Manasota 88 Urges Sarasota to Resist Wetland Destruction in Meadows
Posted
John Rehill
SARASOTA – On March 22, the Sarasota County Commission will decide
on a rezone application that would allow for the destruction of more
previously-protected wetlands near the University Parkway corridor.
ManaSota-88, an environmental group concerned primarily with the
preservation of wetlands and destruction caused by phosphate mining, is
one of the organizations that objects to the rezone.
The Meadows Planned Unit Development in Sarasota County allows for
a total of 3,910 dwelling units, of which 3,068 have been built. The
applicants, which include Benderson Development and a company that
owns an adult living facility in the Meadows, want to reallocate
some of the yet-to-be built residential units and commercial footage in
order to build residential units, commercial space and an addition to
the ALF (formerly Kobernick-Anchin-Benderson but recently re-branded: Aviva: A Campus For Senior Life).
To
do this, the applicants want to rezone approximately 77.3 of the 1,633
acres first approved in the Meadows Development of Regional Impact (DRI)
in 1974. There are several parcels within the DRI for which changes are
being requested. They are also requesting a waiver of a 1985 resolution
that requires the maintenance of wetlands and existing wet prairies
within the plan area.
Sarasota County's Environmental Protection Division has recommended
against the application, noting that the petition is inconsistent with
comp plan guidelines for protecting freshwater wetlands found within the
"Principles for Evaluating Development Proposals in Native Habitats."
Manasota
88 agrees and the group has petitioned the county commission to find the
proposed changes not consistent with the intent, goals, objectives,
policies, guiding principals and programs of the county's comprehensive
plan.
The applicants argue that the wetlands and wet prairies identified on
the Land Use Allocation map no longer provide the functions and values
normally associated with wetlands, and that the wetlands have
experienced fragmentation from the natural landscape and therefore have
lost value and function. Aviva's strategic plan requires the use of more
of their campus to accommodate a larger population of seniors; therefore, to meet the needs of the necessary expansion for the
facility, development into the wetlands area is needed.
ManaSota-88 claims the two native wetlands located on the
Kobernick parcel have been designated as a "preserve area" during a
previous sector plan adoption and previous rezone petition. Prior
development approvals for the collective property have previously
demonstrated reasonable use while preserving these on-site wetlands
consistent with the comp plan requirements.
Although the applicant states the two native wetlands located on the
Kobernick parcel have become degraded, Glen Compton, President of
ManaSota-88, says, "The degradation of these wetlands appears to be a
clear violation of the wetland protection requirements of the 1983
Sector Plan and the 1985 rezone requirements to maintain the wetlands."
Compton added, "The current proposal seeks to impact 100 percent of the
native habitats on-site. EPD staff finds that the applicant has not
provided sufficient evidence at this time that demonstrates the
Kobernick parcel portion of the subject petition meets the relevant
elements of Chapter 1, The Environment, of the Comprehensive Plan."
In the ManaSota-88 petition to County Commission Chairman Paul
Caragiulo to deny the rezone application, Compton cited several studies
that demonstrate the importance of isolated wetlands:
"Additionally, wetlands provide many ecological services beyond
wildlife habitat, including such services as flood control, erosion
control, water filtration, assimilation of nutrients, ground water
recharge, etc. Furthermore, such isolated habitats within the urban
environment are becoming increasingly more important to both local and
migratory species."
The applicants claim the wetlands in question are unproductive and no
longer provide the functions of a wetland. Compton counters that the
applicant should not be rewarded for having degraded the wetlands. The
current proposal seeks to impact 100 percent of the previously preserved
native wetland habitats and seeks to impact a portion of the native
Mesic Hammock habitat adjacent to Phillippi Creek.
Sarasota County, once admired for their comprehensive approach to land
use, has joined the ranks of neighboring counties who have also
developed their way into decisions that could compromise future
resources. Manasota 88 was recently involved in a lawsuit seeking to prevent Whole Foods from destroying previously protected
wetlands nearby at the University Station project, but had to drop the
suit due to escalating expenses.
"We're seeing a
trend in Sarasota County where wetlands are protected and then someone
wants to develop them and that protection just gets thrown out," said
Compton. "We hear all the time from developers that they rely on the
comp plan in order to make development decisions. Well, the citizens rely
on the comp plan, too. They rely on it for the protection of critical
resources, and we think it needs to be taken seriously in that regard."
Sarasota County receives almost 40 percent of their water supply from
Manatee County. That contract is not guaranteed to remain in place into
perpetuity, making decisions that could impact Sarasota's water supply
all the more critical. Click here to contact Sarasota County Commissioners and let them know what you think about this issue.
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