Sarasota News Leader

06/21/2013

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Sarasota News Leader June 21, 2013 Page 75 Siesta Seen discontinue, and close the County's interest in a portion of an improved 80-foot wide, platted, public right-of-way known as Columbus Boulevard, lying within Mira Mar Subdivision," a June 18 staff memo says. That memo to the County Commission from James K. Harriott Jr., the county's chief engineer, and Diane Kennedy, a real property acquisition agent for the county, points out that the vacation of the right of way "will not adversely impact roadway safety in its present configuration." Brown's parking suit was the third he has filed against the county since the fall of 2007; all dealt with Village parking issues in one way or another. A map shows the location of North Shell Road on Siesta Key. Image courtesy Google Maps road has open drainage and is built on an Along with the vacated right of way, the settle- 80-foot-wide right of way. The pavement is ment in this third lawsuit calls for the county not centered in the right of way; it is closer to to pay Brown $75,000. the southern boundary, Harriott noted. That leaves 30 to 50 feet between the north edge of ANOTHER LONGTIME ISSUE the road and the right of way, he pointed out. During the March 27 county board meeting, In a follow-up memo on June 17, Harriott Commissioner Patterson raised a topic that wrote that the road itself has about 22 feet of has reared its head multiple times over the pavement within the 80 feet of right of way. years: public access to the beach on North "Although the width varies, the pavement is Shell Road on the key. on average about 16 feet from the south rightPatterson asked staff to investigate the situa- of-way line and on average 40 feet from the tion and try to determine what county work- north right-of-way line," he added. County staff verified those dimensions through a surers could do to improve it. vey completed on June 13, he pointed out. According to a May 1 memo from county Chief Engineer Jim Harriott to the County Commis- A privacy wall runs along the entire south side sion, North Shell Road is approximately 580 feet of the road; it was constructed by the Solymar long, connecting Higel Avenue on the northern subdivision, which has one driveway, Harripart of Siesta Key with Beach Access 1. The ott continued. A house at the westerly end of

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