Robert Waechter. It's separated from the public parcel at Apex and Palmer by a canal and a line of trees -- they are not exactly "contiguous," as Maio claimed. What's more, Waechter, the former chairman of the Sarasota Republican party, betrayed Lourdes Ramirez, one of his party's candidates in 2012, stealing her identity to make it look like she was donating to Democrats. Waechter tried the dodge to promote Al Maio over Ramirez for the County Commission. He was charged and convicted of both a felony and a misdemeanor, and sentenced to house arrest, probation, community service, fines and fees. 

This past April, Waechter sent a letter to the County arguing that public land near the Celery Fields should be sold for industrial use. He was writing to oppose residents who wish the County to dedicate public lands near the Celery Fields to community uses.  The citizens, who have done outreach, community meetings and polls, say residents favor community-friendly uses such as affordable housing upstairs from shops and fooderies, a birding lodge and restaurant, a YMCA sports complex, or even just a community center with a pavilion and landscaping to attract more birds. (Copy of Waechter's letter).

The Celery Fields has an international reputation as habitat, hosting over 225 species of birds. Known for its large plateau-like mound, it also has come to be a prime outdoor area for hiking, walking, exercise, picnicking, bicycling, stargazing, photography and more. The Audubon Society built a $1 million nature center at the base of the mound which sees thousands of visitors from all over the US and elsewhere each year.

Despite the community's wishes and strong opposition to selling our land for industry, Mr. Maio told the Tiger Bay audience that he sees no reason to change his vote in favor of James Gabbert's proposed 16-acre waste processing facility, which failed by one vote on August 23 last year. In his Tiger Bay statement, Maio says it was only to be a "waste transfer station," when in fact it was a full-blown construction demolition pulverizing facility.

Waste processing facility on Fruitville Rd. built by J. Gabbert

Since the Board's decision last August, the County has taken no steps to revise the land use of the public lands to prevent industrialization. That means that Gabbert - or Waechter - can come back after one year -- anytime after August 23 -- and propose large warehouses, or open demolition waste processing or some other industrial use, and apparently receive a sympathetic hearing from Mr. Maio.

Consider this:

Right now, Sarasota's shoreline is a smelly mess thanks to dead fish, manatees, turtles and more due to Red Tide, which this year has been the worst in recent memory. 

Given those conditions, the Celery Fields unquestionably is the best place for Sarasota visitors and residents to be outdoors, view birds, and hike in bright, clear air. Myakka State Park is very nice, but is near flood levels thanks to heavy rains.

Mr. Waechter, Mr. Gabbert and, apparently, Mr. Maio see no reason why we should not have more warehouses or waste facilities on our public lands. For them, nothing has changed since 1983 - when there were no homes, no schools, no Celery Fields. And the County has done nothing to modify the land use, despite all the attention given to this area.

If Waechter prevails, visitors climbing our observation mound -- "Mount Celery" -- will be able to see acres more of Waechter's warehouses:

The new Waechter warehouses will complement his existing ones (featured above), and go well with the Waste Transfer Facility that Gabbert still plans to build along Porter Road at Palmer Blvd. 

Here's what Gabbert's old waste transfer facility on Fruitville Road looks like:

If you want a Commissioner who approves the antediluvian views of Waechter, Gabbert and others, vote for Al Maio. If you do not, Lourdes Ramirez is his Republican opponent in the August Primary. 

*Al Maio's Tiger Bay statement - about 4 minutes

Fresh Start: A Community Initiative for our Celery Fields

This letter signed by neighborhoods near the Celery Fields went to the Sarasota County Commission on Oct. 12, 2017.

To the Board of Sarasota County Commissioners

RE: Celery Fields District

Dear Commissioners:

On August 23, 2017, you listened to hundreds of residents and visitors who deeply care about the Celery Fields. Some call this area the Siesta Beach of East Sarasota County. Viewed in its larger context, the Celery Fields offers the prospect of becoming a unique gateway to Sarasota. Thanks to the Commission for protecting this potential --  we now want to work with you to actualize it.

Fresh Start is a group of  HOAs, businesses, and citizens who believe a shared approach can create an original opportunity for Sarasota County.

The quad parcels are situated at a key intersection that connects five distinct but related communities:

• The Palmer Blvd. neighborhoods and schools
• The Industrial Parks
• The Packinghouse District
• The Celery Fields Preserve and Sarasota Audubon
• The Fruitville Initiative

Our residents deserve a voice in shaping the future of these public lands. To that end, we invite the County to develop with us a community-based consensus for the district. We propose an open workshop that would allow ideas and goals to be shared, analyzed, and refined. Together, we can:

• Enhance the great ecological and recreational value already latent in this area.
• Serve the needs of residents, schoolchildren, local businesses.
• Allow to evolve a useful, attractive, intelligent, multi-faceted hub.

Working in concert, we can make something good here. To begin, we ask that the County:

1. Remove the Quad Parcels from the Surplus Lands list for the present;
2. Hold a community-based workshop to develop a consensus vision plan.

We’ll soon be scheduling meetings with each of you to discuss this initiative.

Respectfully,

Fresh Start

(Signers listed below)

The East Sarasota Celery Fields Area

=====

Signatories for Fresh Start

Palmer East Group

Enclaves, Carlos Correa, President

Laurel Oak, Charles Young

Meadow Walk, Gary Walsh, President, David G. Johnson

Eagle Trace

Palmer Lake

Regent Lake

Palmer Glen

Palmer Reserve

Sarasota Golf Club Colony

Palmer East Working Group: Glenna Blomquist, Paula Berkowitz, Carlos Correa, Peter Gemma, Jonny Howell, David G. Johnson, Wendy Loomis, Matt Moffitt, Robert Rovnak, Gary Walsh, Charles Young.

Fruitville 210 - Gary Heffner, Chairman

Cedar Hammock    

Cedar Hollow    

Chatwick Court

Coffman Manor   

Deer Hollow

East Richardson  

Eastpointe    

Forest Creek

Fox Creek

Fox Creek Acres 2

Georgetowne

Goodwill    

Greystone

The Groves  

The Meadows

Newburn Village

Palm Oaks

Peaceful Vista Homes

Pine Valley Ranches

Pleasant Acres

Racimo Ranches

San Palermo

Southpointe Meadows

Swartz Subdivision

Vereda Verde

The Woods

Wyndham

Save Richardson Road East (Sarren)

Scott Featherman, MD
Joey Anderson (also on the Board of Fruitville 210)
Jane Archer
Margaret Lewis
Judith K. Earl

Aberdeen Pines, Mary and Lee Hasselbring

Bent Tree, Bob Zack

Gator Creek, Bob O’Neil, Treasurer

Lake Sarasota Community Group

Keith Russo, Chairman

Ellie Himes, Treasurer

Joy M. Mayer, Secretary

Joanna Kilmer

Jami Caseber

The Hammocks, Julie Williams, President; Marguerite Malone.

​Sarasota Audubon, Rob Wright, Conservation Chair

NCCA, Steve Baran, President, 640 Apex Rd.

CeleryFields.org, David G. Johnson

​Citizens for Sarasota County, Adrien Lucas, Cathy Antunes, Tom Matrullo

LINK: Add your name to the Fresh Start Petition

. . . for the future of the Celery Fields

More Photos