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Sarasota News Leader December 14, 2012 Page 25 tives the city can offer to develop this site. ���The Rosemary District is almost like a blank We���ve heard in the past mixed-use might fit.��� palette,��� said one stakeholder. ���A lot of good things are happening there. It seems to me it OPEN MIC offers the opportunity to be a bit more edgy Virtually none of the audience members than downtown or Towles Court,��� said one identified themselves as the microphone was person, referring to the art district near Laurel passed from speaker to speaker. One question Park, on the other side of downtown. that struck to the heart of the discussion came Downtown Edge zoning allows and encouragup early: ���What does the Rosemary District es multi-use buildings. Citrus Square on North want to be? Right now, it���s half blight.��� Orange Avenue is an example, with townhoChapdelain���s answer was surprising to some. mes above retail space, allowing a live-work ���It is not the city���s role to provide that answer,��� experience. he said. ���It should come from the stakehold���ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE��� ers who live and work in the district.��� Devin Rutkowski suggested the current code allows ���accessory dwelling units,��� such as a cottage behind a main house. ���That could double the density with small apartments,��� he suggested. But under current rules, the idea does not work, said Tim Litchet, the city���s director of building, zoning and neighborhoods. Chapdelain emphasized the appeal of the Rosemary District. ���As the economy begins to bounce back, we want to make the area as attractive as we can,��� he said. ���There is proximity to downtown; the zoning is in place; there are a lot of opportunities.��� Chapdelain asked, ���Is anybody interested in going to Downtown Core [zoning] from Downtown Edge?��� The change would allow significantly greater development, with 50 dwelling units per acre possible and a height of up to 10 stories. Yet, the idea drew few takers. A map shows the boundaries of the Rosemary District. Image from Google Maps ���We���re asking for increased density, but not towers,��� said property owner Jim Lampl. Realtor Ian Black, who has a vested interest in the area, said, ���You have a moment in time where the development world is going to get active again. Interest rates are at an all-time low.