- December 20, 2025
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+ City Commission enacts tobacco ban at parks
Saying it was protecting the health of Sarasota’s citizens and its visitors, the City Commission approved a tobacco ban at all city parks, as well as the City Hall campus and the Federal Building campus.
Critics said the new law is clearly aimed at keeping homeless people out of Selby Five Points Park.
The ordinance not only bans smoking, however. It prohibits all forms of tobacco.
It will not affect private entities located in public parks, such as O’Leary’s Tiki Bar and Grill and Marina Jack, both located on the bayfront.
+ Wayfinding sign system scrapped
Although the city has been working on its wayfinding sign system for three years, at a cost of more than $300,000, city commissioners told staff members to go back to the drawing board in an effort to save money.
The system, which will help people find their way around the city, locate attractions and find public parking, was to cost about $1.5 million.
Commissioners were being asked to approve a contract with a company to manufacture the custom signs, but, instead, they gave instructions to find an alternative that’s at least 40% less expensive.
One of the main issues for the commission was that maintenance on the signs was going to cost an estimated $200,000 each year.
“The signs are beautiful, but I think, in difficult times, we could have dramatically dropped the cost,” said Commissioner Shannon Snyder.
+ City fine-tunes its noise ordinance
After Florida’s Second District Court of Appeals ruled unconstitutional local laws that set noise limits for vehicles, the Sarasota Police Department began looking for alternative ways to enforce its ordinance.
The state had made it illegal to have amplified sound in a car that could be heard from 25 feet away.
The court ruled that the statute unfairly infringed upon ice-cream trucks and amplified political statements.
City attorney Robert Fournier believes a way around the ruling is to first enforce a similar noise ordinance against parked vehicles playing loud music.
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