Voters: No city yet

LAKEWOOD RANCH — After more than a year of debate, the question of whether Lakewood Ranch should become a city has come to an end. At least for now.

Results of a straw poll released Aug. 29 showed 56.5% of respondents did not favor moving forward with incorporation at this time.

If results had been favorable, the group leading incorporation efforts would have submitted a special act to the state Legislature for review. If approved by legislators, the issue then would have gone to a public referendum for approval next year.

Kerkering, Barberio & Co., the independent accounting firm conducting the straw poll, said 4,154 out of 11,961 registered voters who were mailed ballots responded, with 43.5% voting in favor of moving forward with incorporation and 56.5% opposed to it.

To be counted, ballots had to have been postmarked by Aug. 22 and received by Aug. 29.

“We spent a year-and-a-half trying to lay out facts to (residents about why we shouldn’t incorporate) and obviously they listened and agreed,” said Gary Berns, spokesperson for the Friends of Lakewood Ranch, the group opposing incorporation efforts. “It’s been a long time and a lot of hard work.”

Representatives of the Lakewood Ranch Incorporation Study Group, the entity pushing for incorporation, said they now will put their efforts “on the shelf.”

“While we are disappointed in the results of the poll, we are at the same time proud that we were able to get a very important discussion started, which engaged thousands of residents,” Study Group Vice Chairman Keith Davey said. “We gave everybody a chance to voice their opinion. It is what the people want. That’s what it’s all about. We did enough research to let people make an intelligent decision.”
Group Chairman Tom Thomaides agreed.

“It was quite an adventure,” he said. “I’m very proud of the team (that worked on this). I don’t think there are any regrets at all about how this was done.”

Thomaides said group members still believe the case for incorporation is compelling, and they do not believe they promoted the idea of incorporating prematurely.

Kerkering, Barberio Managing Partner Rob Lane said he was pleased overall with the straw poll process.

“It was certainly good to give residents a chance to speak their minds,” Lane said.

Kerkering, Barberio received about 200 inquiries from Lakewood Ranch residents who did not receive ballots. Investigation showed some inquirers were not registered voters, some did not receive forwarded mail and some simply did not receive ballots.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].