Planning Commission seats to be filled

One of the Sarasota County Commission’s most important advisory boards has three open seats that the commission will fill in January. Notice went out Dec. 15 that applications are available through the county’s Meetings on Demand section of its website, www.scgov.net.

Sarasota County also began publishing advertisements Dec. 18, and will continue through Jan. 1, 2012, to fill Planning Commission seats held by Taylor Meals and John Fellin, both of Englewood, and Sam Jones, of North Port.

Meals has decided to step down from the board, while Fellin is ineligible to run again until 2013. Fellin first was appointed to the Planning Commission in January 2000.

Jones, appointed May 24, has reapplied for his seat, according to Paula Clintsman, the county assistant to the commission.

“It’s probably one of the most important advisory boards” to the County Commission, Christine Robinson, a veteran of the board and the incoming County Commission chairwoman, said last week.

According to the county notice, the Planning Commission “interprets and advises the County Commission on adoption of and amendment to the Comprehensive Plan, as well as other land use applications.”

“I’ve had some folks ask me about (the open seats),” Robinson said. “We usually have a pool to choose from.”

Commissioner Joe Barbetta, who served on the Planning Commission for 14 years before seeking a County Commission seat, agreed with Robinson about the importance of the Planning Commission.
“It’s a sounding board with the public, to vet out projects as they come to fruition,” Barbetta said. “We look at all nine seats as very important.”

“Even though we don’t always follow their recommendations, they represent a voice in the community,” said current County Commission Chairwoman Nora Patterson. “(Still) I always look for the Planning Commission minutes … and any commentary I can find (on the members’ decisions).”

Sometimes, members of the County Commission see a need for a project that may not be as obvious to the Planning Commission members, Patterson added — “reasons they may not have in front of them.”

Because of the importance of those decisions, Kerry Kirschner, executive director of the Argus Foundation in Sarasota, said his organization prefers that at least some of the Planning Commission members have a background in land planning, architecture and engineering.

The Argus Foundation is a nonprofit policy organization comprising more than 165 CEOs and presidents of corporations in Southwest Florida. Many of its members have appropriate expertise that qualifies them for serving in local government, including holding seats on the Planning Commission, Kirschner said, so he encourages them to apply whenever seats are open.

The importance of that expertise, Kirschner said, was illustrated last week when a Sarasota residents group sought to appeal the city Planning Board’s decision to allow a new Goodwill superstore to be built on North Tamiami Trail.

“It was zoned for retail, but people wanted the City Commission to overturn the site plan approval,” Kirschner said of the property. “Had not cooler heads prevailed, that would have cost the taxpayers of the city of Sarasota a lot of money (to defend a potential lawsuit from Goodwill).”

The same type of scenario could arise in the county, Kirschner said. The county commissioners don’t designate Planning Commission seats, Barbetta said.

“There isn’t any automatic ‘environmental seat’ or ‘north (county)’ or ‘south county seat,’” he said.

Nonetheless, he said, it is preferable for the board’s membership to reflect a lot of diversity.

The County Commission does encourage current members to reapply for seats as long as they retain eligibility, he added. Nonetheless, the County Commission weighs all applicants in open meetings.

Current Planning Commission members
• Bob Burrus Jr., of Nokomis; term expires May 31, 2015.
• John Fellin, of Englewood; term expires Jan. 30, 2012.
• Joseph Hudgins, of Sarasota; term expires Jan. 30, 2013.
• Sam Jones, of North Port; term expires Jan. 31, 2012.
• Christopher King, of Englewood; term expires Dec. 30, 2012.
• Cheryl Luehr, of Sarasota; term expires Aug. 1, 2013.
• Ken Marsh, representative of the Sarasota County School Board.
• Taylor Meals, of Englewood; term expires Jan. 31, 2012.
• Roland Piccone, of Sarasota; term expires Aug. 1, 2013.
• Marianne Reilly, of Venice; term expires Jan. 31, 2013.