East County residents protest plans for 100-home John Cannon development near Old Miakka community
Neighborhood Workshop hosts note profane-laced comments they received in writing
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https://sarasotanewsleader.com/east-...kka-community/
During an April 29 Neighborhood Workshop, residents of surrounding communities emphasized their opposition to a proposal for a 100-home development in the easternmost portion of the county.
In fact, Sarasota attorney Charles D. Bailey III, of the Williams Parker firm, said that a number of the written comments he and the other project team members had received had “R-rated language or worse, which I’ve never experienced before.”
Bailey has been practicing land-use law for many years. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in September 1994.
Early on during the event, planner Kelley Klepper, a vice president of the Kimley-Horn consulting firm in Sarasota who also is on the project team, noted that a couple of the emails he had seen “are a little bit more of a personal nature. I don’t believe they’re appropriate, considering some of the tone. We will not allow personal attacks on the team of John Cannon Homes,” the developer of the proposed new community, Klepper added.
With Sarasota County Planner Keaton Osborn listening in on the Zoom session, Bailey said he hoped that he was not violating county policy by refraining from reading the profane comments, as more than a few, he indicated, included words that began with “s” and “f.” Nonetheless, he added, they would become part of the record turned over to the county with other materials, and the Zoom recording, of the workshop.
The workshop is a county requirement for any land-use proposal. It precedes the filing of a formal project application.
One of the workshop attendees, Jane Grandbouche, told Klepper and Bailey that she has lived in the nearby Old Miakka community for almost 40 years. “This [project] is unlike anything that has ever gone in our neighborhood. … It is almost unfathomable to me to actually look at this,” she stressed.
Among the other neighboring communities are Deer Hammock, Bern Creek, Oak Ford, Hampton Lakes and Shallow Run, as shown on a graphic presented to the workshop attendees.
Referring to the development site, Grandbouche emphasized, “It’s incredibly beautiful, native property.”
The new homes would displace more of the wildlife, she also pointed out, noting that East County residents already have seen that happening, given the development that has been taking place in that part of the county.
“I wonder why anybody would do this to this piece of property,” Grandbouche told Bailey and Klepper.
She further cited the anticipated increase in noise for the residents who long have lived in the area, and the prospect that insufficient steps will be taken to preserve the “dark skies” atmosphere that the residents appreciate.
At one point, in response to a question from resident Tom Matrullo, Klepper reported that the workshop had drawn 124 participants.
The project would be built on five parcels comprising approximately 511 acres south of Fruitville Road and south of Bel-Air Estates, according to the form that Klepper submitted to county staff to provide details about the workshop.
Two interior parcels, Klepper noted, will not be part of the community.