Sarasota News Leader

01/31/2014

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Siesta Seen on the key — has asked staff to take a second look at whether the county still has any rights to a 5-foot pedestrian easement to the Gulf of Mexico in that same area. During the board's Jan. 14 regular meeting, Patterson pulled from the consent agenda the item calling for the scheduling of the public hearing. "Shell Road has kind of a sour history as far as public access to the water," she pointed out. Around 1970, two segments of road ran per- pendicular to the Gulf of Mexico, she noted; they joined to create a loop, which separated the homes from the water. The public used to drive along that stretch, she said, "which was gorgeous." However, "it was not county-su- pervised or maintained." Eventually, homeowners began building pools and adding landscaping to portions of the roads. At one point, in a dispute with the county, property owners even barricaded a section of the road to keep out the public. The county lost a lawsuit over that whole issue, Patterson explained. Now all that remains are the two perpendic- ular road segments, and the southernmost road has no access to the water, she added. An aerial photo shows the proximity of property owned by Donald and Susan Stelfox to the county right of way on Shell Road. Image courtesy Sarasota County Sarasota News Leader January 31, 2014 Page 94

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