Palmer Ranch plans anger residents

A.G. Spanos Companies is under contract to buy a 20-acre parcel of land from Palmer Ranch Holdings at the corner of Northridge Road and Sawyer Loop—and residents are not happy with the proposed site plan.
Parcel A7 is currently zoned light industrial; Spanos’ contract is dependent on Sarasota County approving residential zoning to the property.

Spanos plans to turn the pastureland into a 6-building luxury apartment complex with a total of 260 units. The gated community is targeted at young professionals, families and retirees, with one-bedroom units costing a little under $1,000 per month.

About 70 residents living in the Wellington Chase community adjacent to the proposed development appeared at a neighborhood meeting Tuesday night to express their concern with the development’s potential impacts to the area’s traffic, neighborhood appeal and schools.

Two of resident Julie Simonson’s children attend Ashton Elementary School, located off of Clark Road and Honore Avenue. Her concern was for the impact on the schools if lots of families moved into the new complex. Ashton had already decreased its bus fleet, she said.

“Ashton is already overflowing,” Simonson said.

Other residents complained that they had not received a notice of the proposed project.
Kathy Peters, the president of the Wellington Chase Homeowner’s Association, got a copy of the notice from another resident. She made copies, and with the help of some other association members, spent the weekend going door-to-door to inform residents who hadn’t been notified about the project and the meeting.

“It seems like only a handful got it,” she said.

The developer agreed to make improvements on notifying the community before the project came before the Sarasota County Planning Commission or the County Commission.

“Eventually someone will buy this,” said Hardy Gillespie, division manager for Spanos, after the meeting. “I understand their concerns, but this is going to be developed at some point. We’re offering a better alternative.”

Spanos plans to file the project application with the county in late December.