Landings Eagle - September 2016

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SEPTEMBER 2016 941.349.0194 | ISLAND VISITOR PUBLISHING, LLC

www.THELANDINGSOFSARASOTA.com

FDOT staff expresses serious concerns about proposed Siesta Promenade project By Rachel Brown Hackney / www.SarasotaNewsLeader.com One day before Benderson Development submitted its latest application to Sarasota County regarding its proposed Siesta Promenade project at the intersection of U.S. 41 and Stickney Point Road, a Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) engineer sent a letter directly to the Sarasota County’s transportation planning manager, pointing to the “astonishing 175 percent total increase” in crashes at that intersection between 2010 and 2014. The Siesta Promenade plan has been classified as a Development of Regional

Impact (referred to as DRI), according to a document filed with the county’s Planning and Development Services Department. According to Florida State Statute 380.06(1), a DRI “is defined as any development which, because of its character, magnitude or location, would have a substantial effect on the health, safety or welfare of citizens in more than one county.” The Benderson application proposes the rezoning of the approximately 24-acre site to Commercial General to allow 140,000 square feet of commercial space, 150 hotel

rooms and about 600 dwelling units. In response to a question from SNL about the timeline for county staff review — and subsequent Planning Commission and County Commission public hearings on Siesta Promenade — county Planner Steve Kirk explained that county staff had reviewed the scope of work proposed in the firm’s Critical Area Plan (CAP) application, which was filed July 21. Benderson needs to have a CAP adopted by the county, he said, so the firm can increase residential density on

Rendering of the proposed Siesta Promenade

the site to 25 units per acre. Based on staff comments regarding the latest submitted application, the Benderson employees will refine the proposal and then submit it

New Stickney Point Road Proposal

to the county, along with a petition to rezone the site, he added. “I expect them to file that at any time,” he said. Continued on page 14

By Rachel Brown Hackney

|Canadian firm proposes commercial project on Stickney Point Road, across from Sarasota Pavilion entrance With so much attention focused on plans for Siesta Promenade less than a mile south, a proposed project on a property about one-sixth the size of the Benderson Development Co. site has remained in relative obscurity. Representatives of the Florida division of an Ontario firm, JC Group, tentatively are scheduled to go before the Sarasota County Planning

Meet Mackenzie Quigley Page 12

Commission on Sept. 15 to seek the rezoning of property at 2121 and 2131 Stickney Point Road so the company can build a new commercial center with a 50-seat Dairy Queen restaurant and drive-through window on part of the site. The firm has no plans to close the Firestone Complete Auto Care Center at 2121 Stickney Point Road, Sarasota County Planner Jack Wilhelm

stated through county Communications Department staff. The adjacent land at 2131 Stickney Point Road is vacant. “There is an existing demand for this type of commercial use given the property’s strategic location near the Gulf Gate Mall and the site’s ideal location at a signalized intersection,” says the application, which was submitted to the county’s

Our Electorial College In No Dinosaur Page 22

Planning and Development Services Department on April 17. The property is across from the entrance to Sarasota Pavilion, putting it in close proximity to the U.S. 41/Stickney Point Road intersection. A new single-story, 35-foottall building has been designed with three leasable units on the 2131 Stickney Point Road

land, the application shows. The units would range in size from 1,800 square feet to 2,500 square feet, Wilhelm stated. The largest one would house the Dairy Queen, he noted, while the other two are labeled as speculative retail uses. Along with Stickney Point Road, the property borders Couver Drive. Continued on page 25

Controlling Mosquitoes Page 21


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