Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/107047
Sarasota News Leader February 1, 2013 Page 50 month, and there is a waiting list. Total construction cost $73,000 and the annual rents provide $14,400. The advisory board looked at nine city parks, from Sapphire Shores in the north to South Lido Park. It zeroed in on South Lido, Centennial, Ken Thompson and Bayfront parks as the best areas to create a demonstration project. The city commissioners will be asked if the city should proceed. WHACK THE SPEED LIMIT In the evening, the commissioners will hold a public hearing and then determine whether the city engineer should have the power to recommend lowering neighborhood speed limits to 20 mph. Right now the engineer can suggest a limit at 25 mph. City Engineer Alex Davis-Shaw has studied several neighborhoods with an eye to lowering the limits, but under the current ordinance she is unable to make that recommendation. TANDEM PARKING AT GOLDEN GATE The commissioners will also hold a public hearing on a staff-endorsed proposal to allow a Golden Gate condominium development to allow two cars per unit by parking them noseto-tail — so-called "tandem parking." The Planning Board voted unanimously to reject the idea. The Golden Gate Point Association is dead-set against the proposal. A Dec. 10 letter notes the association floated a $5.8 million bond issue to improve the streetscape and add 100 parking spaces in the neighborhood. City Hall will be the site of the Feb. 4 City Commission meeting. Photo by Norman Schimmel Neighborhood President Brent Parker fears this change to the zoning code for his neighborhood will help just a specific landowner. "This text amendment has been created to benefit a proposed project of eight units," he wrote. "So in this scenario, we will now have eight new units, with one-half of the cars parking in the street! (At $58K apiece, we are giving away $464,000 of value to the developer via the neighborhood taxpayers)." "This is un-acceptable [sic]. Our neighborhood paid for this streetscape. It was not created to benefit a developer so he could squeeze another unit or two into the development," wrote Parker. %