FPL: Three current options for power lines

(Eds. note: Details about the comparative quantities of residential housing on each of the three main roadways for the power line options have been clarified and updated.)

This is quick summary of the March 26th meeting of FPL reps with the Bee Ridge neighborhoods at Laurel Oak regarding possible routes for new powerlines. For more on the plan, click here.

Each of the three possible routes would connect the Howard substation at Proctor by I-75 with the Bobwhite station at Lorraine Rd. on East Fruitville Rd. The project is deemed necessary to provide for present capacity in the area. Future construction, such as LT Ranch and Hi Hat Ranch, ultimately will add over 20,000 homes south of Clark Rd. and east of the Bee Ridge Extension, and will require further power installations at some point in the future, FPL spokesmen said.

Uwe Hinrichs chair of the Bee Ridge Neighborhoods Committee, opened the discussion by noting that representatives of more than a dozen communities had worked with Sarasota County for 15 years on the improvements to east Bee Ridge Rd. - widening, roundabouts, and low-impact landscaping were among the results that transformed East Bee Ridge into a quality thoroughfare. Hinrichs and others noted that this would be an unfortunate time to site tall power lines along Bee Ridge Rd.

Although FPL didn't ask for a show of hands or voice vote on which of three routes (shown below) is preferred, one man asked those who oppose siting the power line along Bee Ridge Rd. to raise their hands.

Pretty much every hand in the room went up.

The image below shows the three routes, but the Bee Ridge route shows two options at the right - east from Bee Ridge Extension. The FPL reps said the first choice had been for the route east of the extension to go north past Artistry, but after meeting with an unidentified advisory council made up of businesses, nonprofits, and residents (they declined to provide names of their council advisers), FPL decided to prefer the south option, going south of Rothenbach park, north of Misty Creek.

Lines will be 80-130 feet high

A woman from Aberdeen Pines noted that her research on Google Earth showed that the longest "footprint" for the power lines would be along the communities of Bee Ridge -- approximately 13,000 feet. On Clark, they would run by neighborhoods for 7,000 feet, and on Fruitville for 1,500 feet (or a little more if you count Sun 'n Fun).

To a question about the impact of tall power lines on property values, an FPL rep said that FPL studies show that the impact on the market for home sales and the values of homes was often "insignificant," eliciting a strong skeptical guffaw from the crowd.

Power lines typically might disrupt AM radio, but do not affect cellular service or FM transmissions, according to Daniel Hronec, an FPL engineer.

The ultimate decision on where the route goes is up to FPL and is not subject to higher approval. The company will decide by mid-year, said Rae Dowling, FPL manager for this area. More background here.

The sprawl tax

Sprawl stands in direct opposition to a fiscally conservative philosophy. - Cathy Antunes

The interest in snapping up Sarasota ranchland east of I-75 is reaching a feverish pitch. Which tells us that East County is up for grabs as long-term ranchers like the Turner family bid adieu to generations of rural life and cash in. Developers step up, pay premium prices, and build.

What's missing?

For one thing, while these developers are buying land and designing their "villages," no one is minding the public realm. Developers troop in, pay their filing fees, produce plans that violate core principles of Sarasota County's Comprehensive Plan, and what does the County do? Very little, apparently.

Citizens have just filed two lawsuits stating that key elements of the County's comprehensive plan, once upheld by staff, are being ignored.

Two quick observations:

Developers hate regs - they get in their way, cost money, and complicate their business models.

One way to ease their burden is to get rid of strong, competent planning staff. The county has seen several recent defections of key personnel -- most recently, Allen Parsons and Isaac Brownman who both moved to Longboat Key to work under former County Adminstrator Tom Harmer.

Paring staff saves money. Certain candidates proudly proclaim that they've not just not raised taxes, but that millage rates have been lowered from 2001 levels.

This magic comes at a cost of competence, of vigilance, of people paid to watch out for the public's right to orderly land management and custodianship.

If developers fail to plan well, they might save money up front, but the people will pay a "sprawl tax" down the road. Sprawl ultimately can cost taxpayers big time: development that is thoughtful, attractive and respectful of neighbors and surrounding lands will accrue value; sprawl, ugly and inefficient, leads to unsustainable blight, and a degradation of property value.

So those public officials who brag about their "fiscal conservatism" for not raising taxes** or imposing adequate impact fees are the real spendthrifts. As they cut taxes, lower impact fees and spurn rational plans, they are jeopardizing the beauty, feasibility, compatibility, and balanced provision for a large segment of our county. This repudiation of public custodial care has operated on a piecemeal basis for a while -- the notorious case of county planners and officials working quietly to locate a construction waste crushing facility near the tranquil, pristine Celery Fields bird sanctuary is well known to many.

Top: Celery Fields wetlands Bottom: Waste processing facility

East Sarasota county is poised for an explosion of mass housing development on a scale perhaps never before seen here. Ambitious plans already on file are vast, and more are coming.

If Sarasota fails to support staff tasked with enforcing its own planning law, the errors of West County will be repeated: East County development will not simply clone the traffic-burdened areas we have now within the Urban Service Boundary; it will ultimately burden taxpayers. Our wallets will have to deal with impacts stemming from bad plans. Impacts that developers will not be required to pay for.

Before voting this year, get to know where your candidates stand on planning, on impact fees, and on stewardship values -- the stakes for our future are enormous.

**Audio of Candidate Maio on not raising taxes.