Woman's Exchange appeals city ruling on expansion

On Friday, legal representatives for the Woman’s Exchange filed an appeal in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court challenging the city’s decision to reject the consignment shop’s plans for expansion.

The petition for writ of certiorari, written by attorney Robert Lincoln, makes the case that the City Commission misinterpreted its zoning code by denying a building permit for the Woman’s Exchange in April.

The Laurel Park Neighborhood Association successfully appealed city staff’s decision to approve the proposed expansion of the Woman’s Exchange. The expansion called for the construction of a 3,524-square-foot building at 526 Rawls Ave. as well as the addition of a loading zone on Rawls.

Laurel Park residents said the loading zone was inappropriate for Rawls, which sits on the boundary of mixed-use and residential zoning districts. The City Commission agreed, ruling 3-2 that the loading area would not be compatible with the neighboring residential properties.

In the petition, Lincoln argues that the commission acted on the arbitrary feelings of residents, rather than the legal standards outlined in the code.

“At the conclusion of the hearing, despite mountains of contrary evidence and testimony by the city’s own expert staff members, the commission improperly yielded to neighborhood opposition to the loading zone that was included in the site plan — a loading zone mandated by city staff, mandated by the zoning code and required for the safe and efficient operation of the Woman’s Exchange property,” Lincoln wrote in the filing.

“Despite mountains of contrary evidence and testimony by the city’s own expert staff members, the commission improperly yielded to neighborhood opposition.”

Before the Woman’s Exchange filed its appeal, the city had already begun the process of revising its code to clarify portions governing the Woman’s Exchange and neighboring properties. On Tuesday, city staff will host a community workshop discussing a comprehensive plan amendment designed to facilitate the expansion of the Woman’s Exchange without the loading zone on Rawls.

Currently, the city’s zoning code does not permit the creation of a loading zone on roads designated as “primary streets,” which are intended to be more pedestrian oriented. Both Orange Avenue and Oak Street — the other two streets the Woman’s Exchange property fronts — are primary streets.

If the proposed change were approved, it would remove the primary street designation beginning 50 feet east of Orange Avenue on Oak Street, allowing for the construction of a loading zone on Oak. A similar provision would apply to Morrill Street and Laurel Street, designed to allow other businesses along Orange Avenue to add points of ingress and egress without relying on Rawls Street.

The notice for Tuesday’s workshop acknowledges that, as it stands, the city’s zoning regulations impede the Woman’s Exchange’s ability to expand at its current property, located at 539 S. Orange Ave. City Attorney Robert Fournier believes the proposed comprehensive plan amendment weakens the argument that the code prohibits the Woman’s Exchange from expanding at its  current location.

“I have taken a position — if they decide they’d like to find a way to do the expansion but for the loading zone on Rawls, I would assist in any way to facilitate that,” Fournier said in a previous interview with the Sarasota Observer. “We would recommend whatever code adjustments are necessary.”

Fournier said the city will have 30 days to file a response to the appeal following a forthcoming order from the circuit court.

“I was kind of hoping maybe it could be avoided, but I said more than once they had a perfect right to appeal,” he said.

The future of the Woman’s Exchange on Orange Avenue remains in question. Before filing the petition, Lincoln said even a favorable ruling from the circuit court might take too long for the Woman’s Exchange and that the shop is evaluating its options for moving to a new location.