Sarasota as Organic Hub: Steve Suau at CONA Feb. 9

How Sarasota could be a 

hub of organic food production - 

an economic development initiative

   

  Sarasota - At the February 9, 2015 meeting of the Sarasota County Council of Neighborhood Associations, Inc. (CONA), their guest speaker, Stephen Suau, will present a vision for an economic development initiative that describes how Sarasota County might become a hub for organic agriculture to help meet local food demands, as well as the increasing regional and national market demands, for organic foods. Although there are several legitimate and unique challenges to agriculture in the county, there are some key assets that could form a foundation for such an initiative.

   Ironically, Sarasota once was an important center for agriculture due to the innovative methods and practices that were developed or introduced by Bertha Palmer on her vast land holdings in Sarasota County. Suau will present a path that could lead Sarasota to an important role in modern food production, one that is responsive to the healthiest and most demanded food products at the markets of today.  

   Suau is a professional engineer specializing in watershed management, planning, and restoration. He also is a small business owner and partner in Progressive Water Resources, which is headquartered in the county. Their work includes assisting agricultural operations manage water resources throughout Florida, including one of the largest organic farms in the United States, Lady Moon Farms. Additionally, Suau is working with his brother, Anthony, a Pulitzer Prize and Emmy winning photojournalist, on his upcoming documentary film, Organic Rising, on the organic food movement in the United States.   

   Suau has co-chaired the Sarasota County original environmentally sensitive lands advisory committee and the Manatee County Chamber of Commerce green business committee. He has served as technical water advisor to the Florida Century Commission, the statewide storm water technical advisory committee, and the technical advisory committee for the Charlotte Harbor Estuary Program. He is the former storm water director for Sarasota County and served as executive director of the Sarasota County Planning and Development Services Business Center. 

   CONA meetings are open to the public as well as members of the seventy-two associations the organization represents and its individual members.  

   CONA meets regularly on second Mondays of the month (except July and August) at 7:00 p.m. at the Sarasota Garden Club, 1131 Boulevard of the Arts in Sarasota, which is at the intersection of Tamiami Trail, south of the Municipal Auditorium. Parking and the entrance are reached from Van Wezel Way. A social precedes the meeting.

   More information about CONA is available at http://www.conasarasota.org/

After the CONA meeting, Steve McAllister shared his impressions of Steve Suau's talk.

Overdevelopment moves onward and upward

Residents' Over-development Pleas Fall on Deaf Ears at BOCC Meeting

Published Friday, January 9, 2015 12:09 am

by John Rehill

BRADENTON — At Thursday's Land Use meeting, Manatee County Commissioners once again listened to the impassioned pleas of citizens with deaf ears, approving a 1,103 residential unit development despite widespread opposition and logical concerns.

It was #10, the last item on the agenda, and the 30 or more residents who came to the dais, did so to defend their way of life and the qualities that brought them to rural Manatee County. They were more prepared than most groups that are later forced to shield themselves from over-development.

The project: 803 single-family detached units, plus a 300 multi-family structure and 100,000 square feet of commercial/retail on 441 acres south of 69th Street East, east of I-75.

Residents from neighboring developments said they were totally opposed to multi-family buildings, the high density that was requested, the destruction of wetlands and wildlife, and the considerable commercial retail that was involved.

The Manatee County Planning Commissionrecommended denial on December 11, 2014 by a vote of 4-1, with some members stating the project was inconsistent with the county's Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code.

Resident Donna Meadows said, there are sand hill cranes, scrub jays, indigos, hawks owls and alligators in the proposed site, most of which are endangered.

John Ward questioned Margaret Tusing's (Manatee County's principal planner) obligations to the the county, and the appearance of rubber stamping without adequate knowledge of the facts. Ward also expressed strict concerns to the impacts to schools, the environment and the additional traffic from the more than 3,000 additional cars that will occupy the only road.

Charles Chappione, who came with well over 100 signatures from other residents opposing the project, said the road wasn't able to handle the traffic, that the schools were already at 130 percent of capacity and that the density wasn't compatible with the area.

There were many, many more who spoke about how the safety of the bridge, the wearing roads and the deadly turn needed to enter or exit Buffalo Road would be amplified by all of the additional traffic.

It became almost embarrassing to all who were there to hear commissioners twist and turn those concerns around, as if those who spoke didn't know what they were talking about.

The vote was 5-2 to approve, with Commissioners Robin DiSabatino and Charles Smith voting against the project. Stay tuned for more on this issue in our Sunday edition. 

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Comment shared by Bill Zoller:

For whom does the bell toll? It tolls for thee..... the bell is being sounded in Manatee and Sarasota Counties as compliant commissions approve more and more development in our rural areas. By 2050, the world's population will have increased by 60%; that many more people to feed. How does our 2050 Plan recognize or address our area's responsibility to be part of providing food for its population? It doesn't. We will live on manna from heaven, I suppose. Our commissioners have an extreme focus on the short term, somehow thinking their most important task is to grow jobs, jobs, jobs. Their main means to that end is to build, build, build..... Sadly, they are choosing to encourage building, building, building on the land that will be needed to grow food one day. They call it "planning". To paraphrase King Richard III, "A cow, a cow...my kingdom for a cow!"

Call for a Sarasota Foodshed Study

Cooper Levey-Baker

Two weeks ago, Sarasota County's ninth annual Sustainable Communities Workshop generated a three-ring binder's worth of bright ideas. The daylong event sparked conversations about how to plan for climate change, how to reach citizens who live in our area's 19 food deserts and how to more wisely invest public economic development dollars.

Amid all that, Transition Sarasota Executive Director Don Hall mentioned a simple and eminently doable idea: Let's raise $10,000 to commission a foodshed study by economist and author Michael Shuman, the event's keynote speaker.

Read more...

Letter from a former Planning Commissioner

October 17, 2014

Becky Ayech

421 Verna Road

Sarasota, Fl.  34240

Email:  beckyayech@gmail.com

Ray Eubanks ray.eubanks@deo.myflorida.com

Valerie Brookens valerie.brookens@deo.myflorida.com

Sarasota County BCC commissioners@scgov.net

VIA EMAIL

Re:  Sarasota County’s proposed changes to Sarasota’s Comprehensive Plan, Specifically 2050

Mr. Eubanks and Ms. Brookens,

I have been a resident of Miakka (also known as Old Miakka) for 34 years.  I am also the president of the Miakka Community Club Inc. (MCC).  The MCC was formed in 1948 to give a voice to the rural residents in Miakka for preserving and conserving the rural Miakka Community.  Since the Growth Management Act required counties to adopt comprehensive plans, MCC has been an active participate.

When the first Comprehensive Plan (Apoxsee) was adopted in Sarasota, there were provisions to protect the rural area of the county.  Apoxsee recognized the need to have areas in Sarasota for food and fiber production.  Over the years this rural protection has been eroded away.  The “food and fiber” protection was removed several years ago.  The urban service boundary has been moved into the rural area allowing removal of prime agricultural lands¹ and replacing them with urban development.  The proposed amendments do nothing to further agriculture protection or rural lifestyles.  The clustering of hamlets under the guise of allowing more land available for agriculture is a ruse.  No data or analysis was presented to identify what lands would be used for agriculture and which lands would become the clustered hamlets.  My experience, as well as experience throughout this country, has been for urban developments to drive agriculture away because of neighbors’ complaints about odors, sounds and smells.  To place 2,400 homes, roughly 5,000 people (the average household in Sarasota is 2.2 persons) in the midst of agriculture is a death toll.  The “hamlets” are supposed to represent a transitional area from urban to rural. This volume of people and the urban style development does not represent or function as a transition. 

The proposed reduction in green space between the “hamlets” also is not a functional transition between developments.  Most property in the area identified for “hanlets” is zoned at one unit per 5 acres and one unit per ten acres.  The property sizes are generally 330 feet by 660 feet and 660 feet by 660 feet, with some at 330 feet by 1320 feet.  A 50-foot setback between “hamlets” isn’t indicative of any rural or agricultural lifestyle or practice.  It is merely “urban sprawl” in the rural area.

   

As a former Sarasota Planning Commissioner, I am cognizant of the requirements of comprehensive plans.  The proposed amendments are not consistent with 163.3177(1), F.S.; 163.3177(1) (a) 9, F.S. and 163.3177(1) (b), F.S. i.e. predictable development standards, urban sprawl and mitigation standards.  The data and analysis as required by 163.3177(1) (f), F.S. were not met. Therefore, DEO has no other alternative than to deny these proposed amendments.

I challenged the 2050 plan per se, and know these amendments would not rise to the “reasonable person” standard in the administrative hearing process.

During a very rigorous DOAH proceeding, there wasn’t any testimony presented to show that these proposed changes were necessary.  Additionally, there weren't any amicus briefs filed to support the proposed changes.

Growth management isn’t about granting privileges to a few but rather about managing growth in a way that protects the existing residents , supports urban infill, protects natural resources and offers a diverse economic base.

Becky Ayech

1 ^{History of Agriculture in Sarasota County.  The Sarasota County Fair Directors and the Sarasota county Historical Commission}

Find more letters here, here, and here.

Alternative Models: Case Study - Serenbe

Americans have always loved the land. That love is coming back, and it doesn't take the form of manicured lawns mowed by hired help, and gardens that have a set list of required flowers.

Consider the portrait of Serenbe located in the semi-rural area within the city limits of Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia, that you'll find here. Remarkably, it lies within the Atlanta metropolitan area:

Nature & Biophilia

At Serenbe, we believe a community is a living part of its natural surroundings, not something to be built at nature's expense. We believe in biophilia—the theory that there is an instinctive bond between humans and other living systems.
We need nature in our lives today more than ever: We need fresh air, fresh food, trees and grass around us. We need, a place to grow and restore—a place to foster deep connections and connect with living systems.
Serenbe Farms and our extensive nature trails are at the center of our health and wellbeing. Through our three farm-to-table restaurants, local CSA (community supported agriculture) program and weekly farmer’s market, our residents enjoy the freshest produce and world-class culinary experiences.
Homes and hamlets are connected by looping country roads and a network of well-worn footpaths that make walking easier than driving. At Serenbe, wellness is an everyday activity.
The community at Serenbe feeds our residents in more ways than one. We’ve created a place where people are drawn together over gardening, cooking, books, art, ideas, and even over back fences.