Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/84916
Sarasota News Leader September 28, 2012 Honore, on land owned by the Albritton Fruit family. A single Victorian-style home sits on those 9 acres now; the current plan calls for that home to be moved to the southwest cor- ner and for the assisted-living facility to be placed near the north and east edges of the property. Center Gate resident Jack McGarry, whose home borders the pro- posed facility, has been fighting the propos- al since early March, when the developers first met with residents to outline their ideas. When asked at that meeting which prop- erty was his, McGar- ry responded, "Mine's the one with the two headlights on the back wall." While the site plan has shifted over time, Mc- Garry says it hasn't changed enough: "The basic footprint of the building has not real- ly, really changed since day one." Page 30 despite worried testimony about increased traffic, noise and lighting. McGarry says he felt neighbors didn't pres- ent their case well during that Planning Com- mission hearing, and he worked to mobilize more folks for Tuesday's County Commission meeting. McGarry is happy the commission didn't OK the current plan, but he's still dis- appointed by the re- sult. "They challenged us to go sit down with [the developers] and min- imize the issues on this," he says. This proposed site plan for the assisted liv- ing facility was included in material for the County Commission to review. Image courtesy Sarasota County At a Sept. 6 Planning Commission meeting, McGarry spoke against the plan, and he even showed an advanced 3-D rendering of the project to illustrate the impact the facility's two-story section would have on bordering properties. The Planning Commission even- tually approved the proposal in a 5-1 vote, He calls the design of the project "inappro- priate" for the area. "If we can overcome those hurdles and possibly move this building fur- ther to the south, that would be a step in the right direction," he says, but as he notes, wetlands on the prop- erty limit the develop- ers' ability to shift the area of construction. "We can make this better," Commission Chair- woman Christine Robinson told the construc- tion team as the meeting began wrapping up, "and we can make it better for [the neighbors], and we can make it better so you can get what you need done on this property."