The Sarasota County Commission approved both the development of up to 3,000 homes on the first village phase of Hi-Hat Ranch and an agreement to build a regional sports complex near Fruitville Road.
The approval of the homes on Oct. 7 was foretold in Sarasota County’s 2050 plan and a master development order approved in 2021 that allowed for the construction of slightly more than 13,000 homes on 9,960 acres of ranch, which occupies 15 square miles of Sarasota County.
The memo of understanding to build a 100-acre regional park off of Fruitville Road was a new wrinkle, though, since the park was relocated from a site closer to Bee Ridge Road, within the proposed development.
Both decisions frustrated people who already live in rural eastern Sarasota
County who are desperate to preserve their lifestyles.
Bern Creek resident Susan Schoettle, a former deputy county attorney, noted that the plan to move the park north to Fruitville Road was identified as only conceptual when the planning commission reviewed it.
“We were supposed to be protected by 2050 and this certainly is not a protection of our rural quality of life,” Schoettle said.
Miles Toder, president of the Sarasota East-Enders for Responsible Development, echoed her sentiment.
“The location of the park is new to us,” Toder said. “We have concerns about traffic, about noise, about the environmental impact that needs to be discussed.”
The decision came two weeks after Sarasota County approved a1,088-home expansion of Lakewood Ranch Southeast— many of the opponents of that change in zoning spoke against Hi-Hat Ranch on Oct. 7.
They voiced similar concerns, including increased traffic that the development will bring, potential drainage problems and loss of dark skies at night because of the glow of streetlights and shopping centers.
What may the regional park be like?
The first item the board approved was the memo of understanding that would give Sarasota County 24 months to say it wants to buy 100 acres at $135,000 an acre in addition to receiving another 21 acres of donated land consisting of wetlands, natural areas or a required buffer from Fruitville Road.
Only $2 million of the $13.5 million payment would be in cash, with the remainder tallied as impact fee credits.
A total of $4.75 million in credits would be conveyed at the closing of Phase 1 of the sports complex and $6.75 million upon the Phase 2 closing.
The commission unanimously approved the memo of understanding on a 4-0 vote with Commissioner Joe Neunder absent.
“For sports complexes like this we need 100-plus acres,” said Assistant County Administrator Nicole Rissler, who later added that the purchase is one step to secure the future of Sarasota County parks.
Once a purchase deal is struck, the county commission must approve that deal.
The exact amenities available will be decided in the future, but the possibilities include adult softball fields, full-size baseball fields, multipurpose fields, tennis and pickleball courts and sand volleyball courts.
In addition to that, there is potential for an off-leash dog park, pedestrian sidewalks and trails, restrooms and parking.
“Our needs now already are large baseball fields, adult softball and we can never not need more rectangles for multisports,” Rissler said.
Rissler also noted that it was later determined that the location along Fruitville Road would be better than near Bee Ridge Road.
Although the park will serve families who live in Hi Hat Ranch, she noted that the purpose of the regional park is to serve residents from outside that area.
How much development on Hi Hat Ranch was approved?
The master development order for Hi Hat Ranch, allowing 13,081 residences and 450,000 square feet of commercial and office development, was approved by a previous county commission in 2021.
Though in 2018, the county commission granted a request to change development rulesspecifically for Hi Hat Ranch.
The change allowed for a two-step approval process and did away with the requirement that developers must present a detailed master plan that specifies housing types and exactly where recreational or commercial space would be located.
On Oct. 7, the current county commission approved the change in zoning from Open Use Rural or Open Use Estate to Village Planned Development to allow for construction of 3,000 homes on 2,270 acres on a 3-1 vote.
County Commissioner Tom Knight voted against the land use change partly because the commercial component would not be built along with the first homes and partly because there was no guarantee that homes built to be affordable would remain affordable after one year.
This first phase also does not contain the planned village center with the commercial development.
That village center will likely be located near the intersection of an extended Bee Ridge Road and a future north-south road.
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 approves 3,000 homes as rural residents fear change
