Planning Commission moves Whole Foods, Wawa forward

The Sarasota County Planning Commission unanimously approved a proposed commercial center at University and Honore during its Dec. 17 meeting.

After three hours of presentations and discussion, the commission decided to move the project forward in spite of its impact to 4.5 acres of wetlands on the eight-acre parcel.

Developer University-Honore, LLC, is proposing a 58,000-square-foot commercial center at University Parkway and Honore Avenue. The center, if approved by county commissioners, will include a Whole Foods Market and a Wawa convenience store.

Jack Bispham, vice chairman of the Planning Commission, said he wasn’t convinced that there was no reasonable alternative than to build on the wetlands, an issue at stake in determining the project's compliance with Sarasota County's comprehensive plan, which guides land use and development. However, he felt the developer’s offer to preserve 34.5 acres in Manatee County provided sufficient offsets to the environmental impact of the center.

“Dana West is known in the environmental community as a very knowledgable person,” Bispham said. “His testimony carries a lot of weight. When he explained they were preserving 40 acres as opposed to destroying I think nine acres, I felt the trade-off was sufficient.”

During the meeting, West, vice president of Environmental Consulting and Technology, Inc., assured the commission that the developer’s mitigation plan had been endorsed by the Southwest Florida Water Management District and other agencies.

Matt Osterhoudt, senior manager for Sarasota County Development Services and Environmental Protection, questioned the value of that mitigation proposal during the meeting, saying it was his understanding that the property posed little opportunity for development because of current zoning provisions. According to his understanding, he told the commission, current provisions only allowed one caretaker’s cottage to be built there.

The Sarasota County commissioners will decide whether to authorize the project at its Jan. 26 meeting.