Words mean what developers say they mean - LTE

A Letter to the Editor of the Herald Tribune, Sept. 8, 2020 regarding the view taken of a citizens' effort to preserve and protect the rural heritage of a 170-year-old community in East Sarasota. More on the issues here and see also: 

Sarasota County panel wants stricter rules for public input on growth.

Like Humpty Dumpty, developers must fall

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less." – Through the Looking-Glass, Lewis Carroll

Sarasota County has stepped through the looking-glass with residents’ interests upside down to development interests. 

East County residents support a comprehensive plan amendment preserving Old Miakka’s historic rural community.  Developers threaten expensive lawsuits. 

Humpty Dumpty’s and developers’ words mean what they choose – not what is real.  Here are some developers’ words opposing CPA 2019-C at a recent public hearing and the real meanings:

“Chaos” and “hijacking the process” means Old Miakka residents following county regulations and asking the county to preserve existing rural zoning densities.

“Vested private property rights” means rights to imagined future hamlet rezones without filing an application.

“Millions in county liability” means the county paying developers for speculative, unreasonable investments in hypothetical future density increases.

CPA 2019-C is based on facts and the Old Miakka Plan, is in the public interest, maintains Apoxsee future land use, and deserves commission approval. 

Humpty Dumpty must take a great fall.

Susan Schoettle-Gumm, Sarasota, former Assistant County Attorney, Sarasota County

 

Ayech to Moran: We followed the rules

A few weeks ago, on August 20, 2020, the Sarasota County Planning Commission heard a proposed Comprehensive Plan Amendment from a rural Sarasota community, and unanimously recommended denial. 

The Board -- made up entirely of appointees, mostly development industry insiders -- then went entirely beyond its specified responsibility to urge the County Commission to look into whether a community even had the right to seek a planning provision that would protect its 170-year way of life.

Below is an email from Becky Ayech to District 1 County Commissioner Mike Moran. It explains how her community's effort to protect the rural lifestyle of their 170-year-old community known as Old Miakka was entirely according to the County's own rules.

Ayech urges residents to write to the Commissioners in support of Old Miakka's right to seek a sound plan that would protect her community and prevent leapfrog development potentially all over the county.

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Good day Mike

I would like to address the issue of 20 signatures to REQUEST a Comprehensive Plan Amendment.

1.  This is a County Regulation and the Miakka Community Club was TOLD they must take this route.

2.  The 20 signatures was to REQUEST a Comprehensive Plan Amendment that would become a Public Comp Plan Amendment, just like any other County initiated Comprehensive Plan Amendment after the County Commission voted on this request.

3. The Comprehensive Plan Amendment proposed by Rod Krebs, because it was a language change, affected all the lands identified as Hamlets, including in South County.  Mr. Krebs did not own or control all the lands that CPA-2018-C would have affected.

Another example is the Comprehensive Plan Amendment that changed the TDR program.  This affected all lands that were/are subject to utilizing TDRs, including the subject lands of CPA-2019-C.  I didn't hear any complaints from land owners whose property would be affected.  Nor were they all listed on the CPA request.  So in fairness, there are often impacts to landowners when a CPA is adopted whose names do not appear on any of the filed paperwork, i.e. people who own land.

4.  Most importantly, this is a County Comprehensive Plan Amendment, not a private one.  That is why the Miakka Community Club is only given 3 or 5 minutes, rather than the 15 afforded to privately initiated Amendments.

I know you are a fair person who follows County Rules and Regulations.  Look at the facts presented by County Staff and members of the Public when you make your decision.  I am attaching a synopsis of the County Staff Report, dated August 20, with page numbers, for your ease of reference.

The 20 signature debate has already happened and the BOCC considered all the arguments for and against and voted to process CPA-2019-C as a Publicly Initiated Amendment.

Merits not threats should guide your vote.  I am sure the merits will prevail.

Becky Ayech

President

Miakka Community Club

See also: Irreplaceable impact of Old Miakka lifestyle by Carrie Seidman in the Herald Tribune.

Jono Miller on Shakett Creek rezoning

For the past thirteen months I have been working as a volunteer to help a local couple rezone a parcel on Shakett Creek. My file folder on this matter is 885 megabytes and there are over 850 individual files in the folder. I got involved because I'm retired, I'm frequently willing to help people out when I can, the outcome will be better for the environment, and I think this case has the potential to address some serious systemic problems with County Planning.

This is all heading towards some resolution at 1:30 on Wednesday September 9th when I make a presentation to the Board of County Commissioners. Although I am very optimistic, ya never know what will happen with the Board and we have to contend with an online petition opposing (501 signatures) and a 7-0 vote against from the Planning Commission. 

If, in addition to the basic cover letter summary stuff (page 1737), you only read two things, I'm recommending an email I sent to the county on March 16th (page 2108) and a Special Report I produced (How Sarasota County Mistook a Wetland for an Upland, an Upland for a Wetland, and Why it Matters) starting on page 1949. 

Here's a link to the Board Packet.

This links to a website created by the owners of the parcel. 

To view/listen on Wednesday click here and scroll down to the 9/9/20 meeting. 

Wish us luck.

Jono

PS By my calculations it will be 50 years to the day that Julie and I arrived (separately) in Sarasota to attend New College. 

Tiger Bay Forum with Commissioner Moran and Mark Pienkos

The Tiger Bay Forum held September 3, 2020 between Mark Pienkos and Mike Moran:

Sarasota's new candidates have a lot to say -- but will the public get the chance to hear them?

In our area right now, we are fortunate to have several candidates who are knowledgeable and articulate on a broad range of environmental issues.

Unfortunately, the current state of local media is such that it's likely very little broad public attention will be given to our area's local candidates or issues in the 2020 General Election. More on this below.

Here's a brief intro to five of these challengers, all of whom have made the environment a key plank in their respective platforms:

Andy Mele has a long and strong history of advocacy in both New York and Florida, where he's led Suncoast Waterkeeper as well as taking a lead role in opposing the huge gypsum mining firm Mosaic. Andy is running for Florida House District 71.

Mark Pienkos is running against incumbent Mike Moran in District 1, where large-scale developments are getting approved and moving eastward at an accelerated rate. Pienkos sees serious custodianship of the environment as integral to maintaining Sarasota's highly regarded quality of life.

Cory Hutchinson is running for the County Commission against Nancy Detert in District 3 - the Venice area. One key element of his platform is renewable energy. Hutchinson also wants to prioritize infrastructure repairs, to stop sewage spills into our water.

"Our environment is everything," says Alice White, "it's why we chose to live here." White, who's running for the District 5 County Commission seat, has been a longtime North Port voice for good planning and good planting -- In fact she's known as "The Tree Lady."          

Brian Kelly is a candidate for Venice City Council and a lifelong resident of Sarasota. A co-founder of Hands Along the Water, his focus is to preserve our lands from over-development, to protect our water quality and the environment as a whole, and to extend the reach of public health. "We must protect our natural resources," he says, adding, "our state's fragile environment is at risk from powerful interests. I am frustrated by developers' destruction for short-term gains. Our kids will pay the ultimate price if we don't act now."

There's a lot more about the County Commission districts, candidates and issues at Citizens for District Power.

From the sudden spate of super hotels planned for Siesta Key to the efforts of the Old Miakka Community in the most rural eastern portion of Northeast Sarasota, some of the most significant local issues have to do with the impacts of planning and intense development upon the environment.

Each candidate is following his or her individual conscience and commitment, but behind their concerns looms a larger common question, lurking in Red Tide, in storm surges, in ever-stronger hurricanes, in polluted aquifers, in the disappearance of rural life: Is our way of living reaching a breaking point? 

Where are the public debates?

None of these challengers is accepting developer handouts. All deserve to be better known. Voters deserve sustained, illuminating, in-depth discussion at this critical time.  

No public debates were organized by the corporate media in Sarasota during the August Primaries. The Herald Tribune is not staging any forums or debates for the General Election. And here's no word as of yet from WWSB-Ch 7, or the Observer, or any or our corporate media as to how they will cover the election.

Two local groups are holding online forums: - click the links to obtain their schedules: 

Tiger Bay and the League of Women Voters are organizing Zoom Forum events.

Are our media trying to socially distance themselves from these issues? Some residents think so. If you feel that candidates running without large funding from developers deserve more media attention, please sign this Petition:

Sarasota News Media: Engage our candidates!

One reason Carlos Beruff likes Mike Moran

 

Carlos Beruff (Medallion Homes) likes Mike Moran

Here's one reason why:

Several years ago when Mike Moran was on the Planning Commission, he helped developer Carlos Beruff get a commission recommendation to build homes on a site near an old county dump. Though residents said tests showed toxicity, this undoctored video shows how Moran turned that logic around. The Planning Commission (an appointed board) ultimately recommended approval for Beruff's proposal - which is now under construction at Foxfire on Proctor Road.

Questions for Tiger Bay: Sept. 3 Forum

On September 3, 2020, the candidates for District 1 -- incumbent Mike Moran and challenger Mark Pienkos -- are scheduled to participate at noon in an online forum presented by Tiger Bay. In advance of the forum, Kim Noyes emailed a request for any questions for the candidates. The three questions below precipitated from discussions among many citizens who care about the future of Sarasota County:

 

Mark Pienkos

Mike Moran

Proposed questions for the District 1 County Commission candidates: 

#1. Transfer of Wealth: Certain economists believe that in places where governments are lax in regulating growth - or that encourage rapid growth - evolve social economies that produce ill-conceived land use, excessive density, traffic, and shortage of services. They also see a transfer of property value and quality of life from existing (built-out) areas to the shiny new developments. Agree or disagree?

#2. Sustainable Development: (Follow up to #1) At some point developers run out of room. The inevitable result is they move to greener pastures, leaving behind communities to deal with the impacts from the new residents, roads, services, etc. Even more crucially, a county whose working people have a high dependence on active construction could find itself abandoned by its most crucial economic drivers. What concrete proposals do you bring that would diversify our economy so that when our big developers move on, Sarasota will be assured of a lively balance of well-paying jobs, instead of turning into a Florida version of Kenosha -- a dead town abandoned by its one large industry?

#3.  Keep the Country Country: Earlier this month, a 170-year-old community went through the proper channels set out by our Planning Dept. to amend the 2050 Comprehensive Plan. 

        Their goal at a Planning Commission hearing was to preserve “rural heritage” lands at the far eastern end of Sarasota County (Verna Road in NE County) from leapfrog intensification. 

        The Planning Commission didn’t simply vote to unanimously deny their proposed CPA (Comp Plan Amendment); it stepped beyond its advisory role to question whether a community even had a right to maintain its way of life. They voted - again unanimously - to write to the County Commission with an inquiry that could end citizens’ right to amend the Comp Plan.
       Without getting into the specifics of this proposal, please share your thoughts: 

    - Should Sarasota County communities be permitted to voice their concerns and aspirations for sustaining their way of life? 

   - Is a board of appointed industry insiders the appropriate entity to abrogate an established community’s right to sustain its existence? 

    - Or might this claim to protect Sarasota from “chaos” and property right litigation simply exemplify the development sector's overreaching pursuit of unregulated acquisition and development for private profit?

UPDATE: Planning Commission ignores facts, law, and courtesy, advocate says

Update: 8.25.20 from Becky Ayech:

I received a call from Michele Norton with Sarasota County Planning Department regarding what I thought I had heard at the August 20th meeting.  She said that three people had listened to it and they did not hear what I heard. Several of you also reviewed it and no one heard what I did, but there have been several different things people did hear.  Thank you for taking that upon yourselves.

I thanked her for pursuing this.  I was glad that I didn't hear what I thought I did.

With that said, I still reminded her that the public was not treated appropriately.  We had followed all the County's Rules and their manner, that they lectured us and that they were going to get that rule changed is not part of their charge.  She said they will continue to look at this matter.

(Editor's note: There is clearly at least one moment when a voice breaks through the presentation. A masculine voice at 2:47:16 can be heard first indistinctly, then quite distinctly saying "You are the most conservative right human being that I've ever known." It's unclear who was speaking and who was being addressed.) 

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Editor's note: The email below from Becky Ayech regards the Planning Commission hearing of 8.20.20 on the Publicly Initiated Amendment to the Comp Plan on behalf of Old Miakka. This 170-year-old community in East Sarasota County (Commissioner Moran's District 1) is seeking an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan that would preserve the rural character of the area. (Herald Tribune story).

The email was sent to the Board of Sarasota County Commissioners on Sunday, August 23, which happens to be the third anniversary of the County hearing regarding James Gabbert's Debris Demolition plant proposed at the Celery Fields.

As yet we have been unable to verify the alleged swear word some say they heard duing the PC hearing. 

                                          Video of the 8.20.20 PC Hearing

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To: Michael Moran <mmoran@scgov.net>, ncdetert@scgov.net, "Charles D. Hines" <chines@scgov.net>, Alan Maio <amaio@scgov.net>, cziegler@scgov.net

Good day Commissioners,

This is taken from the County's website:

Purpose: The Planning Commission, as the LPA, is obligated to interpret and advise the County Commission on the adoption of and amendments to the Comprehensive Plan, as well as land use applications filed, pursuant to state statute or existing county ordinances.

At the 8/20/20 meeting of the Planning Commission, the Commissioners DID NOT fulfill or even consider what their purpose is.

Rather, they lectured the participants on how egregious they were by following the process SET OUT BY SARASOTA'S  PLANNING DEPARTMENT AFTER CONSULTATION WITH SARASOTA' S LEGAL DEPARTMENT.

WHEN THE MIAKKA COMMUNITY CLUB FILED THE REQUEST FOR A PUBLIC INITIATED COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WE HAD A $5,000.00 CHECK IN HAND.

WE WERE TOLD THAT WE DID NOT NEED MONEY, BUT 20 SIGNATURES OF REGISTERED VOTERS IN THE COUNTY.  WE PROVIDED 75, 45 WERE VERIFIED.

WE DID NOT DIG UP THIS REGULATION YOUR LEGAL DEPARTMENT DID!  

THE ONLY THING WE ARE GUILTY OF IS FOLLOWING THE LAW.  I cannot say the Planning Commission is guilty of following "the Law" as articulated in their purpose.

At the "process request " hearing in front of the Planning Commission, Mr. Spaeth was asked how much money this would cost, and he told them very little.  This is a map change not a language change.  Never the less, the public had to be lectured on how much this cost the taxpayers.  This is an inaccurate and nonfactual statement.

At the process hearing, Mr Spaeth also pointed out that here are other counties that have the same regulations.

At one point in the hearing, a Commissioner's mic was NOT muted and it sounded like he called someone a "righteous bitch".  Please review the meeting to see if I heard correctly. If I did ,then he should be removed.

Every member of the public who spoke in support of CPA-2019-C was respectful.  The Planning Commission did not return this courtesy.  On your Speaker Card, that one fills out to speak, it talks of civility. The Planning Commissioners were not civil.  They were condescending. They lectured us. NEITHER OF THESE ARE INCLUDED IN THE "PURPOSE" OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION.

At the end of the meeting, a Commissioner said they were going to get rid of this regulation. THAT IS ALSO NOT THEIR "PURPOSE".

The Planning Commission DID NOT address the facts that were presented to them.  Rather, they took the stance of  the proverbial three monkeys, "hear no facts, see no facts, speak no facts".

I ask that you look into these statements. The Planning Commission is a reflection of you. This was an ugly reflection.

Please respond to my email. please make sure the "righteous bitch" statement was an error in my hearing.

Respectfully submitted,

Becky Ayech

President

Miakka Community Club

As a postscript.  I chair two of your committees/commission:  The Traffic Advisory Committee and the Historical Resources Committee. 

I WOULD NEVER TREAT ANYONE THE WAY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, WHO  EXCERSIZED THEIR RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN GOVERNMENT, WERE TREATED AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING.

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See the 8.27.20 Sarasota News Leader story about the hearing: With concerns about rights of owners of the affected parcels, Planning Commission votes to recommend denial of Miakka Community Club initiative to reduce residential density east of I-75

See also: Irreplaceable impact of Old Miakka lifestyle by Carrie Seidman in the Herald Tribune.

Seeding our imaginations - ecological and political

We saw a remarkable example of the ecological imagination bear fruit in Sarasota. The brainchild of a few people who paid attention to need - an overflowing, failed drainage system - and to potential - digging water retention on a huge scale - and to inspiration - piling up the muck to create a large plateau.

That sort of attention made the Celery Fields a place of public safety (from flood), public health (340 acres to walk, exercise) and general well being (for birds, nesting areas; for people, birding areas).

At the moment the Celery Fields was maturing into a thriving natural asset, drawing people from overseas to its Audubon Nature Center, a developer nearly persuaded the Board, its planning department, and two of our five commissioners (Moran & Maio) to approve building a huge open-air dump next to the nesting areas of the Celery Fields.

It took a community to turn away that big money exploitation.

Ecological imagination won out thanks to the people who live here. It was a close call. The environment will lose out to the rampant growth pursued by Pat Neal, James Gabbert, Carlos Beruff, Gary Kompothecras, Rex Jensen and their myriad mechanical minions if we don't feed, seed, and cultivate the ecology of our political imagination.

Vote wisely.

#celeryfields #primary #vote #election #growth #developers #commissioners #politicalmachine

Corona Virus in Florida: The numbers

From Mike Lasche, 8.14.20:

    Today, August 14, Florida set more records and recorded more high numbers of Coronavirus.

Today’s reported fatalities were 228, the 5th highest daily total of the pandemic.   The record, of 276, was set on Tuesday, August 11.

Today’s reported new hospitalizations were 618, the second highest ever, just 3 shy of the record of 621, set on August 5.    Today was also the 4th day in a row that reported new hospitalizations topped 500.

The 7 Day Average of Hospitalizations is at an all-pandemic high of 489, which means that there have been 3,486 new reported hospitalizations over the last week.

The 14 Day Average of Hospitalizations is at an all-pandemic high of 473, which means that there have been 6,622 new reported hospitalizations over the last two weeks.

The closeness of of the 7 Day and 14 Day Average of Hospitalizations suggests a consistent trend.     

With the 7 Day Average being more than the 14 Day Average, this means that new reported hospitalizations are increasing.

The increasing number of hospitalizations suggest that the virus is having a more serious impact on Florida than in the past…………and that the high number of confirmed cases are indeed leading to serious illness.

More ominously, with there being a steady trend of roughly 1 fatality for every four hospitalizations throughout the pandemic, a rise in hospitalizations augurs a rise in fatalities.

Below, please find tables and data which support the conclusions above.

Mike Lasche

Florida Walks and Bikes

p.s.   Mike is not an epidemiologist but has significant experience in analysis of data in the public, private, academic, and non-profit sectors.    These conclusions and data are offered as a public service, to further the understanding of the coronavirus pandemic in Florida.   Comments, criticisms, and questions are welcome.

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Below, please find a table which shows the daily reported fatalities from July 31 to August 14.  Note today’s total of 228 and the record of 276, set on August 11.   Notice how the 7 Day Average of Fatalities is increasing since August 7.

Below, please find a table which shows the daily reported Hospitalizations from July 31 to August 14.   Notice today’s total of 618 and the record of 621, set on August 5.    Also notice the record 7 Day Average, set today.

Below, please find two graphs, the 7 Day Average of Hospitalizations and the 14 Day Average of Hospitalizations, through the pandemic.   Note that both are at all-pandemic highs.   Note that the 7 Day Average ends on a higher number than the 14 Day Average, which means that the number of fatalities is increasing, week to week.

Finally, here is a graph which shows fatalities, as a percentage of all hospitalizations, remaining at a relatively steady rate for several months.   The rate has remained around 25% since early May.   Please note that this is not intended to be a measure of the effectiveness of hospitalization, as a good percentage of fatalities, perhaps 15-30% occur without prior hospitalizations.   But, it can serve as a rough guide to the number of fatalities to be expected, based on the number of people hospitalized.