Sarasota Livin'

At the April 27th meeting the Planning Board approved the Downtown Residential Overlay District which will provide for an increase in the amount downtown developers will contribute into the Affordable Housing and Transit Development Trust Funds …

The other big topic was the mass rezoning for to implement the "new" Downtown Master Plan AKA the "Duany Plan":

Downtown Core maximum height is 10 stories (except for 2 lucky buildings that can be 180ft ?) Allows varied non-residential uses and up to 50 units / acre of residential.

Downtown Bayfront … max height 18 stories 50 units / acre Mixed use with ground floor retail required on certain streets.

Downtown Edge … Downtown Urban Mixed Use – max height 5 stories, 25 units / acre. Mixed use with ground floor retail required on certain streets.

Gillespie Park and Park East Neighborhood districts – Downtown Neighborhood – limited mixed use max height 3 stories and 12 units / acre.

The planning board passed all of the rezones as recommended by staff with minor revisions. The next step will be the City Commission working through this… It is still another six months before it would really happen.

So … who will fill the vacant seat on the Planning Board… (not me ) seems we have several applicants .. this is an important job I hope the City Commission has many good candidates to decide from.

Lots of good information on the City Planning Departments web site