Meeting on planned Sailing Squadron building set for Aug. 13

A community workshop for the proposed Sarasota Sailing Squadron Youth Education Building for the Sarasota Youth Sailing Program is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 13, at the Selby Library second-floor conference room. The organization is seeking a Government Zone waiver to remove the requirement that all off-street parking areas must be surfaced with asphalt, bituminous or concrete material; clay brick or concrete paving units; or permeable pavement surfaces.

The new facility is proposed to be built on property 6.2 acres of city-owned property leased to the squadron on City Island at Ken Thompson Park. 

Currently, the parking area and entrance drive to the site is not paved, consistent with the condition from the beginning of the program's operation there in 1980. According to project consultant Joel Freedman, paving of the spaces and drive entrance is not needed and will result in unnecessary additional stormwater runoff.

The new two-story building is planned to  have approximately 2,000 square feet of air-conditioned space on the second floor to be used for a meeting area for the youth program, offices, bathrooms and some storage rooms. The ground level will be used for boat and equipment storage, circulation and more. There will also be 1,000 square feet of covered open space on the second floor.