Sarasota News Leader

01/25/2013

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Sarasota News Leader January 25, 2013 Page 25 LeShea has served on a variety of advisory and their representatives reveal very little boards and is a specialist in transportation. 
 about their plans." The proposed overlay district would provide a different set of standards and guidelines intended to spur development in the area. It seeks both to streamline the approval process for projects and reduce conflicts regarding them. A developer would hold a mandatory community meeting on a proposal and then submit the plans to the city for approval. Janet Robinson, a real estate broker who is on the board of the nonprofit North Trail Redevelopment Partnership, noted a dynamic tension that bedevils the area. "How do we make this the gateway to Sarasota, this little strip with a lot of great assets and really bad demographics?" she asked. "It is a dynamic place that is just stuck." In most cases, no formal public hearing would be required either before the Planning Board or the City Commission — hence the term, "administrative approval." But neighborhood residents are leery. Virtually all of Sarasota's national-class assets are along the North Tamiami Trail — New College, Ringling College of Art and Design, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, the Asolo/Florida State University Center for the "I have many concerns about administra- Performing Arts and the Van Wezel Performtive site plan review," said Gretchen Serrie. ing Arts Hall. By contrast, the South Tamiami "I know at initial meetings, savvy developers Trail has strip malls. Developers would have more leeway with the daylight plane requirements for structures in the North Trail Overlay District. Image courtesy City of Sarasota

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