Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/91307
Sarasota News Leader November 2, 2012 Siesta Key, for example, has had an overlay district since 1999 that establishes different residential standards than those found in the rest of Sarasota County. The overlay district also dictates a reduction in the size and height of signs, allows shell parking lots and identi- fies permitted and prohibited uses and struc- tures. Laurel Park's proposed overlay does not go that far. It asks only that neighbors be alerted when a property adjacent to the boundaries of the neighborhood becomes targeted for de- velopment or redevelopment, and it asks that residents be allowed to comment on any such proposal during a Sarasota Planning Board public hearing. Page 22 Laurel Park is surrounded by "downtown" zoning. That means developers and build- ers can simply drop off their applications for building permits at City Hall, and if all goes well, head to their sites in 10 days with per- mits in hand, ready to start. This is a process called "administrative ap- proval," and it requires no public hearing or even public notice. Neighbors find out when the construction equipment arrives. Anywhere else in the city, nearby residents would be alerted and a neighborhood meeting would be required, followed by consideration of a site plan by the Planning Board. But to spur development and settle a lawsuit, the city The blue area, which denotes a 100-foot-wide boundary, marks the edge of the Laurel Park neigh- borhood. The yellow areas mark all the parcels in the "downtown zones" where planned construction would mean notification for the neighborhood and discussion before redevelopment. Map courtesy of the Laurel Park Neighborhood Association