Northwest Sarasota Master Plan's funding nixed for now

Sarasota city commissioners like Vice Mayor Terry Turner’s idea for a Northwest Sarasota master plan and land-use study, but they don’t support a $500,000 study for the economically depressed North Trail corridor at this time.

Last month, Turner said that the only way to revitalize the Northwest Sarasota U.S. 41 corridor is to spend at least $250,000 or more to create a master plan for the area that must start with community input.

Turner’s three-tiered proposal for the area includes:
• Converting U.S. 41 from a suburban highway to a 30 mph urban street;
• Converting the Seminole Railway to a bus rapid transit (BRT) roadway;
• Enhancing the street grid and making it more pedestrian friendly.

“A land-use proposal can lead to significant revitalization in Northwest Sarasota,” Turner said in March.
In the past, Turner noted that efforts by developers to sell development and land-use changes to the area have failed; he cited the Payne Park Village proposal by developer Ron Burks as an example.

Asking both Sarasota County and Manatee County to include their nearby lands into the master plan, Turner said, could only create more funding for the plan and enable the counties to increase their tax rolls by seeing the property revitalized.

But at the commission’s regular meeting Monday, May 7, city staff said they don’t recommend funding and creating a plan at this time, because the city’s 2020 Downtown Master Plan, along with the current drafting of the North Trail Overlay District, and plans for traffic enhancements and a mobility plan on the North Trail need to be completed first.

Turner downplayed the study he proposed would cost so much because consultant rates have dipped when the economy started to sag and said he was hopeful Sarasota County would eventually help pay for it.
But, ultimately, Turner had no support for his proposal at this time.

“We’re putting the cart before the horse,” said Mayor Suzanne Atwell. “We have a lot of good irons in the fire for this area that need to be addressed first.”

Commissioner Willie Shaw agreed.

“We need staff to provide us information about transportation mobility enhancements first,” Shaw said.

Commissioner Shannon Snyder said it’s not the right time for the study yet, either.

“We will do this eventually, but right this second is not the time to do it,” Snyder said. “Even if we have a plan, we don’t have the budget to implement it right now.”

Although Turner didn’t support the motion not to move forward with the plan, he did admit he “did not disagree” with the comments made concerning funding the project during a time when commissioners must make tough budget cuts again this summer.

Solutions for northwest Sarasota
Vice Mayor Terry Turner believes the following are solutions for a revitalized Northwest Sarasota:
• More density
• More intensity
• More height
• More regulation
• More walkability/livability
• More environmental standards
• Form-based codes
• Signage standards

Turner’s Northwest Sarasota Revitalization Plan
Vice Mayor Terry Turner proposes to revitalize northwest Sarasota by 2040 by performing the following actions:
Roadway changes
• Convert U.S. 41 from a suburban highway to a 30-mph urban street
• Convert the Seminole Railway to a bus rapid transit (BRT) roadway
• Enhance the street grid
Land use changes
• Create a Northwest Sarasota Master Plan that’s supported by residents, compatible with roadway changes, flexible, responsive to changing market demand and will stimulate private investment/development.
• Engage the public at the beginning of the process/moderate community meetings to help identify desirable land use changes.