The expansion of Lakewood Ranch into rural eastern Sarasota County is moving forward, despite pleas from neighbors who fear the master-planned community will change the country lifestyle they have fought to preserve.
The Sarasota County Commission unanimously approved zoning changes on Sept. 23 for the final two phases of Lakewood Ranch Southeast
, which total 893 acres and could accommodate as many as 1,088 new homes.Residents living in the neighboring communities of Bern Creek, Old Miakka and Hidden River asked the County Commission to reject the changes and protect the rural character of their communities from encroaching suburban development.
Bern Creek resident Susan Schoettle, a former deputy county attorney who spoke on behalf of Manasota
88, the Sarasota County Council of Neighborhood Associations, and the nonprofit group Keep the Country Country Sarasota, stressed that the proposal is incompatible with the existing rural homesteads.
Schoettle talked about traffic, as well as a concern that runoff from the planned unit development would overwhelm older neighborhoods.
“We fear for our homes and our lifestyle when — not if — our lands are inundated from more concentrated discharges,” she said. “We do not want to be the next Laurel Meadows.”
Hidden River resident Autumn McLeod said increased traffic along Fruitville Road has already become overwhelming.
“We’ve been affected by inadequacies of putting the cart before the horse the past five years,” McLeod said. “East Fruitville Road for us is a one-way-in, one-way-out means of egress."
“This extreme expansion should not move forward,” she later added, while lamenting an anticipated loss of dark skies for stargazing. “East Fruitville is not Lakewood Ranch.”
What is Lakewood Ranch Southeast?
Lakewood Ranch Southeast is a portion of the massive, 35,000-acre Lakewood Ranch master-planned community that spans portions of Sarasota and Manatee counties.
Developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch started construction in Lakewood Ranch in 1994. Since then, it has grown into the top-selling multi-generational master-planned community in the country.
Sarasota County’s 2050 plan, adopted in February 2002, established rules for development of property east of Interstate 75, including Lakewood Ranch Southeast.
In 2022, Sarasota County approved zoning for as many as 5,000 homes on Lakewood Ranch Southeast — the 4,120 acres of land between Fruitville Road and University Parkway.
Two residents of the Ranches at Bern Creek, Mike Hutchinson and Eileen Fitzgerald filed a legal challenge to that ruling in November 2022.
The couple took their challenge to Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal, where Sarasota County ultimately prevailed in January 2025.
The main north-south road for Lakewood Ranch Southeast will be Bourneside Boulevard, which is still under construction.
How did Sarasota County commissioners vote?
All four commissioners present at the Sept. 23 meeting approved the changes, though some expressed reservations. The approvals went against the Sarasota County Planning Commission’s 8-0 recommendation to reject both zoning changes.
Commissioner Teresa Mast, who represents that area of Sarasota County, moved to approve the land use changes, with Chairman Ron Cutsinger seconding the motion for discussion.
Mast pointed to the reality of upholding the property rights of Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, adding that, “there were 5,000 invisible homes approved in 2022.”
Vice Chairman Mark Smith said he did not agree with entitlements given to Schroeder-Manatee Ranch by the previous County Commission.
“We’ve already decided by previous boards that this is what the definition is for this particular piece of property,” Smith said. “I’m disappointed in previous boards, quite honestly that put us in this position.
“I think there was an opportunity lost by Lakewood Ranch to embrace Old Miakka.
“It didn’t happen.”
Commissioner Tom Knight noted that he considered the commission’s approval pro forma, based on previous commission votes.
“Thank goodness it’s Lakewood Ranch,” Knight said. “At least, it’s a community that’s beautiful and I’ve visited it myself."
“I don’t see us getting back into litigation for something that was decided back in 2022,” he later added.
Cutsinger praised Lakewood Ranch for the quality of its development, as well as dedications of land for a 40-acre park, a school site and a future fire station.
“I’m not going to be voting for this grudgingly, I’m going to be voting for this thankfully because you look at the plan,” Cutsinger said. “It’s everything you want in development.
“I love Old Miakka, I love the folks out there, they’re wonderful folks,” he later added. “But there’s no reason we can’t have a development like this, with the buffers that we have, and not continue to enjoy Old Miakka.”
Earle Kimel primarily covers local governments in Sarasota County as well as land development and environmental issues for the Herald-Tribune. Follow him on Facebook and X. He can be reached by email at earle.kimel@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota County clears way for 1,088 more Lakewood Ranch homes
