Siesta Key Coalition seeks citizen action vs. Mega Hotels

From the Siesta Key Coalition, regarding the upcoming Planning Commission hearing on the Siesta Promenade at Stickney Point, proposed by Benderson Inc.:

To SK Coalition Community Supporters:

 

As we promised in our 27 July e-mail, this note is to give you information on how to communicate with the Planning Commission, and how to attend the  hearing on the proposed 170-room, 8-story Calle Miramar/Beach hotel, on 19^th August 2021.

 

Emailing County Leadership, Timing and Content

 We are asking every one of our supporters to send an email to the Planning Commission, prior to the upcoming hearing.  We are all unified in our opposition to high-density hotels, even though some of our supporters have more concerns about one or more of the four proposed hotel locations.  However, we need everyone to address the first hearing for the proposed Calle Miramar/Beach hotel on 19 August.  The decisions made there will set precedents for future hearings for all four of the proposed hotels.

 

To ensure your comments are publicly recorded by Planning Staff in their reporting package to the Planning Commissioners, you should send your e-mail to the Planning Commissioners and Planning Staff no earlier than Fri August 6th and no later than Tues Aug 10^th, as it pertains to the proposed Calle Miramar/Beach hotel. The e-mail addresses are here.

As to content, we want you to review the list of Coalition Issue Statements, and to select one or two items that particularly resonate with you. We recommend that you use your own words, but you can cut and paste from the list, if you prefer.

 

Participation in the Planning Commission Hearing

 We encourage everyone to attend the hearing which will be held in the County Administration Building at 1660 Ringling Boulevard, at 5:00  pm on Thursday 19^th August  2021.

 

The Coalition will have only a limited time to present to the commissions, and we plan to have our Coalition leadership, and our lawyers and consultants kick off at the beginning of the presentations. We will welcome those who would also like to speak at the meeting, but we ask that you confer with a Coalition representative at the Speaker Card Desk, 30 minutes before the meeting starts.  

 

Thank you for engaging in the process with us...encourage all your neighbors to do so as well.  Please bcc (blind copy us at skcoalition@gmail.com) so we can follow the responses.  

 

Mark T. Spiegel

President 

Siesta Key Coalition.

www.skcoalition.org  

Email List of County Commissioners, Planning Commissioners, and Planners

List of Siesta Key Coalition Statements

Recording of 2nd Kompothecras Workshop

Citizens for Sarasota put in a public records request to Sarasota County, seeking the Zoom file for the second neighborhood workshop about the hotel proposed at Stickney Point road on Siesta Key, held on Dec. 15, 2020. The first workshop was held Dec. 2, but had to be repeated because the developer failed to properly follow notification rules. 

The project proposed by Gary Kompothecras is  one of three new hotels proposed for Siesta Key, all seeking to change density and height limitations.

Graphics supplied by Lourdes Ramirez

The recording is an audio file. The permanent link to the audio is here - the link in the county response below will expire shortly.

Representing the developer were attorney Charles Bailey III and consultant Robert Medred. The workshop consisted largely of residents of Siesta Key asking specific, pertinent questions about features of the Kompothecras proposal.

As the note below indicates, the County is not routinely posting these recordings to its own site. This file had to be obtained by a records request.

Siesta Key hotel application submitted by Kompothecras to the County.

Below is the email from a County public records person:

Thank you for your interest in public records of Sarasota County Government.  Your request for “audio of the December 15^th Siesta Key Hotel on Old Stickney Point neighborhood workshop” has been received and has been processed in accordance with Chapter 119 of the Florida State Statutes. Sarasota County has found records responsive to your request.

 

Due to the size of the file, a link has been created that will provide access to the audio file. This link is temporary and will be active for 7 calendar days, and afterwards, the file will no longer be accessible to you or us on the server. You are encouraged to download and save the file to your computer to ensure future access. Anyone with the link can download the audio file within the seven (7) days.

                             

https://secure.scgov.net/?ShareToken=8FFC52CF0D7C01F5BB60498DD6100D0A7044C2C2

[Editor's NOTE: Click here for the permanent link to the workshop's audio file. ]

 

Please note that when opening the mp4 file with an audio application, the sound doesn’t start until about 45-46 seconds into the recording.

 

We are working with staff and IT to see if we can post these recordings as they become available, to our County website, but at the moment, this is not available.

 

In the future, to better facilitate Public Records Requests that involve a large file size such as audio files, please submit your request to publicrecords@scgov.net or by using our GovQA portal at CLICK THIS LINK so that we can effectively facilitate your request with the department.

 

PLEASE NOTE: Florida Public Record’s Law does not require a governmental body to create new information or documents, to do legal research, or to answer questions.

 

Thank you.

Bethany Higgins

Public Records Specialist

Sarasota County Communications

1660 Ringling Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34236

Office: 941-861-5329

Cell: 727-266-0243

Email: publicrecords@scgov.net

Web: www.scgov.net

  

Eliminating density restrictions just one concern with 3 Siesta Key hotels

Three Hotels Proposed for Siesta Key

Two Proposed Hotels in Siesta Village – Image Courtesy Sarasota county  —  

Three hotels are being proposed for Siesta Key,  two in Siesta Key Village and one near the south bridge.   All building proposals plan for over 100 rooms of Transient (nightly) Accommodations, exceeding existing limitations.  Two of the hotels would exceed the 35-foot height restriction.

None of these hotels, as proposed, are legal under current zoning regulations.  All proposals also violate the two critical barrier island protections prohibiting an increase in density and intensity of property use.  These hotels can only be built if the County Commissioners grant special exceptions and amendments to current zoning and regulations.

The adjacent picture (image courtesy of Sarasota County) shows the location of the two proposed Village hotels, which are side by side.

Redevelopment of Siesta Key Resort

The first Village hotel is an expansion of Mike Holderness’ Siesta Key Resort on Ocean Blvd. from 55 rooms to 170 rooms.  The buildings would adhere to the 35-foot height regulation.

 View plans for this expansion on the Sarasota County web site.

New Hotel on Calle Miramar

Robert Anderson is proposing the second Village hotel with its entrance on Calle Miramar.  This hotel would sit on the vacant UPS store lot and an adjacent empty lot on Beach Road, and three lots behind them on Calle Miramar.  A 170-room, 100-foot building would replace existing single-story buildings.

View plans for the Beach Road hotel on the County web site.

Hotel near South Bridge

The third hotel, proposed by Gary Kompothecras, is located near Siesta Key’s South Bridge on Old Stickney Point and Peacock Roads.  This hotel would be a new 120-room, 100-ft building. A separate parking garage would provide some parking for the hotel.

View plans for the South Bridge hotel on the County web site.

How this will impact the Key?

These proposed hotels will add hundreds more cars driving daily on and off Siesta Key (in addition to extra traffic from the approved Promenade Hotel at US 41 and Stickney Point.)  Beach Access #5, in the Village, and beach access #12 near the Stickney Point Bridge will be overwhelmed with hundreds of extra visitors. Added transient accommodations will increase traffic, pedestrian, and beach congestion – how much can one little island absorb?

Another key component in the hotel proposals is a change to the County definition of Transient Accommodations.  Currently, for the barrier islands, including Siesta Key, Transient Accommodations are limited to 13 rooms/acre or 26 rooms/acre without a kitchen.  These hotel proposals include changes to zoning regulations that eliminate any restriction or allow much higher density.  More than 100 rooms per acre are proposed for each of the three hotels.   Proposals specifically state that certain property on Siesta Key may be developed “to contain transient accommodations which exceed the density restrictions of the zoning regulations.” This opens the flood gates for similar proposals on other Siesta Key commercial property.

Some Siesta Key Residents have asked what people can rely on when making a purchasing decision, if the Comprehensive Plan, Sarasota zoning code, and the SKOD regulations can be changed at a request for personal gain.  What protection can homeowners count on from the County?

Siesta Key Association continues to oppose special exceptions, variances, and amendments to the Sarasota County Comprehensive Plan, Unified Development Code (UDC), or Siesta Key Overlay District (SKOD) for current and future development projects that increase the density, or intensity of property use on Siesta Key.

Current Hotel Status

Pre-applications have been submitted to the County Planning Department and comments returned on two of the projects.  No formal applications have been submitted; no public hearings have been scheduled.   If you have thoughts about the hotel proposals, you can voice them to the County Commissioners at commissioners@scgov.net.

Read extensive articles on hotel proposals:

 Sarasota News Leader:   South Bridge Hotel, Calle Miramar and South Bridge Hotel Proposals, Calle Miramar Hotel

The recent filings of preliminary applications for two new 80-plus-feet-tall hotels on Siesta Key will encompass more than land development considerations, The Sarasota News Leader has learned.

Each proposal calls for major changes to the Sarasota County Unified Development Code (UDC), which contains all the land development and zoning regulations. Each application also proposes a modification of the county’s Future Land Use policy that applies to residential density on the barrier islands.  SNL 7.23.20

Siesta Sands:   Calle Miramar Hotel, South Bridge Hotel

Herald Tribune: Developers look skyward on Siesta

Check back on the SKA site for further information on these hotel projects.

 

East vs West: Who shapes Sarasota's future?

At 1:30 p.m. on September 23 -- today -- at the County Commission, a community will attempt to preserve its 170-year-old rural way of life, to "Keep the Country Country,"as Becky Ayech likes to say,

When the community of Old Miakka recently came before the Planning Commission, they were criticized, questioned, and essentially judged as doing something that, the planning board members said, threatened to unleash "chaos" if allowed to go forward. 

They were merely echoing the words of the attorney for the development industry, William Merrill III, who had no client there to represent. His scare tactic snowballed through the meeting, and went even further. The Planning Commission board -- a group of appointees whose day jobs fall largely within the employment confines of the development industry -- unanimously voted against recommending Old Miakka's proposed Comp Plan Amendment, then took the further step (under vice chair Colin Pember's* goading) of sending a letter to the County Commission, requesting research on how other counties deal with citizen Comp Plan amendments. Normally developers bring such amendments - as we'll see in a moment.

Essentially the Planning Commission was ventriloquizing Merrill III - questioning the very right of a community to ward off undesired development that would irrevocably change the character of its life.

                                                                     *Pember is land acquisitions mgr. for Pulte Homes of Atlanta

While this effort plays out in the farthest northeast corner of the county, a very different tale is just getting underway at the county's western edge. Three Siesta Key hotel developers - Gary Kompothecras, Mike Holderness and SKH 1 LLC - say their urge to build eight-story mega-hotels requires the county to increase density and height allowances. These changes are not just for their three new projects on Siesta, either. If approved as formulated, they would apply to the entirety of Sarasota County.

The dichotomy is clear: To the East, a community older than the county itself wishes to slow "progress" in order to preserve culture and history that otherwise will be lost. To the West, mega-hotel builders demand that the county open the gates to more intense development, more density, greater heights. 

While the people of Old Miakka see rapid growth as loss, the hotel impresarios see no reason not to alter the character of Siesta Key forever. Three new high-rise hotels will bring the traffic, change the skyline and rush the Key into a future of intense development unlike it's ever seen.

Who shapes the future? After the Old Miakka hearing, we'll have a clue.                                                       

• More on Old Miakka's challenge here.
• More on the brave new hoteliers here.

Mega-Hotel developers on Siesta Key seek to lift density requirements for all Sarasota County

Three developers planning Mega-Hotels on Siesta Key have recently filed pre-applications with Sarasota County. 

All three are asking the County to pass an Amendment to the UDC (Unified Development Code) FL Land Use Policy 2.9.1 that will remove density requirements for Transient Accommodations. Current zoning permits 13 units per acre for multifamily use, and double the density for hotels. The proposals would increase density from from 26 units per acre to 170 units per acre -- that's four to seven times what's currently allowed. 

****NOTE: This change in density will affect ALL of Sarasota County.****

All three developers -- Gary Kompothecras, Mike Holderness and SKH 1 LLC. -- request Special Exceptions to raise the permitted 35-foot height to eight stories: 83-85 feet.

The Comprehensive Plan requires that new development not increase density on Barrier Islands. The developers propose two changes to density:

• One would exempt hotels on Siesta Key from the maximum density limits.  
• The other would exempt hotels in the entire Sarasota County from maximum density limits.

These exemptions, if approved, would both be permanent. 

These are radical proposals that will increase density and affect traffic, safety, and the environment. They  will change the nature of Siesta Key and the entire County.

Please sign the Petition against Hotel changes

Please be prepared to attend future Planning and County Commission meetings and to express your opinions.

See the pre-applications to Planning here

This? 

Siesta Beach

Or This?

Hotel developer Gary Kompothecras is a major backer of the entrenched political machine. Both Kompothecras and Holderness have contributed to Michael A. Moran's campaign this year. SKH 1 is represented by Robert T. Anderson Jr. of Sarasota.

 

More on the hotels and opposition:

Siesta Key Coalition Zoom Meeting about hotels

Sarasota News Leader 10.1.20: Redevelopment of Siesta Key Beach Resort Hotel and Suites would increase rooms from 55 to 170, preliminary application says

Siesta Key Association

UPDATE: Who's funding your candidate?

Voters will make key decisions on August 18, when Republican voters in Sarasota cast ballots to decide which Republican candidate they want to run in the November 3 election for the County Commission seats in District 1 (northeast Sarasota) and District 5 (North Port/Englewood).

Among other factors in choosing, it's good to know who stands behind the candidate, who is funding him or her? No endorsements, but some facts:

DISTRICT 1

This information is very easy to find. Go to this page of the Supervisor of Elections site, click on a candidate's name, and you'll find the reports of each candidate on who gave them money. For example, here's a report from Mike Moran.

Moran's received over $47,000 so far for his 2020 campaign, and the developers have given a substantial share of that:

To compare, click on Mike Hutchinson's list of contributors. He has taken in $6,294.71 so far. He's loaned himself $30,000 to stay in the race.

DISTRICT 5

You can do the same in District 5.

Ron Cutsinger, a former board-appointee on the Planning Commission, has $55,000 so far. His list of contributors starts here. In addition to his own money, he's received backing from a number of builders and developers:

Recently Cutsinger has also received support from the Boone family, whose Venice law firm does a good deal of legal work for developers. Here's part of July 2020's list:

His Republican Primary opponent Christopher Hanks has $17,605. Along with land owners and Realtors show up the Benderson name also appears in his list. In August 2019, the West Villages and related developer contributors show up:

Randy Benderson

And in January 2020, the Benderson family came aboard the Hanks campaign with donations totaling $800:

Chris Hanks January 2020 donors - partial list

You can do the same research for the Democratic candidates, but they're not running in this Republican Primary for the BCC.

The winners of the Republican BCC Primary will face Democrats in the fall: Mark Pienkos in District 1, and Alice White in District 5.

Broader perspective

A broader look at developer influence over the last four years would include these contributors to our County Commissioners:

As well as these developer-donors to our School Board members:

One more thing about the upcoming elections . . .

The "Primary" for Sheriff and School Board is not in fact a Primary, but a final election. More about that here.

It's very important to vote on Aug. 18 - to do that, you need to register by July 20, which is coming right up. All the information you need to learn how to register, to change party affiliation, voting districts and more can be found at the nonpartisan Citizens for District Power site.

Setback Concerns on Siesta

Hearing Jan. 30

The County Commission is holding a public hearing on January 30th after 1:30 PM on the proposed zoning code change. It will allow buildings up to 8 stories high to be ONLY 2 feet from the sidewalk! Our current codes allow buildings 35 feet high (3 stories) to be 2 feet from the sidewalk.