Alta Vista Sarasota current events

UPCOMING MEETINGS, NOTICES & HAPPENINGS

Wednesday May 27 Last Day of School. Meanwhile, Sarasota High graduation is Friday May 15.

School Zone Speed Limit Times??? The local school low-speed zone signs on Hatton and Shade show inconsistent hours: various restrictions include "when blinking," mornings and afternoon times, and one All Day 7am-3.45pm sign (next to the automatic speed ticketing camera). The City Engineer has acknowledged that this is a city-wide issue, and they will be reviewing the problem this summer.

Now until July 1 2026 Watering Restrictions Increased severely due to Extreme Drought. Lawn irrigation systems limited to once a week; hand watering allowed any day but only before 8am or after 6pm. See City News article for details.

SHORT TERM RENTALS From the City's home page GIS/Maps button, neighbors can now easily look up all registered short-term rentals throughout the City. The City's Vacation Rental Property Search Website shows Contact & phone number, in case your next-door home's AIRBNB/VRBO/etc. guests are behaving very badly, plus which Inspector to call if homeowner isn't helpful. Note that there is a 7-day/night minimum for ST rentals in the City. As of early April, the map shows about 40 short-term rentals in our modest neighborhood alone, and a glance at the citywide map astounds me -- plus, apparently many are still not registered; most short-term guests are good folks, but they're not "real neighbors." Homes exempt from registration and therefore not shown include rentals of 30+ days, condos, owner-occupied homes, and more.

Demolition Alert -- not: Alta Vista Elementary School iconic Victor Lundy-designed "Butterfly Wing Building."
HOLD YOUR HORSES! As of Apr 3, School Dept Project Manager Chad Brogdon informed me that they have decided NOT to raze this building. A FOIA inquiry response stated that the building will be utilized for non-instructional purposes. (No further details at this time.) Details at Lundy Butterfly Wing Bldg to remain

FPL Line Clearing Update: as of mid-May, in our neighborhood a work crew has been clearing power lines of vegetation, trimming tree limbs and palms that could interfere with power lines -- and cause safety hazards and power outages or flickers. Questions, visit www.FPL.com/trees or call 866-274-9098 and refer to work request 14625156.

?Summer 2026?: Future Repaving US301/Washington Blvd between Mound Street and 10th Street. Project includes (among many other things) adding a pedestrian crossing light at South Payne Parkway, a.k.a. Alderman Street, across to Senior Friendship Center, on the north side of the Mound/Washington 41/301 mega-intersection. See our Washington Blvd Repave page. More info, see FDOT website at https://www.swflroads.com/project/451017-1 which includes presentation documents from 19Aug2025 public meeting.

New cafe La Cruto'n in Payne Park opened Feb 10. They have not posted open hours yet; said they hope to be open longer hours soon, once fully stocked & staffed, & beer/wine license, & also plan to have live music. see lacruton.com

Sarasota High School 2026 Construction Alert: New Tennis Courts and Beach Volleyball Courts Mid-May: Construction has resumed.
Bay St abutting residents especially: expect noise and blowing dirt. Gilbane Construction has done the demo on the portable classrooms; now the field will be graded and 6 tennis courts & 3 beach volleyball courts will be built. Should you need to contact: Gilbane Superintendent Tomikel Curtis, 941-260-7592.

REMINDER: Sarasota High P.A. systems too loud?

Sometimes reasonable; sometimes Wicked Loud. Any day or evening when excessive noise (not the usual, to-be-expected sounds) is bothering you, call 941-966-7233 (Sarasota County Schools security) and/or email Principal Ryan Chase and Jody Dumas ( ryan.chase@sarasotacountyschools.net & [email protected] ) right away.

SHS P.A. Noise Issue Feb 2026 update: There are continuing issues with sometimes-excessive noise levels from Sarasota High PA systems (baseball stadium & batting cage, & football stadium) disturbing neighboring residents. SHS HAS made some adjustments (see Schools Update page) over the last 2 years, but unfortunately many of these seem to have been undone by other SHS staff. The problem continues, with several local residents (STILL!) working on the issue. Recently SHS admin has committed to taking further actions -- including hiring a consultant sound engineer -- to try to mitigate the P.A. noise issues. This problem also ties in with City noise ordinances, currently under revision process, but the fact is that the Schools are exempt from City rules & regulations. Watch for future developments...

March 2026 - 2028 New Water Meters project
All residences will be getting new, updated water meters. Project starts in March 2026, expected to take 2 years. Residents will be notified by mail for dates they will be doing your block. No, you don't need to be home, but they do need to access the water meter out in your front yard. Water will be off for merely minutes! Details at the vendor's website National Metering Services (NMS).

Players Theater in Payne Park UPDATE Feb 2026:

Now beginning: Extensive interior renovation of Payne Park Auditorium, a flexible, 200-seat "jewel-box" theater within the structure. Planning is for opening later this year!

See Observer 2/17/26 article for lots of details.

Also, our Players/Payne Park page, and Players website.

Primary Election Aug 18. This is an election year, and locally both at-large City Commissioner seats are up. AVNA is having candidates as guest speakers at their monthly AVNA meetings (see AVNA page for schedule), in addition to all the other candidate appearances, which you can probably find on their individual candidate websites. CCNA is hosting a candidate forum on June 6. As always, check out sarasotavotes.gov for info

County Update: Be aware that the big downtown Sarasota County building is now closed (other County buildings -- Terrace Building, Jail, Courthouse complex -- remain in use). Until the new County admin building out on Fruitville just past I75, by Celery Fields, is ready, Commission hearings and that sort of thing are being held down in Venice. So if you have County business, check with the County as to what things happen where, for now.

Stormwater News. Since the 2024 flooding, aren't we all a bit interested in the topic? Hudson Bayou ("our" canal drains into it) dredging project has been approved (2027?) Also, there's now a user-friendly map accessible from the County website where you can view your local stormwater maintenance projects. For more info, go to our Euclid Canal page and our Stormwater/Hudson Bayou pages.

Saba Plaza (NE corner Bahia Vista & Tamiami Trail) is up for sale. No new development has yet (9/2025) been applied for yet, but per zoning, there is Potential for 18-story, 500+unit residential, &/or retail. Meanwhile, take a look at this amazing aerial video (with "envisioned" residential towers included) https://views.buildout.media/v/EB15Ywl21gV

A few common nuisances in our locale: who ya gonna call?!!

Is a next-door home construction site becoming a serious quality-of-life issue (unreasonable noise, dirt/trash, street/sidewalk blockages, worker parking problems, etc.)? Contact new City Engineer, Sage Kamiya [email protected].

Is a parked car blocking a sidewalk? They should know that's not okay. The City says: to report it, don't call Code Compliance; instead call the City's parking division at 941-263-6475 or email [email protected].

City Public Works Capital Improvements Program Viewer . City webpage where you can easily find info on all active City capital projects.

Search City Online Records Portal. a central search page to look things up online, many, many things, including development applications, meetings and agendas, ordinances and codes, ...

Click-2-Fix: the City's mobile app. Free; search for “CoS Click-to-Fix” on your Apple or Android app store.

311Connect: the County's mobile app. Free; search for “311Connect” on your Apple or Android app store.

GET YOURSELF IN THE CITY NEWS PIPELINE!

In case you ever wondered how to keep up with City news, a few good sources for City news are:

- City webpage news tab: features the list of recent news item announcements.

- City list of upcoming public meetings. Includes agenda items and links to backup documents. Scroll down for archives of past public meetings, including always-essential detailed backup documents.

- City News: comprehensive weekly email from mayor's office, which also includes upcoming City meetings with links to agendas. Sign up to receive this and/or other communications from City. at https://www.sarasotafl.gov/services/email-subscriptions

- City Public Access Emails is at www.sarasotafl.gov/City-Services/Public-Access-Email