Sarasota Audubon: Join the Neighborhood Workshop Tuesday 6 pm

From Sarasota Audubon, regarding an intense development proposed on Raymond Rd. A Neighborhood Workshop will be held via Zoom Tuesday, May 23, at 6 pm.

The Zoom link:  https://kimley-horn.zoom.us/s/98962380195

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT  RAYMOND ROAD DEVELOPMENT PLAN! Zoom Meeting This Tues. May 23, 6:00 PM Read below and click link for more INFO 49 ACRE Raymond Rd. Farm being Developed by D.R. Horton Homes Within the last few weeks, we have learned that the Raymond Road farm is up for sale. This 49+ acre farm is opposite the Raymond Road boardwalk at the Celery Fields, Sarasota. The developer (D.R. Horton Inc.) is in the process of applying for rezoning so that 160+ homes can be built there. On Tuesday, May 23, 2023, 6 pm, the developer and Kimley-Horn Associates, the design engineers, are holding a neighborhood information Zoom meeting. You can join the Zoom meeting at the link below. See also the attached notice from KHA and the accompanying plan of the development. This is not a County public hearing. We strongly encourage you to listen in so that we can all learn more about this proposed project. Over the past several years, SAS has sent letters to the owners - the Smith family - asking them to consider a conservation easement on their land and referring them to the Conservation Foundation. Neither SAS nor CFGC received any acknowledgement or responses to our letters. Furthermore, we did not know about this impending sale; no for sale signs were posted.  Once we at SAS have more information, we will formulate a position to let you know what we can all do to help minimize the impact on the Celery Fields and its wildlife from this unexpected development. Development Plan Notice Join Zoom Meeting Share This Email   Share This Email   Share This Email

Sarasota Audubon Society | 999 Center Road, Sarasota, FL 34240

Development near Celery Fields raises many questions

Below: An open letter to the Board regarding the adequacy of online Neighborhood Workshops. The workshop discussed below is scheduled to be on Zoom only, on Tuesday, May 23, at 6 pm. 

Zoom link:  https://kimley-horn.zoom.us/s/98962380195

To: The Board of Sarasota County Commissioners, Mr. Moran, Mr. Cutsinger, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Neunder

From: Tom Matrullo

Date: May 19, 2023

Re: Workshop for housing proposed next to Celery Fields Wetlands

A proposal for intense single family housing on some 49 acres along Raymond Road has lately come to the attention of the Sarasota community. As the Celery Fields is a beloved environment prized for its nesting and migrating birds -- a unique asset that brings tourists from all over the world, the cumulative impact of 160+ new homes in close proximity to these nesting wetlands raises a host of questions and concerns.

  

Part of site plan for Raymond Rd

In order to address important community questions that could involve everything from bird and animal life to ecotourism and water quality, neighborhood traffic, flooding, lighting and more, all steps in the planning process deserve to be handled with integrity.

To this end, I and others ask that you require a Neighborhood Workshop that will be held live (an online component could be included for those out of state.) I'm sure you've heard from citizens who have been frustrated when seeking to participate in various workshops via Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Many citizens do not even use tools like Zoom, some do not own computers.

What's more, these online meetings depend on the developer's agent for their timing and informational quality. I can attest that at some online workshops I've attended, the information presented was minimal, the images were small and blurry, sound quality was poor, the question period was brief, and the opportunities for follow-up questions were non-existent. 

Given that the birding, hiking, fishing, kayaking and ecotourism at the Celery Fields are activities that mean a great deal to our citizens, the questions surrounding the impacts of this proposal go far beyond the number of homes, parking spaces, and entrances. An online Workshop will not do justice to the complications of this proposal.

A live workshop with stormwater quality experts, environmental and tourism personnel on hand as well as the developer's agent is warranted to address the full range of issues raised by this development.

For the sake of a fair, open process, please require a live workshop with appropriate staff to get the planning process off to a reasonable start. This project is likely to eventually land on your desks -- here's an opportunity to demonstrate that you understand our concerns and are doing what you can to allow the public to examine the potential impacts from this project's intensity and proximity fully and fairly.

Respectfully,

Tom Matrullo

--

citizens for sarasota

New power lines will not be in Celery Fields area

FPL has made its decision on the route of the new transmission lines that will support growth in East Sarasota County, and it's the choice preferred by the communities near the Celery Fields and the Fresh Start Initiative -- the route along Clark Road:

FPL Power line route along Clark Rd (click image to enlarge)

Celery Fields advocates and residents had expressed concern at an optional route that would have taken the tall power lines along Palmer Blvd and Apex Rd. near the birding, wildlife and recreation area. Here is the communication from FPL manager Rae Dowling:

After an extensive route selection study by the project team, that included feedback from a diverse Community Advisory Panel, an open house meeting, and meetings with neighborhood groups and community leaders, I’m writing to let you know that Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) has selected its preferred route for the proposed Bobwhite-Howard 138 kV transmission line. On behalf of the entire project team, I want to thank you for your participation in our Community Advisory Panel and for the time you invested providing your perspectives for us to consider in our study.  Having the perspective of our customer’s voice in important to us and we truly value your contribution to this important project. The preferred route, which is included in the attachment to this email, follows along almost the entire 13-mile length of existing FPL transmission and distribution lines, a siting criteria consistently endorsed by our customers. Route surveying work will begin on this project this month.  If you have any questions, please contact myself at the numbers below or Daniel Hronec, P.E., Project Manager at (561) 904-3638 or by email at Daniel.Hronec@FPL.com. Thank you.