Administrative approval opposition gains momentum

For the second time in four months, a crowd packed the auditorium at Selby Public Library on Jan. 23 to hear residents discuss the city’s zoning regulations.

The resident activist group STOP! held these town hall events to raise awareness of four specific policy positions. Those issues include more stringent standards for traffic studies as the city considers new projects and the elimination of the administrative development review process, allowing opportunities for more public input instead.

If the first meeting in September was testing the mood of residents, the January meeting was designed to ensure the group capitalizes on the passion it has tapped into. STOP! has garnered endorsements from 15 neighborhood and condominium associations. The group is eager to keep spreading its message, including the idea that administrative approval isn’t working.

“We’re looking around at what we’re getting, and it’s time to stop and reconsider,” STOP! steering committee member Kate Lowman said.

The January meeting focused on turning that interest into genuine change. Headed into the March City Commission election, STOP! has succeeded in making administrative approval a leading issue. At a Feb. 2 Tiger Bay candidate forum, the eight-candidate field was split evenly on whether staff should be allowed to approve development proposals without public hearings.

On Feb. 11, the Sarasota Better Government Association will hold a panel discussion to further debate administrative approval. The event is titled The Vue: Model or Mistake?, highlighting the development STOP! has held up as an example of why administrative approval doesn’t work.

One of the panelists will be former City Commissioner Ken Shelin, who served on the planning board before the administrative approval process was adopted for the downtown area. He is troubled by the idea the city would return to the public hearing process previously used to approve new developments.

“I think it’s a backwards step,” Shelin said.

He characterized the previous development review process as drawn-out, with people speaking in opposition to a proposal based on their personal feelings, not the zoning regulations.

“We would have very long hearings that would last until 1 a.m., that sometimes had to get extended to a second hearing.” Shelin said. “Very little ever actually came out of those hearings.”

He said the public should work to ensure there are clearly defined criteria governing new development that’s aligned with their interests in the zoning code.

Although STOP! has said the current regulations leave room for interpretation when staff is evaluating a proposal, Shelin said  development review is a more straightforward judgment.

“The decision for planning — whether it’s done in a public hearing or an administrative approval — is the same,” Shelin said. “Is this development consistent with the zoning code?”

Shelin isn’t alone. City staff, professional planners and developers have individually taken issue with STOP!’s argument against administrative approval. But a united opposition group hasn’t coalesced.

Shelin said he understands the appeal of STOP! — that residents are upset by the idea that their voice is being left out of the city’s planning process. 

As the city works to develop a new citywide zoning code that may include the expansion of administrative approval outside of downtown, he said the time for residents to make their voice heard is right now.

“The public does have very clear input during the development of the zoning code,” he said. “Administrative approval is only going to reflect what’s in the zoning code.”