Siesta Sand - September 2020

Page 1

SIESTA KEY ASSOCIATION AWAITING APPEALS COURT BIG PASS RULING page

3

SIESTA KEY HOMEOWNER UNDER FIRE FROM COUNTY FOR ILLEGAL REMOVAL OF TREES page

10

COUNTY TO IMPROVE LAND DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLIC HEARING SIGNAGE page

12

THE ISLAND LIFESTYLE FITNESS CENTER

Why the world comes to Sarasota

©

24 HR MEMBER ONLY PRIVATE ACCESS

SEPTEMBER 2020 | 941.312.0665 | 27TH STATE MEDIA LLC | www.SiestaSand.net | COMPLIMENTARY

FDEP finally responds to SKA requests to provide required reports on Big Pass dredging By Rachel Hackney Brown  SarasotaNewsLeader.com

With the removal of sand underway in Big Sarasota Pass to renourish Lido Key Beach, leaders of the Siesta Key Association (SKA) have expressed concerns to both state and Sarasota County environmental officials about several issues, including a lack of transparency on the state’s part. At the same time, leaders of the nonprofit Save Our Siesta Sand 2 (SOSS2) have been working on options since a federal judge refused their request for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to prevent the dredging, which began on Saturday, July 18. Siesta Key architect Mark Smith, who took over late last year as chair of SOSS2, told the SNL that the organization’s goal at this point is to wrap up its lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), which it filed in the U.S. District Court in the Middle District of Florida in January 2019. Although Chief Judge Steven Merryday denied the TRO motion, Smith pointed out, the case

was still pending as of mid-August. If Merryday would issue a final ruling, Smith added, then SOSS2 leaders at least would have the option of filing an appeal with the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, in Atlanta. The goal, Smith pointed out of SOSS2’s latest efforts, is to try to prevent any subsequent dredging of Big Pass, as the permit the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) issued to the USACE and its co-applicant, the City of Sarasota, in June 2018 is valid for 15 years. The USACE has said that more sand will need to be placed on Lido approximately every five years. On the morning of Aug. 6, SKA Director Robert Luckner emailed Gregory Garis, administrator of FDEP’s Beaches, Inlets, and Ports Program, to point out that it had been a week since the nonprofit had contacted Garis to request a link to the FDEP webpages where reports on turbidity would be posted for the Lido Key Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction Project.

Engineering drawing of the beach fill template for the southern part of Lido.

Continued on page 34

Smile...Siesta Key Village Siesta Promenade update Welcomes a New Dental Practice By Rachel Hackney Brown  SarasotaNewsLeader.com Given the Second District Court of Appeal ruling for Sarasota County this summer in the Siesta Promenade lawsuit, the SNL took the opportunity to ask county staff about the status of the mixed-use development planned for the northwest quadrant of the Stickney Point Road/U.S. 41 intersection. On Aug. 6, county Media Relations Officer Drew Winchester, reported that no site and development materials had been filed with the county’s Land Development Division, which is part of the Planning and Development Services Department. Siesta 41 Associates is the Benderson Development Co. affiliate that actually is overseeing Siesta Promenade.

By Jane Bartnett Siesta Key residents, neighbors and visitors have something to smile about. As of September 1, a new professional dental office is opening at 5136 Ocean Boulevard, in Davidson Drugs Plaza, in the heart of Siesta Key Village. Dr. My-Huong Ta, DDS, who relocated to Sarasota from New York City where she had a successful mid-town Manhattan dental practice near the United Nations, will provide full service family dentistry. A practicing dentist for the past 25 years, Dr. Ta is a graduate of the

Page 8 Meet Paw Pal Sammy

• Village Map/business listings PAGES 18-19 • Crescent Beach Map/ business listings PAGE 20 • Word Search PAGE 22 • Gulf Gate Shops PAGE 27 • Accommodations Map/ Listings PAGE 35

University of Rochester, in Rochester, N.Y. After completing a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology, she went on to earn her Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook’s School of Dental Medicine. She completed her residency at the University of California at San Francisco in Advanced Education in General Dentistry. While practicing dentistry in New York City, Dr. Ta earned certificates in Advanced Continuing Education, Full-Mouth Continued on page 34

“From the planning side,” Winchester continued, Benderson representatives did participate in a pre-application meeting on July 17. However, he wrote, “[T]hey have not requested a Neighborhood Workshop as of yet.” On Dec. 12, 2018, the County Commission approved the plans for 414 apartments/condominiums, a 130-room hotel designed to stand 80 feet tall, 133,000 square feet of retail space and 7,000 square feet of office space for Siesta Promenade. Sura Kochman, who lives in the Pine Shores Estates neighborhood next to the project site, filed suit against the county Continued on page 34

Page 25

Page 14

Page 30

Celebrating on a Sailboat is

Bon Appetit - It is Florida Spiny

Does your home have

a (Key) Breeze!

Lobster season

curb appeal?

DISCOVER THE DAVIDSON DIFFERENCE Postal Service in Both Locations Southbridge Mall 6595 Midnight Pass 349-4343

Siesta Key Village 5124 Ocean Blvd. 349-1111

SERVING SIESTA KEY AND SARASOTA FOR OVER 60 YEARS

with coupon Good through September 30, 2020

Excludes pharmaceuticals and post office purchases.

1398


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Siesta Sand - September 2020 by Brion Palmer - Issuu