Say NO to industry near the Celery Fields

This Wednesday March 1 is a public hearing that could industrialize public lands in a healthy space devoted to birds, clean water and air, to life.

There are much higher uses of these 40 acres we own at Apex and Palmer. Please join the effort to protect our birds - some of whom are already threatened - and our green natural space, our families and kids.

Come to the hearing Wednesday if you can, and share this flyer freely with anyone who cares - thank you.

(If you'd like a pdf file of the flyer, email us at sarasotavision@gmail.com and we'll send it to you).

Restaurant Depot seeking approval for a truck-heavy 60,000 s.f. equipment supply operation.

Celery Fields

Update: 2nd meeting on Gabbert's Recycling facility next to Celery Fields

For those who missed the first Neighborhood Workshop for Mike Gabbert's (TST Ventures) proposal to put a recycling facility on a 16-acre site near the Celery Fields, a second meeting is planned for Jan. 30, 6 pm, at the Church of Hope (1560 Wendell Kent Rd).

At the first workshop, it was reported that the facility would precipitate 100 trucks a day of additional traffic, and have 35-foot-high piles of construction materials visible behind 8-foot walls, waiting to be recycled.

• Jan. 2017 Neighborhood Workshop Form
• Sarasota County Zoning Code
• Zoning and Comp Plan - brief explainer

==

UPDATE: Gabbert already has an approved Waste Transfer Station to be situated nearby -  on Cattlemen Rd. Documents on this facility can be found here:

Notice of Neighborhood Meeting July 2014 (in Gabbert's offices)
Special Exception Meeting Request with Narrative
County Source Page

===

The proposed site is currently owned by the County. How long will our Commission and EDC avoid looking for higher, better uses for our land, especially land so near the Celery Fields, a green space, bird sanctuary and Audubon Nature Center that is garnering a national and even international profile for avid birders and eco-tourists?

The second neighborhood meeting has to do with a "critical area plan," according to one planner. The sale of the county's 16 acres is reportedly contingent upon approval of the development.

Here is the workshop data.