Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/235968
Sarasota News Leader January 3, 2014 established by ordinance that sets forth enumerated powers and no others," says Deputy City Attorney Michael Connolly. "Each can contract for planning services and assistance." One power neither board has is the ability to dictate land use. If either or both boards want to explore how to limit the "proliferation" of bars and restaurants, Connelly adds, they need to start with a "professional opinion." Members of both boards begin talking about hiring the same consultant until they are brought back to legal reality by city Purchasing Manager Mary Tucker. "You can't just go out and hire somebody," she points out. "If [the expense is] over $5,000, you are going to need bids. If it's over $50,000, then you need a proposal we can use for a [Request for Proposals]." The DID board unanimously approves a motion asking the city Purchasing Department to put out a Request for Proposals to hire a consultant to examine the "present mix of bars, restaurants and food-related-consumption-on-the-premises businesses to determine if it is a proper mix." The Sarasota County Commission on Oct. 9 takes another step toward creating a domestic partnership registry. The measure, similar to ones already approved by the Cities of Sarasota and Venice, would grant unmarried couples rights such as emergency notification, burial decision-making, healthcare visitations and more. County staff presents two possible ordinances, identical except for one section dealing with reciprocity, a measure that would guarantee partners registered in other jurisdictions the same rights as those granted to partners registered in Sarasota County. Former Sarasota City Commissioner Ken Shelin, who has become the face of the local registry movement, presses the commission to Page 100 include the reciprocity language. He emphasizes the high number of tourists and other visitors who come to the county, sometimes for months at a time. Vice Chairman Charles Hines wants a guarantee the county would not be committing itself to granting rights extended by other jurisdictions that might not be included in the Sarasota ordinance, a concern Commissioner Nora Patterson echoes. County Attorney Stephen DeMarsh reassures the commissioners that the ordinance would grant only the rights specifically enumerated, even if visitors are entitled to greater rights in their hometowns. The Sarasota County commissioners on Oct. 9 unanimously approve a revised transportation agreement for the proposed Villages of Lakewood Ranch South development, moving the large housing development one step closer to construction. The agreement requires developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch Inc. (SMR) to construct certain roadways to serve both the interior of the Villages and the project's traffic. SMR will pay for an east-west connector from Lakewood Ranch Boulevard to Lorraine Road through what the agreement terms "the Development of Regional Impact (DRI)." It also is required to construct additional transportation improvements with a value of $7.5 million through a "proportionate share" clause in the document. The developer will fund one of two possible projects. SMR initially has focused on construction of two outer lanes of the future four-lane Iona Road, between Fruitville Road and Palmer Boulevard, but the county could opt instead for an east-west route that would include an overpass of Interstate 75 and Cattlemen Road.