Community

Sarasota has slowed down to a hot summer, pre-election quiet neighborhood. However, it is critical that our community remains vigilant about influencing neighborhood growth that won’t negatively impact the average citizen’s life. Even during the wake of failed mortgages and high unemployment, the City Commission risks approving expensive projects without holding the developers and builders accountable for the expansion costs that accompany these ventures. Why?

In addition to these burdens, our citizens have been hit with high real estate insurance and taxes. In order to resist any further downward trends, we must now face key questions on vital local issues such as traffic, real estate and economic development.

Season is over and school is out taking some strain off traffic. Also, on the plus side, bus rider ship is on the increase and SCAT is updating routes to accommodate the new flows. Yet off-season traffic continues to grow each year. Further, we are only a few months away from welcoming back our vacationers – and who can blame them for wanting to visit? Sarasota is a great town with natural beauty and charm that we want to protect.

During our last election, voters let our commissioners know that Sarasota’s out of control development needed to be curtailed. For a short time our local leaders appeared to listen. Now developers have convinced the City Commission trek to the next level, even though these costly projects that will greatly impact traffic, taxes, and our city’s infrastructure.

I’m not saying I’m totally anti-growth. However, I am concerned that our commissioners will not consider the impact of these proposals or their constituents. I’d like City Commission to answer:

-- How will these ventures help the town develop and move forward?

--What are the key factors that must be agreed upon and approved by the City in areas, such as the Quay where demolition work has already occurred, and where development of the "Proscenium" is proposed?

-- What constitutes a reasonable zoning change and how can the Sarasota City Commission best handle requests to build new buildings that require zoning changes?

-- What is the impact on traffic?

-- What is the cost of the infrastructure improvement that goes along with those decisions and who will be responsible for those obligations?

To string together a number of the currently planned projects into perspective, please consider:

Within the next year, Sarasota plans to move forward with construction on the Quay Center property, the Proscenium, a baseball field and numerous condominiums. This means that huge costs will be incurred to upgrade our roads and water infrastructure to a state standard. Wastewater, utilities and road construction will need to be implemented in concert with these expansions. One of the most important questions to ask is: What measures will be taken to insure that these projects do not leave the resident tax payers with the bill while the real estate developers waltz away with obscene profits?

Moving forward to preserve our special community means that our commissioners must work very closely and intelligently with Sarasota’s citizens in connection with the developers. We are a bellwether community that needs to employ the best minds in the proactive planning of our municipality.

It is imperative that while considering economic expansion and redevelopment, that people have access to lucrative employment opportunities. We want to make our community great with opportunity. We must continue to attract technology jobs. This is a great place and we don’t want to mess that up.