Our SEERD Board was sorry to hear that many of our neighbors have been impacted by flooding from the recent tropical storm. What a nightmare, even for the few victims who did have flood insurance! The vast majority of those affected appear to have had no such coverage. We are aware of the relief work done by Rotary International which has teams of volunteers from across the state helping homeowners with debris removal and rebuilding (RotaryFL.org) but there are other relief organizations as well that could use our support while Federal and State assistance under the disaster proclamation begins to flow.
All told there are about 1000 homes in the County that have been damaged according to FEMAs ongoing disaster survey work, some much more than others. Here on the northeastern corner of the Bee Ridge neighborhood, and closer to town in Pinecraft and others adjacent to Cow Pen Slough and Philippe Creek which drain storm water runoff from the increased impervious surface resulting from recent development, the damage was far worse.
Our not-for-profit organizations operating County-wide have been campaigning for responsible development, some for many years, but with limited success. Sadly, it often takes a tragedy of this magnitude to get people's attention to the consequences of unsustainable development (or any issue of public importance for that matter) and for our political system to hold elected and appointed officials accountable and institute the necessary changes in terms of people, policy and practices. The reckoning is about to begin.
There will be a Sarasota Board of County Commissioners (BCC) meeting on Tuesday 8/27 starting at 09:00 down in Venice at the County Office Center where the flood issue will feature prominently during Open Question time-even though it's not on the agenda per se. Our elected leaders do not want to discuss this matter anymore than necessary. Like other issues relating to development and growth management as we have learned, they really do not want to hear from Sarasota's residents. Apparently, they believe that they know best.
There is also a BCC meeting the next day on Wednesday in Sarasota on 8/28 jointly with the City of Sarasota (an annual event) also starting at 09:00 where overdevelopment and stormwater management will likely be raised again. Open Question time will provide another opportunity to raise issues not on the agenda and let our elected representatives hear what is on our mind.
Adding insult to injury, at both meetings, the County Board's agenda includes discussion and public hearings to approve yet more new development (such as Pat Neal's 3H Ranch with 6500 new homes and 350,000 sq ft of commercial space on 2000+ acres fronting on Clark Road just west of Sky Ranch on Tuesday). Were the days not busy enough, there are also Neighborhood Workshops sanctioned by the County going on virtually the evenings of 8/27 and 8/28 to restart the application process for more zoning changes and Special Exceptions. These involve a new housing development involving 100 residences named Hidden Hammock on 40 acres of land with little to no public infrastructure located east of Lakewood Ranch on 8/27 starting at 6 pm. A new Charter School that wants to locate on the First Baptist Church property on Fruitville Road with twice as many students as the current Special Exception for the property allows will be the subject of the workshop on 8/28 also beginning at 6 pm. For details on these workshops please contact County Planning Services or send us an email and we will forward to you the virtual link. Needless to say, this aggressive drive for more growth at any cost needs to be moderated by social and environmental concerns or else the popularity enjoyed by Sarasota and its acclaimed quality of life will be short-lived.
What else can you do? There is a petition being circulated by Sarasota Citizens Action Network (SCAN.org) demanding a pause in new development approvals until we have a fulsome understanding of the flood risks and solutions to prevent this sort of tragedy from happening again. Already in excess of 1000 signatures have been collected in just a few days. Please take a look at the petition linked below and consider adding your names. This may not move our elected officials but for those of us planning to attend the BCC meetings we will be better able to speak on behalf of our neighbors, demand an independent and professional investigation of the cause of the flooding, reconsider how the County manages future growth with the necessary policies and infrastructure needed to support new development that ensures the health, safety and welfare of our residents and protects the quality of life that we have enjoyed and which attracted many of us to SW Florida in the first place.
I will have updates shortly on our ongoing efforts to challenge TCAs school campus on Bee Ridge Road. While some of the stipulations required in the Special Exception have been undertaken, the County has had to institute additional code enforcement actions to achieve compliance. We continue to take administrative and legal actions to prevent that intense and poorly situated land use from adverse impacts on adjacent properties and the neighborhood. Ensuring that our public officials and school management adhere to essential health, safety and welfare requirements for Sarasota residents remains our primary concern.
Thanks for being a SEERD member and your continued support.
Miles Toder, Ph.D.
President, SEERD
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