Commissioners’ decision will set 2050 precedent

Sarasota County commissioners’ decisions on two seemingly small matters may set a precedent for crucial components of the county’s comprehensive plan.

On Sept. 8, commissioners will decide how much developers of two proposed projects east of I-75 must pay for additional development rights (DRs) — rights that will allow them build at higher densities but will also preserve other parcels, essentially concentrating development in smaller areas.

The Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) program is part of the the county’s 2050 plan, which has the overarching goal of preventing sprawl.

If negotiations are successful, Hidden Creek and Lindvest, two proposed projects near Fruitville Road in east Sarasota County, will be the first TDR agreements made under the county’s current iteration of the program, which began in 2002.

County staff believes these deals will set prices that could determine how likely private landowners are to sell their DRs to developers. That is crucial, according to Allen Parsons, the county’s planning division manager, because greenways and sensitive lands that the county hopes to protect as part of 2050 are privately owned, and there are many more DRs on private lands than on public lands in the county.

“The real intention behind 2050 is to have that kind of private action take place that conserves that property,” Parsons said.

But if the county sells DRs for too little, he added, it may discourage private sellers from entering a market that will not carry adequate returns for the sale of rights.

Because DRs are rarely sold from publicly owned lands, Sarasota County relied on recommendations from an appraiser and modeled some elements of its TDR program on a similar one in Palm Beach County.

Staff set current prices by using 10% of the median sale price of homes in June 2013, or $17,850, for each DR. 

To incentivize participation in the voluntary program, the county agreed to offer the first 100 DRs of any sale at a quarter of the price, or $4,463.

The first of the county’s two pending deals is relatively straightforward: Developers of the Hidden Creek village proposed purchasing 89 DRs from the county for $4,463 each. As a result, staff’s recommendation to the commission will match the developer’s offer.

But the developers of the Lindvest development are negotiating to purchase up to 376 TDRs over a 10-year period. Normally that would mean the first 100 are sold at $4,463 each and the remainder at $17,850 each, but developers offered to purchase the entire amount at the discounted rate of $4,463 each.

Parsons told the commission at a recent meeting that the county has not made any progress in negotiations with Lindvest.

Commissioner Alan Maio suggested asking developers to agree to a definite sale before granting additional discounts.

Commissioner Christine Robinson said rates were already discounted and balked at the idea that a deal that only secured an option to buy would come at a reduced rate.

“We’re already pricing them at the 2013 rates, so there’s a big discount right there,” said Robinson. “If you don’t want 2015 rates, then you need to buy them upfront.”