Commissioners to discuss Palm Avenue streetscape

At a meeting today, the Sarasota City Commission will discuss whether to move forward with a project it approved more than two years ago.

Improvements on North Palm Avenue were included as part of a $4.7 million downtown streetscape project proposed in 2012. The City Commission approved the initial plans and the funding for the improvements in May 2012, but city staff chose to delay the implementation of the North Palm Avenue segment, citing concerns of how construction might affect new and planned businesses and developments.

Now, the city is returning to its original plans — and has received some negative feedback. According to a city memo, staff has received feedback from citizens concerned about the removal of a palm grove on the west side of the street, across from the Palm Avenue parking garage.

Businesses behind the palm grove say that the trees have caused a variety of problems. Most notably, the street is prone to flooding even during light rains. This issue, city staff said, is attributable to the relative position of the palm grove. Because the land on which the trees sit is above the sidewalk, water gathers in the public right of way.

“Every time we have a rain — little rain, big rain, it doesn’t matter — our sidewalk gets flooded,” said Charles Rawls, a barber at The Man Hairstyling.

At this evening’s meeting, staff will present several options for commissioners to consider. Those options include:

+ Maintaining the proposed project to redesign and relandscape the area, moving the palm trees off-site to prolong their life.
+ Addressing drainage issues while maintaining the current design of the sidewalk, either by temporarily removing and returning the palm trees or by planting new palm trees in lieu of the approved design.
+ Delaying the project and studying the feasibility of preserving some or all of the trees while addressing the flooding.

The North Palm Avenue improvement project costs total $236,700. According to documents included with the meeting agenda, additional costs could total between $7,000 and $9,000, depending on which option the commission favors.

Also on the agenda for Monday's meeting:

+ The commission will consider the seven proposals submitted for the commercial properties at the forthcoming State Street parking garage.
+ Utilities Director Mitt Tidwell will lead a disscussion regarding possible adjustments to the city's utilities fees. 
+ McCurdy's Comedy Theatre owner Les McCurdy will appeal the city's decision to deny his business a valet parking permit. 

The rest of the agenda for Monday’s meeting can be found on the city website.