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Sarasota News Leader January 3, 2014 Over the next three months a national consulting firm will undertake a review of Sarasota County's beleaguered Public Utilities Department. A countywide procurement scandal came to light in 2011 after a utilities manager was charged with receiving illegal gifts from a contractor awarded millions in bids for sewer repair work for the county. "Unfortunately this is one of the areas where the procurement problems came up," County Administrator Randall Reid tells The Sarasota News Leader. The department was again thrust into controversy and the media spotlight after a billing mix-up in which customers were charged for backflow valve inspections that were never conducted. The refunds due were then sent to the wrong customers. After the two fiascos, several of the department's managers resigned —including the utilities director. Reid hopes the review and a resulting report will help guide new managers that will soon be hired by the county. Sarasota 2050, the county's long-range development blueprint, is already facing tough scrutiny. Now, thanks to a proposal brought by owners of 4,638 acres along Clark Road, even more changes might be in the offing. The Sarasota County Planning Commission soon will consider big changes to the section of 2050 dealing with the so-called South Village Area. The 2050 plan, approved a decade ago to encourage walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods in previously undeveloped areas, stipulates "only one Village Master Development Plan may initially be approved on land designated for Village land use located south of Clark Road." According to the proposal brought by representatives of LT Ranch Page 78 and 3 H Ranch, that language would be eliminated and swapped out with text stating that "the County shall support development within the portion of the South Village Area" to be dubbed "the Clark Road Properties." That agricultural land, 4,638 acres in total, lies south of Clark and east of Ibis Street and the neighborhood of Serenoa. According to the proposal, the 2050 revisions would ensure that development within the Clark Road Properties would generally follow current 2050 guidelines, but they would also allow for just 33 percent of open space in a new neighborhood, rather than the current 50 percent rule. Chris Brown hopes the City of Sarasota will approve his plans for a radical makeover of the triangular structure at Five Points in the heart of downtown. The building housed Patrick's Restaurant for more than 20 years; recently, it was home to the Floribbean. Brown wants to add "galleries" on the second floor that would protrude over the sidewalks. They would be supported by columns stretching 12 feet down to the sidewalk. Because the sidewalk is public property, he needs city permission to proceed with the design. He takes the initial step in that process on Aug. 7 when he asks the Development Review Committee (DRC) to look at his plans and offer feedback. Courtney Mendez, a senior city planner, notes this would be the first application of a zoning code amendment that allows galleries. Not only would the structures be 12 feet above the sidewalk, but they also would project 8 feet out from the building and be fronted with a railing. Brown offers two sketches, which show a New Orleans French Quarter flavor, including wrought iron railings.