Top Story — January: Sarasota County commissioners approve Whole Foods project

Despite caution from environmental staff, Sarasota County commissioners approved the development of 4.5 acres of wetlands to make room for Whole Foods and Wawa.

Georgia-based developer SJ Collins Enterprises applied to the county for a rezone in June 2015 to develop a parcel of land into University Station, with proposed uses being a grocery store, gas station and convenience store and restaurant, on the corner of University Parkway and Honore Avenue. Whole Foods, Wawa and Zoës Kitchen are proposed to fill those business slots, however there is no legal binding requiring these users to go there. 

The 8.24-acre parcel is part of a functioning wetland, which was preserved in part of a 2004 site plan for this business-park area of University Parkway. The site plan was binding and required approval of the commissioners to change it. Staff said at today’s public hearing that the wetland is still functioning, and removal of a wetland is inconsistent with parts of the comprehensive plan.

Other developments around this corner, such as the Sarasota Memorial Hospital Urgent Care Center to the west and a multi-family residential complex to the south, had to preserve wetlands in the area in order to develop. University Honore LLC, the LLC used by SJ Collins, purchased approximately 40 acres of property connected to the Rye Preserve in Manatee County to serve as off-site mitigation instead of conserving the wetlands on the property.

But, it's not the first to try to develop this corner parcel.

“Someone else tried to develop it with same impact as what we’re looking at and it was denied,“ Matt Osterhoudt, senior manager with the environmental protection division of the development services division.

Commissioner Charles Hines said his concern was the domino effect of approving this rezone. The county had required other developers to preserve adjacent wetlands, and he was concerned approval of this rezone was focused on the stores going into the parcel.

“I think a lot of influence was based on who the end user was. If it was a Walmart or something not as popular, I don't know if it would have the same result,” he said. 

Commissioner Christine Robinson supported the motion to approve, saying the site development plan made sense in regards to the site's future land use designation, which already designated the site for commercial use.

“We have a situation here of an isolated wetland,” she said.

Osterhoudt had said during the meeting that the wetland had several man-made drainage systems, such as a pipe under University Parkway, that helped it function and connected it to other areas in the University corridor, including another wetland to its south. However, Dana West, vice president of Environmental Consulting and Technologies, spoke in favor of the proposed use of the property. West, who provided environmental consulting for the project, said that while the wetlands had historically served as part of the Braden River watershed, it no longer served that watershed. 

"It's now an urban environment," West said. 

Chairman Alan Maio said he would not have supported the rezone if the developer had not already purchased the land adjacent to Rye Preserve and assessed traffic solutions. Residents from the area supported the proposed use of the land, which also helped him support the proposal, he said. In addition to multiple supportive speakers during the public hearing, the commissioners received numerous emails and letters of support for the project from area residents. 

"This has been difficult for everyone," he said.