Planning commission moves Whole Foods, Wawa forward

As the Sarasota Planning Commission unanimously approved on Dec. 17 a developer's request to negatively impact 4.5 acres of protected wetlands near University Parkway and Honore Avenue, it raised the question of whether a precedent was about to be set.

Developer University-Honore, LLC, is proposing University Station, a 58,000 square foot commercial center that will include a Whole Foods Market and a Wawa convenience store and gas station on an eight-acre site. The project still must clear a county commissioners' vote on Jan. 26.

If it does, are other wetlands in Sarasota doomed?

Matt Osterhoudt, senior manager for Sarasota County Development Services and Environmental Protection, said that each petition will be considered individually and that the Dec. 17 decision did not set a precedent that would threaten similar urban wetlands.

“Each petition must be considered under its own (merit) with the comprehensive plan and the Sarasota County ordinances in place at that time,” Osterhoudt said.

Jack Bispham, vice chair of the planning commission, agreed.

“Only a quarter of a mile away there is a big wetland that borders University (and a developer might ask) ‘Well, they got theirs, so let’s go see if we can mitigate this, too,’” he said. “The way we do this is on a case-by-case basis.”

It appeared that the current case was in violation of the county's comprehensive plan, which guides land use and development in Sarasota County. The county report recommended its planning commission require preservation of the area.

The wetlands in question included the 3.3-acre native habitat preserve area, created as part of the 2004 site plan for the University Parkway Business Park. Those site plans are considered binding and require Sarasota County commissioners’ approval to change.

However, three hours of presentations and discussion, changed that thinking.

Charles Bailey, attorney for Robert “Bo” Medred, petitioner, said language in the county’s comprehensive plan had changed since the property became the subject of a lawsuit in 1999, when previous owners including former State Senator John McKay sued the county for the right to develop the property.

The 12th circuit court upheld the county’s determination that the wetlands should be preserved. That decision was deemed irrelevant on Dec. 17.

In 1999, the comprehensive plan did not allow for the destruction of wetlands, but currently allows it when impacts are unavoidable or when the wetland in question no longer performs its ecological functions and values.

“Does a reasonable alternative exist to impacting the wetland?” Bailey asked. “The answer is a firm 'No.'”

The lack of a reasonable alternative wasn’t clear to everyone on the commission.

Bispham, vice chair of the Planning Commission, said he wasn’t convinced that there was no reasonable alternative than to build on the wetlands, but felt the developer’s offer to preserve 34.5 acres in Manatee County provided sufficient mitigation.

During the meeting, Dana 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.

“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.”

Bispham said public opinion was important, too.

“There was no one that stood up and spoke against it,” he said.