SIESTA KEY, Fla. — Residents of Siesta Key are not happy with the Sarasota County Commission after some commissioners gave a nod to reviewing a development proposal calling for changes to the comprehensive plan.
One Siesta Key resident who has gone up against the county in court said this could now open the way for an influx of large hotels onto the small barrier island.
The hotel proposal from Benderson Development for which an out-of-cycle policy review request was approved over two others is calling for an 85-foot hotel with more than 200 rooms along Ocean Boulevard. The location is at the center of Siesta Key Village and such a plan could also require a parking garage on a piece of property across the street for the hotel facility.
"They're talking about going up nine to 10 stories, and in the village, you can build all the way up to the sidewalk going straight up. We're going to ruin the village. It's not going to be the same," said Lourdes Ramirez of Siesta Key.
With a no-cap "unlimited density" clause, hotel developers can set up projects with as many as 220 rooms on a single-acre property. The more acreage on the target property would mean more hotel rooms with more people and more cars.
"That's going to cause more problems for those of us who have to evacuate in a hurricane or have emergency service come to our home. We are already struggling with that now, why make it worse," Ramirez said.
"The infrastructure is aging, it's old, it couldn't handle it back in 1979 much less what we have today," she explained.
Last summer, a Sarasota 12th Circuit Court judge sided With Ramirez in a lawsuit against the county over similar high-density hotel proposals.
In an earlier case, also filed by Ramirez, the presiding administrative judge stated that the county's removal of density limits on Siesta Key was inconsistent with its comprehensive growth plan.
One commissioner, a Siesta Key resident who voted against the plan, said going around existing policy to entertain the issue could expose the county to more litigation.
"We've already been on the losing end of a lawsuit. I'm not comfortable changing the comprehensive plan for unlimited density on Siesta Key. If we are talking about other parts of the county that's another subject," said Commissioner Mike Smith with the Sarasota County Commission.
At Tuesday's meeting commissioners who voted in favor laid out their justifications.
"Let's do the work, let's get the data. Let's put the time in to make sure that we're doing the right things and we have the correct information that we need," said Commissioner Ron Cutsinger.
"At the end of this legislative process, if we say no we're not interested at that point we would back off," said Commissioner Mike Moran.
Developers would now have to submit a formal application to be entered into the review process by the county.
However, Ramirez pointed out that if the commission vote was anything to go by, she feared the process would be rife with favoritism and further stifle residents' voices.
"They didn't see that public safety should always take president over anything. Decisions should be made based on what is best for the public and not what's best for the developer," she said.
The review process is expected to take several months before going through the hearing phases at the planning commission.
It will then return to the county commission for consideration and public input before reaching the point of voting.