Two programs at CONA, DEP Chief cites Celery Fields, Reviving Vision

On Monday Feb. 12, CONA Sarasota will offer two programs - one on Benderson's controversial Siesta Promenade project, the other on reviving our vision in Sarasota - perhaps because it's virtually forgotten?

Siesta Promenade 

  On Monday, February 12, 2018 please join CONA for a presentation by Sura Kochman, an organizer for the Pine Shores Neighborhood Alliance, who will present the latest plans for Siesta Promenade at the northwestern corner of Tamiami Trail and Stickney Point Road, Route 41 and Route 72, respectively .
       
  The location is bounded by commercial development on the three other corners of the intersection and includes the southern access road between the mainland and Siesta Key to the west, and to the east, Clark Road, which leads to Interstate 75. This already is a major intersection with extensive congestion.
       
  At our November 2014 meeting, a comprehensive analysis of the original proposal by the developer -- from the perspective of the neighborhoods  directly affected -- was presented  by Ms. Kochman. Then the project became stalled by public concerns and a boom collapse.
                                 
   The project was resurrected in 2017 and Ms. Kochman reviewed it again at our November meeting. Details are evolving during review by county staff, however, so she will assess the current iteration of the proposal, which is not progressing as expected.
     
  Since the entire community and many of our member organizations will be affected by this project, we will be following this planning process carefully throughout the public process and providing updates as warranted.

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Reviving our vision for Sarasota    

  Our second presentation, reviving our vision for Sarasota, will be a discussion by Alex Coe and Bill Zoller launching an effort to revisit the vision of the county, developed previously with much community involvement, but that seems to have been lost, in order to get us back on the track our community desires. Objectives and strategies will be developed for a return to community-driven decisions guiding our growth. Get back on board with us as we resuscitate the vision we are on the verge of losing forever. 
           
  A social precedes the meeting at 6:30.

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Environmental Protection chief talks sea level rise during Sarasota visit - and Celery Fields!

SARASOTA — New Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Noah Valenstein spent a lot time talking about community Tuesday during a swing through Sarasota to speak to the Argus Foundation. 

Conservation efforts “really become powerful when you have that connection to the community,” Valenstein said, highlighting the Celery Fields in Sarasota as a prime example of the community rallying to protect a natural resource. 

Environmental advocates in the crowd say the DEP — an agency that often was accused of catering to business interests in recent years — is doing a better job of listening to the overall community under Valenstein. More here

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Speaking of the Celery Fields, our communities are asked to participate now in the Fresh Start Initiative. Deadline for proposals March 1st.


                                                    






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MOTE AQUARIUM REBIRTH PLANNED NEAR I-75, HELPING CITY ISLAND CAMPUS ADVANCE SCIENCE & ‘BLUE ECONOMY’ 

Mote Marine announces giant new Aquarium:

The new Mote Science Education Aquarium will be designed and located strategically to serve a much greater cross-section of residents and visitors in Florida, and enhance ocean literacy opportunities and impacts for all. More here

New Petition: A community-based plan for Celery Fields

Maynard Hiss on siting, planning and waste

At CONA on Monday, June 12, will look at what can be learned from the June 1, 2017 Planning Commission hearing about the proposal to site a waste processing plant next to a pristine Preserve and Audubon Center. What are the logical next steps in the effort to protect the Celery Fields?

Below is a thoughtful comment from Maynard Hiss that addresses the hearing, and looks beyond it to speak of how the public planning process seems skewed in ways that are unproductive and fail to result in clear commonsense vision for surplus lands, planning, zoning, and community involvement in a process basic to who we are.

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Maynard Hiss What is amazing about this is how little analysis went into the siting process except for the part that the applicant was getting a good deal on public land much more suited to nature-based water and ecological conservation.

Maynard Hiss at Planning Commission

I was thinking how useless this facility would be if we had a very serious hurricane and thousands of homes were destroyed. In some of the bigger hurricanes 60,000 homes have been destroyed and mobile homes especially the older ones would probably be gone to a large extent in 150 mph winds.

The only way a transfer site would be able to handle hundreds of houses would be if it was connected to a rail line, which could quickly move large amounts of sorted debris out fast and effectively.

I was also thinking how poor the soils in Sarasota are and how this much yard waste and compost could benefit agriculture and ecological restoration. So siting the yard waste in a more suitable location would also be helpful and synergistic especially if some of the worst types could be comp.

I think the saddest part of the last meeting was how one's choice is limited to NO, when the participants would be more effective and more productive by helping site the much-needed facilities in a much better location. For example, our solid waste plan would be much more effective with a resource recovery facility that could handle a major disaster. It would be much more effective if the facility had much easier access to markets for the recovered materials such as if it was on a rail line. Or if the organic yard waste was closer to agriculture or horticulture or a biofuels areas where it could be quickly used.

It is sad when the only choices for the public are to say NO to really bad ideas that would destroy one of the most strategic areas for tourist development in the County.

So instead of using the intellectual capital of the citizens in a positive way such as by getting a lot of experts on the great and positive characteristics of this unique area of the County with a very high value set of assets that could be developed synergistically with the attributes of the site, they have to deal with County planners and commercial interests who want to turn back time and return the are to a low-quality light industry by adding heavy industrial waste to the site.

On the other hand I see this highly accomplished business person who has contributed significantly to the resource recovery industry being hammered by people who largely support his efforts and applaud his efforts but who are forced to oppose him because the only alternative on the table is to blight one of the nicest potential gateways and ecotourism sites in the County. And area that could play a central role in making the east part of the county as desirable as the west part of the County.

Public participation will never work in a context where people can only say yes or no to really bad proposals for really good things.

Rally before 6.1.17 Planning Commission
Sarasota County Administration Building

Letter to the County re: industrializing public property near Celery Fields

Feb. 21, 2017

To: The Sarasota County Board of Commissioners

RE: Rezone petition 16-33, CAP 83-10-SP, Restaurant Depot, Palmer Blvd. & Apex Rd.
Public Hearing, March 1, 2017
From: Thomas Matrullo

I write as a concerned citizen about a matter of significant public interest:

Two proposed industrial rezonings of public properties at the edge of the Celery Fields threaten to degrade valuable public assets. You’ll be hearing from many concerned residents about the negative impacts a big box Restaurant Depot store and a 16-acre recycling plant will have on traffic, air, water, schools, and a valued bird sanctuary. Let me invite you to step back and consider this from another perspective.You have the opportunity to shape and revitalize a gateway area of Sarasota County. With the wrong decision, a potentially wonderful public outcome will be lost forever.

A bit of background is necessary.

Developers have asked you to approve industrializing a total of about 23 acres at the intersection of Apex and Palmer Boulevard. Two promising, sensitive areas lie near these lots -- The Celery Fields just east of Apex, and the adopted Fruitville Initiative Plan north of Palmer:

Map #1: Apex / Palmer intersection lower left quarter

The Celery Fields began as a regional stormwater project -- it cleanses water, protects against major floods, and manages our stormwater runoff before releasing it to Phillippi Creek and  Roberts Bay. Over time, this public property has evolved into a much loved and used park and recreational facility, and a bird sanctuary listed on the Great Florida Birding Trail, in national and international eco-tourism brochures and tours.

The public properties proposed for industrial use at Apex and Palmer are at the edge of the Celery Fields (Map #2). They should be held to a much higher level of public input and vision. And right nearby, you have a regionally significant example of this higher level of vision in the Plan for the public lands that contain the Fruitville Library. Years of effort on the part of the County, property owners and homeowners resulted in the Fruitville Initiative.

Map #2 Palmer and Apex Intersection adjacent to Celery Fields

That plan, adopted by this Board in 2014, represents a community consensus. It provides a successful and proven model for planning publicly owned lands -- one that can be used here. The intersection of Apex and Palmer could meet high-level goals including features that would

• provide high-tech, high-paying jobs in attractive offices
• promote walkable, mixed use features - cafes, a public garden, art studios, galleries
• reduce vehicle trips
• make desirable and truly affordable housing (allowed under MEC) possible.

Such a plan would enhance the potential of the Celery Fields, and the vested Fruitville Plan -- not degrade them.

Now, look at an even bigger picture: You have an opportunity to integrate the Fruitville Initiative, the Celery Fields and the established small business district with Detwiler's, the Packinghouse Cafe, and other commerce just to the west of I-75. Thanks to the Palmer Boulevard underpass (a rare East-West connector), the potential for an attractive, unified community -- varied, viable and walkable -- is already there.

Map #3: Overview from Fruitville Init. (Coburn Rd.) to Packinghouse District

As you see: the central connecting link between the three legs of this prospective community is precisely the public acreage at Apex and Palmer Boulevard. County planners and the Duany planning firm noted this in a study more than ten years ago. They called the intersection “The Quad” (see Item #4). Putting a big box store and recycling plant there would create an obstructive barrier at the center, generating truck traffic and dividing the three key assets: the Fruitville Initiative, Celery Fields and Packinghouse District. Did you bother to ask the people who live and work there before putting the public properties out to bid?

To neglect this chance to shape a well-planned community of substantial historical, natural and economic value would be a new low for Sarasota planning. You’ll devalue the unique adjacent ecosystem, and miss the obvious opportunity to bring together a vibrant community stretching from north of Fruitville Road down to the Packinghouse District. To discard it in favor of accommodating a low-leverage recycling operation and a big box wholesale store would border on an abdication of public policy.

A matter of serious public concern is at stake in your decision. You can help create a vibrant new locale by integrating significant assets in a comprehensive way. You could make Sarasota again renowned for careful yet creative planning. Should you choose to ignore this opportunity, the loss to us all will be incalculable.

One final thought: As the letter from the Sarasota Audubon Society (see item #6 ) makes clear, development in Sarasota is marching eastward. The Celery Fields will become an ever more valued green space as it is surrounded by homes, commerce and industry. Audubon likens it to Central Park in New York City. Think big -- the future will thank you.

Respectfully,

Thomas Matrullo

Lake Sarasota

Citizens for Sarasota County

cc: Media, HOA's, Civic, Business, Political, Environmental organizations

Notes and Images

Item #4: Fruitville Initiative planned at cost of $499,000, adopted 2014
Has the County helped it succeed? See this editorial.

Item #5: Early envisioning of “The Quad”at Apex & Palmer

Duany Plater-Zyberk Co.

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Item #6:  Herald-Tribune, Sarasota Audubon Society LTE 2.16.17

Fight Celery Fields project

Sarasota Audubon's mission is public education and conservation of wildlife habitat. We are aware of Sarasota County's plans to sell two parcels on Palmer Boulevard near the Celery Fields. The proposed uses entail a restaurant-supply facility and a construction material/yard waste storage/recycling facility.

The Celery Fields storm-water facility is a major attraction for citizens, outdoor enthusiasts and schools and is a worldwide destination for eco-tourism.

Sarasota Audubon opposes the sale for these reasons:

1. The lots contain enough acreage for a permanent fire station and additional park/recreation/wildlife habitat.

2. Proposed businesses are not compatible with recreation and eco-tourism and will add hundreds of daily auto/truck trips through strained and inadequate neighborhood roads. This increase will have a detrimental impact on the health and safety of wildlife and humans in the area. Also, thousands of tourists coming yearly to explore the Celery Fields stimulate the local economy.

3. As development surrounds the Celery Fields, available green space will become increasingly necessary to preserving this jewel. The Celery Fields is considered by many to be the "Central Park" of Sarasota County and a major economic driver. Jeopardizing this funding would not be a wise use of county resources.

The public should make its voice heard by contacting county commissioners at 941-861-5000 or scgov.net.

Jeanne Dubi, President, and Robert Wright, Conservation Chair, Sarasota Audubon Society

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Item #7: Portion of Celery Fields Hill

Statewide Neighborhoods Conference in Venice Oct. 13-15