SIESTA KEY, Fla. — A judge has sided in part with a local woman who took on Sarasota County in a lawsuit over real estate on barrier islands.
At issue were concerns over a high-density hotel project in a Siesta Key Village neighborhood.
It is yet another example of the tug of war between local governments and residents over what they've called an ongoing and expansive push for more development in sensitive areas that are not just on barrier islands but across the county.
The court win marks the second time this year that long-time Siesta Key homeowner Lourdes Ramirez said she and the neighbors who championed her have felt heard.
"As a barrier island, we should learn our lesson from Hurricane Charley, Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Ian, which were near misses for Sarasota County. You don't want to add more people to a barrier island where we have just two exit points and one two-lane road that connects those two points," Ramirez said.
In October 2021, the Sarasota County Commission changed zoning codes removing limits on hotel rooms and approved four high-density hotel projects including one on a lot on Beach Road.
"It's less than an acre and not only were they going to put 170 rooms, they were going to put a restaurant, a rooftop bar and a parking garage. It's too small for that parcel," Ramirez said.
Ramirez took her grievance to the state accusing the county of violating its comprehensive plan. An administrative judge in that hearing agreed and she won that case in April.
"You can't change the code, and the violation of the comp plan said clearly that you cannot increase density or intensity on a barrier island like Siesta Key," she said.
In the ruling this week, Sarasota 12th Circuit Court's Judge Hunter Carroll also agreed that the county was in violation of one of eight policies when it approved the eight-story hotel. He pointed out the lack of setbacks and the intensity and density of such a building on a small lot.
A meeting with the judge and all the parties related to the case is planned to hold within 30 days to discuss the other policies which were in contention but not ruled on. After this meeting, the county could then move to appeal the ruling.
"I'm hoping they don't. I don't think they can win. They lost in the state, they lost in the local. That would be a waste of tax dollars to appeal. The county needs to be looking at it as a public safety issue," Ramirez said.
10 Tampa Bay reached out to the county for a reaction to the ruling on the lawsuit but a county spokesperson said the county's government does not comment on active or pending litigation.