The Sarasota East-Enders for Responsible Development (SEERD), supported by many neighbors and friends, participated at a standing-room-only 4-hour long public hearing held by the Sarasota County Planning Commission to argue that the application for Special Exception for the property at the Grace Church site is deeply flawed. The applicant school marshaled its supporters, including teachers, parents, and students. The developer, Bo Medred, representing the school, presented the Development Concept Plan, and the County Planning Department its "findings of fact", based on its evaluation of the application. Despite the best efforts of those opposed to the Special Exception petition, the Sarasota Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend Special Exception Application, #1874, to the County Board of Commissioners for consideration at its upcoming July 12th meeting.
The consensus is that our appointed Planning Commissioners were not interested in adhering to local ordinances pertaining to the Special Exception application process. Further, the Commission voiced their displeasure with those of us who "complained" about traffic, noise, and air pollution, stating that progress is always noisy, detrimental to the environment, and potentially dangerous. In essence, they suggested that older residents do not have the same viewpoint on progress as do younger ones with families. Two of the speakers in favor of the school and enamored by its commitment and educational outcomes offered to buy the homes of other Bee Ridge residents who choose to leave.
While this is a disappointing outcome, it should not come as a surprise. Our findings - that consistency with County criteria contained in its land use ordinances - were not sufficient for granting a Special Exception, and SEERD putting forward a comprehensive set of stipulations that could protect our peace, safety, and enjoyment of life, are now officially on record as part of this meeting. This should make it possible to enter good faith negotiations with both the County and the developer, should they so desire.
Many residents pointed out that our opposition to this Special Exception has nothing to do with The Classical Academy itself. At issue, and the only issue should be the plan being proposed, its scale and design for intensively developing that site and location, and the impact it will have, using the facts at hand and the best analysis we can muster to ascertain what effect it will have on the neighborhood and the majority of its residents and businesses.
It is hard to accept in a democratic system that a small group of determined people who are trying to impose themselves on the rest of the neighborhood can or should prevail. In the process of seeking a Special Exception, unlike other petitions that have been granted in the area over the years, this one threatens to undermine the institutions that have served the County well in the past, and that made it a successful and desirable place to live, work and visit. The applicant has clearly failed to meet the burden set in the County’s own Unified Development Code (UDC). Our Planning Commission has succumbed to the known perils of conflicts of interest and failed to apply our public policies and land use ordinances, designed to promote orderly growth, health, safety and welfare and enjoyment of private property, in favor of some simplistic ideology about what makes schools good in general, and good for neighborhoods like ours.
SEERD, based upon the advice of its attorney specializing in land use matters, has been planning an Administrative Appeal as provided for under the County Uniform Development Code, similar to what stopped a County Board's decision approving a hotel on Siesta Key earlier this year. Anticipating a recommendation to approve by the Commission, and a possible decision to grant the Special Exception by the County Board of Commissioners on July 12th, a properly resourced and focused effort such as an Administrative Appeal has the greatest chance of compelling the County to follow its own public policies, plans and ordinances.
SEERD is assessing what happened behind the scenes during the two- month-long County staff review of sufficiency or "completeness" of the application as well as its second phase or "formal" review as to its consistency with criteria required for a Special Exception. The resulting ambiguity of its "findings of fact" is a red flag that the Planning Commission noted, but appears to have ignored, just as it ignored the heavy burden of proof for granting an SE that the County UDC places on the applicant. Bee Ridge residents and its HOAs should carefully watch what our elected County Board says and does at its next meeting, how the applicant and developer respond, and take the pulse of our residents before deciding upon future actions. SEERD has sought volunteers with specific skills and experience from the neighborhood, engaged in outreach among our residents through its web site as well as on social media platforms, communicated with County professional staff as peers, collected original data to inform its analysis and authored several documents and slide presentations that have served to frame the issues needed to resolve such a land-use dispute.
SEERD is also raising money from contributors to help ” level the playing field” in the face of well-resourced developers and an unresponsive County government. Aside from covering some of its administrative expenses to incorporate as a not-for-profit in Florida and costs for maintaining the web site, the funds collected will be used to cover costs of legal advice and representation by litigators to supplement the two volunteer attorneys that SEERD already has working with it. If necessary, SEERD will also engage the services of a land use/site planners, architects and engineers, but so far, its volunteers provide most of the expertise needed to operate within its resource constraints. SEERD is working on strategic partnerships with like-minded, long standing local organizations that have promoted conservation and a balance between economic, social and environmental objectives needed for sustainable development and are credited with the high quality of life that Sarasota currently enjoys. These potential partners also have the standing and political connections that the Bee Ridge neighborhood needs to challenge the current SE application and future planned development.
A few weeks ago, SEERD engaged Richard Grosso, a prominent land use lawyer from Plantation, FL. He has been advising residents on Siesta Key in their battle with the County over the high-density hotels approved by Sarasota County. He is also working with residents of Old Myakka to push back on some ill-conceived development proposals, so he has current and relevant experience here in Sarasota County. He has also chalked up some notable legal wins, helped establish important precedents, as well as contributed to rare successes for his clients.
With SEERD’s own 32 stipulations now on the record, and resources permitted, an Administrative Appeal as provided for under the County Uniform Development Code is the likely way forward if the County Board of Commissioners, as expected on July 12th, rubber stamps the recommendation to approve made by the Planning Commission on June 15th. To take these steps, we will be depending upon Mr. Grosso's advice as to strategy and reasons for appeal. This will require SEERD engaging the services of one or more additional attorneys who specialize in litigation, either from Sarasota or Tampa/St. Pete to represent our neighborhood at a hearing before an Administrative Judge.
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