UPCOMING MEETINGS, NOTICES & HAPPENINGS

CITY SURVEY for DESIGN STANDARDS requests your public input before June 9.  The City of Sarasota (City) is updating the Engineering Design Criteria Manual (EDCM) to improve the quality of design in the community.  The EDCM is prepared by the City of Sarasota to guide City staff, developers, and engineers on design standards for roads, trails, sidewalks, and all other infrastructure on City rights-of-way.  The EDCM is actively in the revision process through October 2023.  For more information and for link to survey, see the project website at:  https://www.sarasotafl.gov/government/edcm  Do your "homework" by viewing the prior meeting presentations, then take the survey.

What's that traffic Mess Road Construction over on Mound Street (mid-May 2023)? It is associated with Selby Gardens construction. This road project falls under FDOT. Mound St & Orange Av road projects should wrap up sometime in July.

Payne Park future development? So many options & rumours. Off-leash dog park, tennis center expansion, pickleball, Players Theater at Auditorium, Legacy Trail extension to 301 plus public ped/bike entrance at East Av; original Grand Plans for Phase 3? ... And adding stakeholders from abutting recent residential developments Lyra and Payne Park Village. That's why we are asking the City for a Community Meeting to daylight & discuss. A few years ago they tried to fence off part of the park for a Maintenance Truck Depot, so we are watchful of plans. More details when scheduled...

In the Works (May 2023):  Players Theater at Payne Park Auditorium.  The Players Theater is in negotiations with the City to take over the Payne Park Auditorium (no longer in use as an auditorium, and in recent years serving as office space for part of the City Parks & Rec department).  Per the Herald Tribune:  "The Sarasota City Commission voted unanimously Monday [May 15] for an early framework of a lease agreement that would allow the area’s oldest performing arts organization to transform the nearly 60-year-old Payne Park Auditorium into a new theater space. The company would pay the city $100 per year for 10 years (with at least two 10-year renewals possible) and $1 from every ticket sold would go to the city.   The Players would also offer the space for rentals to other nonprofit groups that don’t have venues of their own.  See Herald Tribune article 5/17/23 for details. 

Traffic Calming School Ave? Speeding traffic has been an ongoing issue throughout the Alta Vista neighborhood's residential streets (not unique to Our Neighborhood).  There's an ongoing push, largely from residents of Payne Park Village (henceforth fondly known as the "Village People," for the City to do something constructive about the continuing problem of car drivers speeding on School Ave; one result is that the "your speed" digital signs, as well as posted speed limit signs, are again functioning.  (School, Shade and Wood are well-known cut-thru streets to avoid traffic congestion on the major road arteries that border our 'hood.)  They've also been trying to get a crosswalk and curb cut at their main entrance to cross over to Payne Park, a very heavily-used pedestrian crossing location; the City continues to veto this idea, citing the two signalized crosswalks recently installed, one at either end of the development.

Yard Waste? The City will continue to pick up yard waste in plastic trash bags. Recently the County banned plastic bags for yard waste pickup, but here in Alta Vista, City rules rule.  So we can still either bundle, bin or bag -- paper or plastic -- our yard debris.

Sarasota Paradise:  Soccer!    The new pre-professional soccer league team, the Sarasota Paradise, with United Soccer League Two, will hold its home games at Sarasota High stadium during the 2023 season. See sarasotaparadise.us    Games at SHS every Saturday at 7:30pm from June 3 thru July 1, plus July 15.

Monday JUNE (to be announced), 7pm, monthly AVNA meeting @ CoreSRQ, 1075 S. Euclid (corner Euclid & Bahia Vista). Agenda: neighborhood issues, and (to be announced). See also AVNA page.

August 2023 Dreamers Academy bilingual immersion charter school is MOVING. New campus in north Sarasota at 2146 Myrtle Street will open for 2023-2024 school year!

​Jan2023 UPDATE:  The Sarasota High School MURT is OPEN !!!!  The "shortcut" ped/bike path between Circus Arts and Sarasota Art Museum is finally open!      

​The final phase of promised pedestrian mitigation (widening & landscaping of the sidewalk along Tamiami Trail in front of the Sarasota Art Museum) is still to come (as of Jan 2023).   The Murt page has details.

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Payne Park - Alderman MURT The City received a FDEP grant to extend the Legacy Trail from School Ave, west across the park, to Alderman Street (behind Sarasota Ford), with a long-awaited public entrance on East Ave (at the current breeze block wall).  Unknown when this will be constructed, it needs to be budgeted in by the City in a future (next) budget cycle.

2023 new nearby developments.
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Recently opened:  New WAWA just opposite, north side of Fruitville.
In-construction:  Sarasota Car Wash, Fruitville at Lime (replacing the old Lime Laundromat).

New high-density apartment building at Tuttle & Bahia Vista intersection is in planning process;  See Bahia Vista Apartments for more info.  Pro: more housing; Con: gonna really foul up that already-bad intersection.

And a major mixed-use development called "Park District" including lots of housing, is being proposed for the area over at between Main St. & Fruitville, from Washington Blvd to School Ave.

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 (new March 2022). Free; search for “311Connect” on your Apple or Android app store. 
See also Useful Links for descriptions. 

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​