environmental contamination on the site and
economic losses that had plagued the golf
course for years, according to a 2006 Sarasota
Herald-Tribune article.
The golf course was built over two former
landfills, where trash was burned as late as the
1960s, according to the Florida Department
of Health, which tested on-site and off-site
soil samples in 2008. Sarasota County burned
trash there until 1967 and buried garbage at
the site until the landfills closed in 1972.
"All classes and types of debris as well as
construction materials were likely discarded
at the site," according to the 2008 Health
Department report. (See the link to the PDF.)
After the landfills on Proctor Road were
closed, the Foxfire golf course was built.
Beruff hired a consultant to conduct two
recent rounds of soil tests. Both were reviewed
by the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection, which found "no public safety
concerns or chemicals leaking out of the
landfills."
"I am the guy who builds these houses and
the people I build these homes for will hang
me out to dry if it doesn't work," Beruff told
county planners at the meeting Thursday.
The former Foxfire Golf Course, at 7200 Proctor Road, could become the site of new single-family
homes. Image from Google Maps
DOWNLOAD THE PDF
Read the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services report.
Sarasota News Leader May 16, 2014 Page 40
