Longboat Key News and Sarasota City News encourages Letters to the Editor on timely issues. Please email to: letters@lbknews.com or mail to PO Box 8001, Longboat Key, FL 34228. We also print letters sent to Town Hall that address Longboat Key issues. We reserve the right to edit.
Sabal Cove reserve Study
To: David Gutridge
David, I stand corrected, the water and wastewater utilities are not the responsibility of the Town Sabal Cove. My Utility Manager set me straight. My confusion is that in past brakes the Town Utility Department has assisted Contractors hired by Bay Isles and all the subdivisions in repairs. However we do maintain the main line/valves that runs under Harbourside Dr. I used the Plat dedications to confirm this info. Sorry for the confusion.
Charles Mopps
Public Works Director
Town of Longboat Key
Sabal Cove reserve Study
To: Longboat Key Mayor Ken Schneier
Sir, you are correct about the water and wastewater utilities. However, the Town does not maintain any private stormwater infrastructure, including all those within Sabal Cove.
Charles Mopps
Public Works Director
Town of Longboat Key
Sabal Cove reserve Study
To: Longboat Key Public Works Director Charlie Mopps
The Sabal Cove HOA recently undertook a reserve study for our development that showed that we needed to step up reserves substantially. The three most expensive items in the reporrt, however, were stormwater, underground sewer and underground water. Our understanding is that stormwater (outlets and conduits) is the Town’s responsibility and that water and sewer conduits are the Town’s responsibility up to the backflow valve and the homeowners’ responsibility from the backflow valve to the home. Is that correct? If so, we’re reserved properly.
Ken Schneier
Mayor
Town of Longboat Key
GMD Signs
To: Longboat Key Mayor Ken Schneier
I reached out to my contact with FDOT this morning for an update. He indicated that he would confirm status and get back to me. Once I have more information, I will send out.
Copied Tip.
Isaac Brownman
Assistant Town Manager
Town of Longboat Key
GMD Signs
To: Longboat Key Assistant Town Manager Isaac Brownman
Did FDOT say when they would replace the signs?
Ken Schneier
Mayor
Town of Longboat Key
Lighthouse Point
To: Longboat Key Commissioner Steve Branham
Thank you Sir, as noted below, Public Works is expecting the call and will meet with the customer to investigate.
Isaac Brownman
Assistant Town Manager
Town of Longboat Key
Lighthouse Point
To: John Saputo, Longboat Key Assistant Town Manager Isaac Brownman
Hi John, thanks for your email and I’m sorry to hear that this problem persists. I just spoke with the assistant town manager and he provided me a point of contact with public works who is the Town utility manager. His name is Jessie Camburn. He will be expecting your call.
Isaac, as discussed a few minutes ago. Please take this for action. Perhaps a visit to the property is needed to investigate the issue. It is not new.
Steve Branham
Commissioner
Town of Longboat Key
Lighthouse Point
To: Longboat Key Commissioner Steve Branham
Admiral—Really? Sir is this an issue? A beautiful sign must come down at the prestigious St Regis Resort, but me and my neighbors at Lighthouse Point just asking for clean water that we can drink. Water that does not stain our tile in the shower or water that does not leave black and red lines in our toilets? Our water has been independently tested and found to have not so nice creatures in it. One of my neighbors was tired of waiting for action and installed his own $27k full filtration system for his entire house. Please let us know if no action being taken for us so we can all go out and buy our own filtrations system. To add insult to injury you send us a monthly bill for impure water that we are hesitant to drink!
John Saputo
Longboat Key
Against Archway Sign on St. Regis Pier
To: Longboat Key Town Manager Howard Tipton
I am an active fisherwoman who lives in Bay Isles. From my beach club, I often walk down to the St. Regis Pier to go fishing. I have not done this since the archway sign was erected. In fact, I have seen very few fishermen there since the archway was placed. Please do not approve to allow the sign to remain.
Margaret Sanchez
Longboat Key
Longboat Club Road
To: Longboat Key Commissioner Gary Coffin
Thanks for checking on the status. There were a couple of property maintenance issues that were identified in the Code Enforcement case for this property. Since initiation of the case, the homeowner has cleaned up the pool cage to where it does not appear to be a danger anymore. Landscaping on the property has been cleaned up and there is a permit in system for the roof to be replaced. Code Enforcement is continuing to monitor.
Allen Parsons
Assistant Town Manager
Town of Longboat Key
Longboat Club Road
To: Longboat Key Commissioner Gary Coffin
Thank you for reaching out. I have copied Allen Parsons for the latest information.
Isaac Brownman
Assistant Town Manager
Town of Longboat Key
Longboat Club Road
To: Longboat Key Assistant Town Manager Isaac Brownman
Isaac, the above referenced property had some safety issues several months back. I was just checking in to see how that has progressed?
Gary Coffin
Commissioner
Town of Longboat Key
What would it look like if Melissa hit us
To: Longboat Key Commission, Sarasota City Commission
Jamaica has long been my favorite part of the Caribbean to visit. My first trip there was 40 years ago, when my friend and I rode motorcycles along the north coast from Discovery Bay west to Negril, and then up into the Blue Mountains. We experienced the incredible hospitality of the people who live on the beautiful island when we ran out of gas somewhere south of Falmouth, in a part of the country far removed from the tourist resorts. We created quite a scene, two tourists on motorcycles far away from the hotels of the north coast, pushing our bikes along the road with the sun setting. Nearly half a dozen people stopped to help us out, and they wouldn’t let us pay for the gas that they siphoned from someone’s car. So, we ended up buying them dinner and Red Stripes at a local restaurant and had a fantastic evening. I went back to that same area years later with my wife, riding horses up in the mountains on days we weren’t diving on the reefs or climbing the waterfall at Ocho Rios.
And now, that same island is getting slammed by a monster Category 5 hurricane. To be clear, we have always had powerful hurricanes, and we will continue to have them well into the future. But what is new is the frequency of such storms. Over the past 100 years, there have been 44 storms that have reached Category 5 levels in the North Atlantic Basin. But what is unusual about our recent history is the frequency of these storms. The graph below shows the number of hurricanes that have reached Category 5 status in the North Atlantic Basin over the past 115 years, in 10-year increments (except the last category, which only has five years).
Note that we had Category 5 hurricanes way far back in our history. And that the 1930s was especially bad in terms of these monster storms. But look at the entire record, and you’ll see that in the first 8 decades, we had a total of 23 Category 5 storms, but we’ve already had 21 such storms over just the past 2 ½ decades alone. There is a statistical test that can be run (Chi-Square analysis with Yates correction) that concludes that the distribution of storms per decade differs from an even distribution across time. It doesn’t say why, but the obvious conclusion is that there are more Category 5 storms, on average, across the past 25 years than the prior 80 years. So, the next time someone says “We never used to see storms this powerful” you’ll know that’s not true. But also, the next time someone says “We’ve always had powerful hurricanes” you’ll know that they’ve not included the caveat that we’re seeing a lot more of them lately. Those two comments are inaccurate and incomplete, respectively. And neither is helpful, frankly. For more detailed information, view that portion of our website that focuses on Hurricanes – how they affect our bay, how they’re changing over time, and what we need to do to accommodate these changes – Hurricanes | Sarasota Bay Estuary Program.
This is how Climate Change is manifesting itself. It’s not as if we’ve never had powerful hurricanes, it’s that the frequency of powerful hurricanes is increasing. Why? Because hurricanes are “heat engines” which turn the thermal energy of warm, moist air and warm water into mechanical energy. In this case, the mechanical energy is in the form of wind and waves. More heat, more fuel. More fuel, more powerful hurricanes.
You can see something similar when you look at the frequency of high rainfall events. It’s not as if we’ve never had intense rain events before, but the frequency of such is increasing in recent years, as summarized in a prior Director’s Note, and as shown below – Director’s Note: Is rainfall trending in our region? – Sarasota Bay Estuary Program.
The waters south of Jamaica are warmer than they would have been without climate change, which increases the likelihood for more powerful storms. According to the Weather Channel, these changes have increased the potential damage from Melissa by as much as 50% – Climate Change Fuels More Powerful Storms Like Melissa | Weather.com.
So, back to the topic – what would it be like if Melissa hit our region? Well, the storm surge maximum recorded in Jamaica of 13 feet is higher than the worst-case scenario shown on the State of Florida’s Statewide Vulnerability Assessment tool – SVA. But if you look at their worst-case scenario of 10 feet of sea level rise (a coarse way to estimate impacts of a 10-foot storm surge) it shows all of our barrier islands would be under at least five feet of water, with some areas (like Longboat Key Village) submerged by up to 10 feet of water. That’s not surprising, because that same GIS tool shows that most of the roads in Longboat Key Village will have standing water on them with even a two-foot storm surge. With 10 feet of storm surge, there would be standing water (to different depths) covering pretty much every part of Manatee County west of 75th Street.
In the City of Sarasota, 10 feet of storm surge would cover Bird Key and St. Armands and all the barrier islands, but would also extend east past Palm Avenue –
Farther south, 10 feet of storm surge would extend east of Tamiami Trail, with surge funneled farther east by the low-lying areas around South Creek and around Lyons and Dona and Roberts Bay –
According to the latest (March 2025) polling conducted by FAU, more than 67% of Floridians are moderately or extremely concerned about hurricanes becoming stronger and/or more frequent – 5_FCSMarch2025_Survey_Summary.pdf. 56% of Floridians are moderately or extremely concerned about increased rates of sea level rise, and 63% of Floridians are moderately or extremely concerned about the impacts of storm surge on our coast.
Nearly 90% of Floridians believe that our climate is changing (they’re right) and almost two-thirds of Floridians want state and federal governments to do more to address the impacts of climate change, including majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents.
So… will we act in a manner consistent with the clearly expressed concerns of our friends and neighbors? Or will we continue our current path, which seems akin to the old phrase of whistling past the graveyard?
Dave Tomasko
Executive Director
Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
SB180 Talking Points Below
The Town of Longboat Key (Town) is a vulnerable, low-elevation, barrier island that has a long history of proactively working to protect its residents and visitors. The Town’s Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code both contain regulations that were adopted to ensure compliance with the FEMA Community Rating System (which directly impacts flood insurance rates for property owners) with the objective of minimizing flooding risks to properties and structures throughout the Town based upon nationally established flood zones. However, flooding impact within the Town have become more and more apparent over the past 10 years. The Town recently accepted a Sea Level Rise and Recurring Flooding Resilience Plan (Plan) that contains a collection of best practices, administrative actions and projects intended to prepare the Town for changes in asset management and operational needs likely to manifest as sea level rises.
A number of the Plan’s recommendations addressing flooding impacts to properties and structures cannot be fully implemented due to SB 180 and the subsequent extensions of the moratorium on restrictive or burdensome comprehensive plan amendments and land development regulations. These recommendations include:
• requiring new seawalls to be established at minimum heights to help prevent overtopping of seawalls during higher-than-normal tides and storm events. Lower seawalls cause ‘flood trespassing’ onto adjacent properties, public drainage systems and/or into roads;
• requiring newly constructed structures to meet FEMA flood requirements, plus an additional mandatory ‘Freeboard’ height to maintain revised FEMA flood elevation requirements (which are generally 2 feet lower than prior FEMA flood elevations).
Enhanced flood protection measures for the benefits of the Town’s residents and properties cannot be mandated because of existing state law (SB 180) that prohibits the Town Commission from adopting more “restrictive” measures, even if those restrictive measures provide a heightened level of protection to the people and properties within the Town.
The Town has also paused a citizen-requested amendment that would address dock size and the navigability of manmade canals. Dock sizes and the maximum length of their projection and extension into the Town’s waterways are regulated within the Town’s Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Regulations. SB 180 and its antecedents, has prevented the Town Commission from moving forward with amendments to the Town’s dock regulations that have been requested by Town property owners. Specifically, the Town’s residents have requested more stringent standards be incorporated into the Town’s dock regulations to incorporate a vessel projection length into the maximum projection length of a dock within the Town’s existing dock regulations.
These topics and others that address flooding, resiliency, and stormwater management are critical to the Town’s long-term resiliency. In light of recent hurricane impacts, such measures, if implemented through the local, public, legislative process would serve to reduce impacts to properties.
The Town would urge the Florida Legislature to create exceptions to the SB 180 moratorium that is repeatedly extended and created a “one size fits all” prohibition on local governments legislating on priority concerns like resiliency, flooding, and stormwater management that are incorporated into their Comprehensive Plans and Land Development Codes. This type of overarching, perpetual moratorium does not serve property owners interests because they do not allow local governments to respond to actual land development code needs within their communities.
We hope that you will consider creating either exceptions to SB 180, for vulnerable low-lying barrier islands, or sunset the law entirely ending the ongoing extensions of this law.
Isaac Brownman
Assistant Town Manager
Town of Longboat Key
Senate Bill 180
To: Longboat Key Commission
All: I met this afternoon with Senator Jim Boyd. He suggested that I send him a specific list of what is a problem for us with SB 180. I had mentioned the sea wall issue and the general issues of comp plan revisions. They are willing to amend the legislation with those issues that are slowing or restricting building a resilient community, but are frustrated with those communities that have made it difficult to see timely release of building permits (not us) and anything to do with building moratoriums.
As soon as you can put together a simple list that could be included in an amendment to SB180 he is happy to forward it to those who are moving forward with amendment language. P.S. – on another front we also discussed property taxes – and that was a fruitful but longer chat that can’t be captured in this email.
BJ Bishop
Commissioner
Town of Longboat Key
SB180 Talking Points
To: Longboat Key Assistant Town Manager Isaac Brownman
I think our inability to add a mandatory additional 2 feet of freeboard to counter FEMA’s ridiculous lowering of the flood level is a good case study of 180’s harm to resilience legislation. I would describe it in discussions with legislators. Any tinkering with 180 should allow for that kind of change.
Ken Schneier
Mayor
Town of Longboat Key
Veteran’s Day & Celebration of Town Founding
To: Longboat Key Commissioner BJ Bishop
I am going to add this to the Senator’s calendar. He may have a conflict but he won’t know until closer to the date.
If he is able to attend, he certainly will!
Amanda Romant
Senior Legislative Assistant to Senator Jim Boyd, District 20
Bradenton
Veteran’s Day & Celebration of Town Founding
To: Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Jim Boyd Amanda Romant
Dear Jim , Will, Fiona & Joe: Longboat Key will be hosting a celebration of our Veteran’s and the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the Town of Longboat Key (actual date of founding is 11/14) on Saturday November 8 at 4 p.m. at Town Center Green (our new stage and lawn) on Bay Isles Road. We are excited to be hosting this special event with Retired Coast Guard Admiral Steve Branham speaking. I hope you can all join us. Call me if you have any questions.
BJ Bishop
Commissioner
Longboat Key
Forty Carrots Field Trip
To: Forty Carrots Molly Bowbeer
Molly, thank you so much for getting everything coordinated on your end. I’m sure getting 30 or so parents and their kids coordinated for a field trip requires a special talent. I’m so sorry that you missed the trip. It was a remarkable experience that the kids and the parents will not soon forget. The St Regis is truly a special place and a fabulous addition to our community. I felt like the kids were very well behaved, and the onsite event went off without a hitch. Jak and I would have loved to have seen you again, we will stop by one day soon.
Gary Coffin
Commissioner
Town of Longboat Key
Forty Carrots Field Trip
To: Longboat Key Commissioner Gary Coffin
I just wanted to extend my sincerest thank you to you for all you did to help organize an absolute amazing trip for our Forty Carrots Families and Children to the St. Regis Longboat Key Resort. Everyone was absolutely blown away and could not believe how incredible the experience was. The children absolutely loved it and the parents were so impressed. Thank you so much for offering this to our school as we truly had the best time. I was sad to not go and see you and Jak! Hope you are all doing well and thank you so much again!
Molly Bowbeer
Forty Carrots
Sarasota
Bravo!
To: Longboat Key Commission
After we learned LBK commissioners had recently decided NOT to MANDATE the rename of Gulf of Mexico Dr on LBK, and we are compelled to saybravo, and we agree that you made the correct decision! We applaud you!
That whole demand over renaming, Gulf of Mexico and Tamiami Trail, and any roads are currently named “Gulf of Mexico,” is not only an ignominious idea, but also a very costly one!
As a former commercial & residential property manager for 10 yrs, then owner of a PR/marketing company in CO & CA for 30 yrs, I am very well aware of the logistical nightmares.
The cost to property owners and LBK, not to mention the manpower and many requirements necessary to do it properly, and correctly, would be a long time challenge.
We don’t live on the Key, but have many friends who do, including our doctors. We love our Longboat Key barrier Island, and totally support you because you protect us, on the mainland, and you give us a lot of great opportunities that enhance our lives!
And, whoever had the idea to rebuild the Longboat Key docks in the Village, deserves our deepest gratitude and sincere appreciation because that’s one of the places we go to decompress.
When we visit, and sometimes stay-cation on LBK, we aren’t the type to leave anything behind. We always make every effort, while visiting all parts of LBK, to pick up trash or report things that are wrong, because we love it so much.
As far as the “rename idea,” we appreciate that you were intelligent and thoughtful enough to understand the logistics and costs! Therefore you definitely made the right decision to NOT to “rename” Gulf of Mexico Drive.
So thank you for sticking to your guns and not caving to political pressure.
Besides, the attach meme that has been floating around was not only a bit comical, but I sent it to our insurance agent, a conservative man, who also thought it was funny and said he would send it onto Slide Insurance. I asked him not to, because I didn’t want us to be singled out. But technically, it is true. If you haven’t seen this, I hope it brings a smile to your face too. Again, thank you!
Marge McCarthy and Pat Hinchliffe
Bradenton
Canal Navigation Dredge Program Analysis
To: Longboat Key Vice Mayor Debra Williams
Ma’am, I received the information that you requested and attached is the information that you requested. In addition, Tara Hollis provided this explanation:
I have attached updated slides with the representative minimum/average/maximum values that include the outliers. With regard to the minimum values, I did remove parcels with $0 taxable value due to full disability or other personal exemptions that reduced the parcel value to $0. Also, for each category, I reviewed both land use category and assessment category to pull parcels that represented the type of parcel being described in the table (i.e. for restaurant, we used land use codes associated with restaurants, etc.)
These have been calculated based on the rates shown below.
Assessment First 5 Yrs Annual Year 6
Annual
Ad-Valorem Millage Rate (1) $ 0.0615 $ 0.0318
Non-Ad Valorem Per EBU $ 622.00 $ 321.90
Note: (1) Millage rate will change annually based on overall Town-wide Taxable Value.
I am very sorry it took so long to get you this information, but I hope this is the information you were looking for.
Charles Mopps
Public Works Director
Town of Longboat Key
Canal Navigation Dredge Program Analysis
To: Longboat Key Public Works Director Charlie Mopps
To further clarify, does this mean that the highest valuation properties are not represented in these numbers? Is it possible to get the representative minimum, representative average, and representative maximum with the low and high end outliers included?
Debra Williams
Vice Mayor
Town of Longboat Key
Canal Navigation Dredge Program Analysis
To: Longboat Key Vice Mayor Debra Williams
Vice Mayor Williams, I asked the Funding Consultant to help answer the question. With regard to the minimum and maximum categories, they first eliminated some of the outliers. For example on the low end there were some parcels that have little to no taxable value due to additional exemptions (i.e. disability, etc.). Once the outliers were eliminated (from both the min and max end, if any) they then calculated a representative minimum and maximum based on the 10 – 15 lowest values and 10 – 15 highest values for each category (customer class and direct/non-direct). The average values also excluded the outliers. I hope this helps answer the question, if there is additional information you need, please ask and I will do my best to get you the answer.
Charles Mopps
Public Works Director
Town of Longboat Key
Canal Navigation Dredge Program Analysis
To: Longboat Key Assistant Town Manager Isaac Brownman
Can you please provide some clarity and additional data on the attached power point slides? Do the “representative minimum” and “representative maximum” represent the actual lowest valuation and highest taxable values, respectively? Additionally, can we get a range of costs for the representative median? This would present a clearer picture of how the taxes will be distributed across properties.
Debra Williams
Vice Mayor
Town of Longboat Key
Canal Navigation Dredge Program Analysis
To: Longboat Key Commission
Based on some feedback at the last commission meeting, Charlie Mopps and the canal program team put together additional information below and attached:
• Below is the Total Valuation for canal fronting properties (Direct Access) and the same for the no direct access properties (2025 Values). Also, below is the total number of slips based on current information. Attached are examples of Representative Cost Slides that would be used during Public Outreach, for reference.
Tara Hollis, Principal Consultant, Willdan Financial Services
1. Total valuation of both the Non-Direct Access and Direct Access properties as well as the resulting Ad Valorem and Non-Ad Valorem Assessments. (Based on July 2025 data from property assessors’ offices. Includes only Real Property.)
2. Approximate number of docks/slips on the island. Note: This is the original number we have been working with since last year.
Residential/Commercial/Condo/Etc. 1,800
Marina Dry Slips 194
Marina Wet Slips 291
Total 2,285
Isaac Brownman
Assistant Town Manager
Town of Longboat Key
LBK Ribbon Cutting Information
To: Longboat Key Mayor Ken Schneier
I hope all is well with you. As you know – hopefully – we’re having a ribbon-cutting event for the project that created the modifications to the town’s seawall at Bayfront Park. The attached flyer has been sent out to local media, and we expect a couple of reporters and Fox 13, at least. We have worked with the town’s staff to set up an agenda, but we have “TBD” listed for your part.
Forgive me for being presumptuous, but I thought that you being the mayor would be best to discuss items bigger than the seawall project alone, since we’ll have others cover that.
Commissioner Coffin will be speaking about the relationship between the Town and the SBEP, and the project itself, while Charlie will talk about details of the project. I’ll talk about the issue being addressed, the proliferation of plastic seawalls.
What I thought would be interesting would be if someone, like the mayor, to talk about the broader issues, of how healthy waters affect the quality of life of residents, the economy, etc. And, maybe, discuss other projects, like the Towns efforts to replace the wastewater pipeline under the bay. That is a much bigger investment in the bay’s health than the seawall – might as well take advantage of the media presence to talk it up, is my take on it.
Anyway, just some ideas from me. Attached is the invitation for our event, and below is a summary of remarks, in order of appearance.
Dave Tomasko
Executive Director
Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
Gulf of Mexico Drive/SR 789 Construction Project Updates
To: Longboat Key residents
Gulf of Mexico Drive (GMD) Turn Lane Nighttime Lane Closures
Superior Asphalt will conduct night work from Monday, November 3, through Friday, November 7, beginning at 9:00 pm and ending at 6:00 am. They will close 1 of 2 lanes on GMD with flaggers on both ends of the work zone and will have a flagger on side streets within the work zone directing the motoring public to the direction of flowing traffic onto GMD. This night work is being done to maintain the project schedule, to safely mill and pave the roadway, and to minimize impacts to traffic.
SR 789 Resurfacing from Coquina to SR 64:
The resurfacing project will begin after October 31, 2025, and is scheduled to complete by May 1, 2026. Resurfacing activities are planned to take place overnight during the course of the project, and motorists can expect single-lane closures during the period. See the attached Fact Sheet from FDOT for additional information.
Lynn Curreli
Senior Office Manager
Town of Longboat Key
Loss of Public Trust and Unequal Treatment of Citizens Exercising Constitutional Rights
To: Sarasota City Commission, City Manager Dave Bullock, and City Attorney Robert Fournier
I write today as a deeply concerned and frightened citizen. What I have witnessed — and what has been widely reported — regarding the conduct of Sarasota Police Chief Rex Troche has shaken my confidence that this city’s leadership will fairly and impartially enforce the law.
When a police chief responds to the lawful exercise of a constitutional right by deploying officers in hard body armor carrying long guns into a public meeting, it sends a chilling and unmistakable message: that citizens who choose to exercise their rights will be treated as potential threats rather than as members of the public deserving protection. That is not law enforcement. That is intimidation under color of law.
This is the new segregation. Once, our nation tolerated public officials who used fear and “safety” as justifications to deny basic rights to citizens they disfavored. Today, we are witnessing that same discriminatory mindset applied to those who exercise their Second Amendment rights. The uniforms have changed, but the principle of unequal treatment remains the same — and it must not be tolerated.
I no longer have confidence that Chief Troche can uphold his oath of office in an unbiased and constitutionally faithful manner. His conduct reflects personal and political bias rather than professional restraint, and it has further eroded what little public trust remains between the Sarasota Police Department and the people it serves.
I am angry, I am concerned, and I am scared — not of my neighbors or fellow citizens, but of public officials who appear to believe they can decide which rights deserve respect and which rights deserve intimidation. No one in uniform, no one in office, and no one acting under government authority has the right to suppress the lawful exercise of a constitutional freedom.
Prayer for Relief
1. That Chief Rex Troche be immediately relieved of duty for conduct unbecoming of his office and for actions inconsistent with constitutional policing and the public trust.
2. That the City of Sarasota take immediate steps to ensure unbiased policing practices that respect and protect the fundamental and constitutional rights of all citizens — regardless of political view, lawful activity, or personal beliefs.
3. That the City issue a clear, firm, and public statement condemning the intimidation or over-policing of lawful conduct, reaffirming that Sarasota will not tolerate any law enforcement behavior that chills the exercise of protected rights.
Our community deserves leadership that defends every citizen’s liberty with integrity and fairness. I urge you to act decisively to restore faith in the rule of law and the impartiality of those sworn to uphold it.
Scott D. Barrish
Sarasota
Questions on Zenith Building Development Application
To: Sarasota City Commission
I have seen the articles being published in our local papers that this Zenith Development project is “Nearing approval”.
I have not seen any of the updated plans or resubmission materials that would give any status of the City-owned Trees that were the focus of my first email, and our main concern on this project.
The building itself appears to be within its allowed zoning, and the footprint is also within their rights.
The question that I would like to have answered is whether or not the City will protect their property – namely, the 2 Oak Trees along Main Street, which are set well to edge of the sidewalk away from the private property lines, and should not be considered as belonging to the property or the developers.
This entire section of Main St is lovely because of the shade trees on Both Sides. I hope you see and appreciate this for yourselves if you ever get to Lower Main St.
Could someone who is familiar with the Plans get in touch with us, and the rest of the Public, who are anxious to hear that these Trees are being kept safe? Thank you and I hope to hear from someone soon on this.
Katherine Orenic
Sarasota
Questions on Zenith Building Development Application
To: Sarasota City Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch
As you are the contact person regarding the Tree Ordinance compliance for this Application, I wanted to reach out with our Public Input.
Looking at pages 109 and 110, we are particularly concerned about the Proposed Removal of the only 2 Live Oak Trees on this site plan.
Both are located on Main St, and both appear to be replaced by lesser trees after the building is constructed.
This proposed Removal is Unacceptable to the City Residents and must not be Permitted.
These 2 Live Oaks are City property. They were planted by the City in the City Right of Way, and they belong to the Landscape Design of our Downtown Streets – these trees should not be cut down.
We have a Tree Ordinance for a Reason – and that is to protect healthy trees from stupid death.
Please do what you can to insist that these 2 Trees Remain unmolested. It is Bad Enough that we will lose the 5 Beautiful (and Healthy) Black Olive Trees that provide the Best Shade and Design Continuity all along our Main St. Or at least they did, before the stupid Lot line to Lot Line building style was coded into our City Design. Such a poor idea to not encourage grand entrances, elegant setbacks and benches along store fronts.
Regardless – we do not want this Redevelopment Application to be allowed to take these 2 City Owned, Live Oak trees. It is Unnecessary if the finished plans show New Trees in these same places at the end. All the residents of Main St will be watching closely. In advance of your help, we Thank You!
Katherine Orenic
Sarasota
