160 Homes Proposed next to Celery Fields Wetlands

A developer's proposal to build 160 single family homes on Raymond Road opposite the Celery Fields will be presented on Tuesday, May 23, beginning at 6 pm. The workshop will be online only. Concerned residents must use this Zoom link to attend:

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

The land immediately south of Palmer Boulevard and across from the nesting area of the Celery Fields wetland has been mostly empty except for a few cows for many years. The property appraiser lists it here. 

The paperwork submitted by the planning firm calls for 160 homes to be built by D.R. Horton on the 49-acre site, but also suggests the number could be higher. 

Kimley Horn will present the Workshop, which will have no in-person gathering.

Although the Celery Fields is a publicly owned asset, the Planning Department only advertised the Workshop to homes within about 750 feet of the property.

About Neighborhood Workshops:

Neighborhood Workshops are a preliminary step in the planning process -- it gives the developer an opportunity to present a proposed project to the public, and receive public comment. 

With the arrival of Covid-19 in 2020, many public meetings moved online, including these workshops. This has led to a degradation of the value of this step in the process, for a few reasons:

1. Online, the presenters have made very brief presentations, leaving out important context. A complex plan for a Benderson project was presented in less than 10 minutes.

2. The public has no chance to view the maps and other data first hand. 

3. Some residents are not familiar with Zoom, or Microsoft Teams. In a recent meeting that utilized Teams, all that could be seen were small, blurry images, while the sound cut in and out. About half the meeting was inaudible. 

4. The online meeting is under the control of the planning firm hired by the developer. Some agents allow time for questions and follow-ups, but others end the meeting before attendees have all their questions answered. More on this here.

5. Advocates for fair land use planning have been asking the County Commission to return to live Workshops, but this one is still online only. The Zoom link should be live at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 23.

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

Sarasota 7th in new home construction - without accountability

Developers Pat Neal, Rex Jensen and others claim they're just getting started here, when home builders have already clear-cut tens of thousands of acres of habitat, agricultural lands and open space in the last few years alone. 

Skye Ranch townhomes under construction, Clark Road

This Board of County Commissioners serves as a rubber stamp for their efforts, which has released without accountability, many thousands of tons of CO2 and methane into the atmosphere, replaced the function and value of the land, the carbon sink and storm water attenuation properties of the land with impervious surface. 

Research shows the short and long term effects of such irresponsible actions to be: 

• Dramatic increases in the heat island effect. 
• Dramatic increases in toxic pollution in storm water runoff into impacted water bodies and the Gulf of Mexico. 
• Increased destruction of wildlife habitats and wetlands, exacerbating the extinction crisis. 
• Extreme increases in releases of methane and CO2, contributing to the climate change crisis. 

More than 25,000 homes approved in one area of NE Sarasota Cty

 

North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton

• New per 1,000 existing 2021: 36.2
• New per 1,000 existing 2019: 23.6
• Total new units authorized 2021: 15,924
• Total new units authorized 2019: 10,009
• Percentage change in housing units authorized 2019–2021: 59.1%
• Median home price: $471,267

2022 cost to build a house

United States

• New per 1,000 existing 2021: 12.
• Recent FDH: No swim advisory issued for Palma Sola South. 

Sarasota metro ranks seventh in the nation for new home construction

Gayle Reynolds,

Conservation Chair,

M/S Sierra Club

Ed's note: The text of Reynold's message is verbatim. Images were added by the editor.