Sarasota News Leader

01/31/2014

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Siesta Seen When she first was elected to the County Commission in 1998, she continued, she asked staff to research whether "anything was sal- vageable on Shell Road" in terms of public property. The staff response was "very little." The backup agenda material for the Jan. 14 item "shows that to be the case," she noted. Still, she said, "I would like staff to take a real second careful look." The petitions to be heard during the Feb. 12 public hearing call for the county to "vacate, abandon, discontinue, and close the County's interest in a portion of an improved, 50-foot- wide platted, public right-of-way known as South Shell Road (platted as Cedar Street) … and a portion of an unimproved 40-foot-wide, platted, public right-of-way known as Shell Road (platted as Gulf Avenue)," according to a Jan. 14 memo to the County Commission from Chief County Engineer James K. Harriott Jr. and Lin Kurant, the county's real estate services manager. The couples asking for the vacation of county rights of way will get more property, Patterson pointed out. "Traditionally, we don't ask for anything for [such action], although we would have to pay plenty if we were going to acquire [such property]. This is such a large tract of land — so very valuable — I would like the board to consider vacating it," she continued, "but say we want the 5-foot easement." According to the Sarasota County Property Assessor's records, the McSwain's parcel on Shell Road had a taxable value of $2,587,400 last year, while the taxable value for the Stelfox land and structures was $2,581,800. Diane Kennedy, a title agent in the Real Property Division of the county's Public Works Department, told the board members on Jan. 14 that staff had found "no indica- tions in the title work that there is a 5-foot pedestrian easement." However, she added, staff would collaborate with the agent for the petitioners "and have him research, and we perhaps will go back and look," to make sure no one had missed anything in the records. Patterson then made a motion to direct staff to undertake another examination of doc- uments to ascertain whether a pedestrian easement along Shell Road still exists. "And that means going all the way back to the water," she added. The motion passed unanimously. ISSUES ON NORTH SHELL ROAD Not far from Shell Road, North Shell Road remains in the spotlight as county staff tries to determine the best way to create park- ing spaces for members of the public drawn to Beach Access 1, which is at the end of that road. In a Jan. 25 email to the county commission- ers, Jim Harriott, the county's chief engineer, reminded them, "At times, staff has observed as many as 30 or 40 vehicles parking along the right-of-way, parking in 'No Parking' areas, and partially blocking access to residences and emergency vehicles." Sarasota News Leader January 31, 2014 Page 95

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