Planning Board member reappointed, another named to fill vacant seat

Only minutes after Sarasota Planning Board Vice Chairman Douglas Christy delivered a brief annual report to the City Commission — one in which he lamented a sometimes one-week notice to review voluminous documents in advance of their meetings — one new member was appointed and a current reappointed.

Ironically, the new member only had two days to review documents for the next Planning Board meeting, which was scheduled for Wednesday.

At its Monday meeting, the commission unanimously granted a second three-year term to the board’s most recent chairman, Shane Lamay, and replaced outgoing member Dan Deleo, who didn't reapply for the position, with Rebecca Owens.

All things being equal, the deciding factor leaned heavily toward Owens’ residence in the city’s District 1, previously the only of the city’s three districts lacking representation on the board.

That factor gave her the edge over two other nominees who received the most mentions during the discussion, Justin Bloom and Tiffany Nesbit. 

Vice Mayor Kathy Kelley Ohlrich suggested full city representation on the board brings added value, a mantle picked up by her fellow commissioners.

“The Planning Board is heavily weighted for District 2 residents,” Ohlrich said. “There’s one District 3 resident and zero District 1 residents. So, with that in mind, I would nominate highly qualified candidate Rebecca Owens, who lives in District 1.”

Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch didn’t immediately come alongside Ohlrich’s rationale, touting the qualifications of Nesbit and Bloom while still allowing for the value of all-district representation. Commissioner Liz Alpert changed her mind as well.

“We have five really qualified nominees, so it was hard for me to narrow it down,” Alpert said. “I was leaning toward Tiffany Nisbet, but I think the vice mayor's point about someone from District 1 is a good one. Rebecca Owens was my second choice, so I'm happy to go with Rebecca Owens.”

With that, Alpert nominated Owens, who was named the fifth member of the Planning Board by affirmation.

In addition to Nesbit and Bloom, Norman Schimmel and Marc Gauthier were other nominees.