RESPONSE TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING
RECOMMENDING 899 SCHOOL AVE. FOR DEVELOPMENT
RECOMMENDING 899 SCHOOL AVE. FOR DEVELOPMENT
By Linda Kitch and David Turner
Alta Vista Neighborhood
SUMMARY
After examining the documents of Hudson Bayou Basin Master Plan and Strategic Plan for Affordable Housing, we believe that the County should remove the parcel at 899 School Ave. from the surplus property list. We believe that this parcel which includes detention ponds and the Euclid Canal should never be sold but should be retained for stormwater infrastructure as was the original intention. Making both sides of the Euclid canal private property while retaining an easement creates unnecessary risks and uncertainty over safety and security for adjacent property holders.
The two smaller “flatland” sections on either side of Shade Ave. could potentially offer a site for housing which, if conditions can be met, could be separated from the larger parcel and sold separately.
This long narrow strip of land is, however, unsuitable for the 45-lot housing development as described in the Collier Report and would require massive and costly infrastructure changes. Development would increase flood risk, silting and pollution of Hudson Bayou. This land should be preserved in public hands as we face an uncertain climate future.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PARCEL
The 9.3-acre parcel in question is registered at 899 School Ave. but in fact is a long narrow strip of land parallel to Hatton Street running from School Ave. past Shade Ave to Euclid. It includes the Euclid Canal. (see accompanying map).
HISTORY OF THE PARCEL
In the early 90’s in response to flooding and stormwater runoff leading to pollution of Sarasota Bay, a report was commissioned.
In 1994, The Hudson Bayou Basin Master Plan was prepared to deal with the practical and environmental problems of stormwater runoff in the 1545 acres which drains into Hudson Bayou. The report offered remediation options. Two projects that were recommended were the construction of three detention basins adjacent to the Euclid Canal running between Euclid and School. These basins would help to control flooding but would also reduce silt and have an important secondary function of the biological uptake of nutrients. They predicted that “these facilities will result in a 30% reduction in total sediment loadings to Sarasota Bay.” (see drainage map)
This property was owned by the Sarasota School Board. In the fall of 1999, the School Board transferred the nearly 5-acre eastern section from Shade to Euclid to the County for the express purpose of the “construction and maintenance of stormwater improvement.” In the summer of 2003, the second 4.3-acre section was transferred to the County for the same express purpose.
The detention areas were subsequently constructed, one enclosed by a chain link fence, the other two smaller ones open.
In 2008, there was a proposal to build 40 condominiums on the two flat areas flanking Shade Ave. However, these areas would remain County property but would be leased to the developer for 99 years. All of the water resources including ponds and the Euclid Canal would also remain the property of the County. This proposal was abandoned due to the cost of new and reconfigured utilities, poor management and the Great Recession.
COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING:
COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL
This report was published on December 30, 2019 and examined 11 sites for potential development of affordable housing. Eight were considered unsuitable for various reasons. Three were recommended. Site number 11 is the same parcel which had been transferred from the school department. Colliers envisioned up to 45 units being built on the entire site.
Colliers International, an international, Canada-based real estate firm, erred in including Site #11, 899 School Ave as “best suited” to affordable housing development. The report omits critical information, is misleading, contains factual errors and applies inconsistent criteria in assessing suitability of each site. This report did not accurately describe the site and the potential hazards of flooding and pollution of Hudson Bayou/Sarasota Bay if this land is developed.
Alta Vista Neighborhood
SUMMARY
After examining the documents of Hudson Bayou Basin Master Plan and Strategic Plan for Affordable Housing, we believe that the County should remove the parcel at 899 School Ave. from the surplus property list. We believe that this parcel which includes detention ponds and the Euclid Canal should never be sold but should be retained for stormwater infrastructure as was the original intention. Making both sides of the Euclid canal private property while retaining an easement creates unnecessary risks and uncertainty over safety and security for adjacent property holders.
The two smaller “flatland” sections on either side of Shade Ave. could potentially offer a site for housing which, if conditions can be met, could be separated from the larger parcel and sold separately.
This long narrow strip of land is, however, unsuitable for the 45-lot housing development as described in the Collier Report and would require massive and costly infrastructure changes. Development would increase flood risk, silting and pollution of Hudson Bayou. This land should be preserved in public hands as we face an uncertain climate future.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PARCEL
The 9.3-acre parcel in question is registered at 899 School Ave. but in fact is a long narrow strip of land parallel to Hatton Street running from School Ave. past Shade Ave to Euclid. It includes the Euclid Canal. (see accompanying map).
HISTORY OF THE PARCEL
In the early 90’s in response to flooding and stormwater runoff leading to pollution of Sarasota Bay, a report was commissioned.
In 1994, The Hudson Bayou Basin Master Plan was prepared to deal with the practical and environmental problems of stormwater runoff in the 1545 acres which drains into Hudson Bayou. The report offered remediation options. Two projects that were recommended were the construction of three detention basins adjacent to the Euclid Canal running between Euclid and School. These basins would help to control flooding but would also reduce silt and have an important secondary function of the biological uptake of nutrients. They predicted that “these facilities will result in a 30% reduction in total sediment loadings to Sarasota Bay.” (see drainage map)
This property was owned by the Sarasota School Board. In the fall of 1999, the School Board transferred the nearly 5-acre eastern section from Shade to Euclid to the County for the express purpose of the “construction and maintenance of stormwater improvement.” In the summer of 2003, the second 4.3-acre section was transferred to the County for the same express purpose.
The detention areas were subsequently constructed, one enclosed by a chain link fence, the other two smaller ones open.
In 2008, there was a proposal to build 40 condominiums on the two flat areas flanking Shade Ave. However, these areas would remain County property but would be leased to the developer for 99 years. All of the water resources including ponds and the Euclid Canal would also remain the property of the County. This proposal was abandoned due to the cost of new and reconfigured utilities, poor management and the Great Recession.
COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING:
COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL
This report was published on December 30, 2019 and examined 11 sites for potential development of affordable housing. Eight were considered unsuitable for various reasons. Three were recommended. Site number 11 is the same parcel which had been transferred from the school department. Colliers envisioned up to 45 units being built on the entire site.
Colliers International, an international, Canada-based real estate firm, erred in including Site #11, 899 School Ave as “best suited” to affordable housing development. The report omits critical information, is misleading, contains factual errors and applies inconsistent criteria in assessing suitability of each site. This report did not accurately describe the site and the potential hazards of flooding and pollution of Hudson Bayou/Sarasota Bay if this land is developed.
- The report states that the parcel is 9.3 acres. This is misleading because it includes the Euclid Canal as well as land on the north side of Hudson Creek and three detention areas. The flat buildable land would be a small part of that parcel, probably less than 3 acres.
- When describing current use, the Report again fails to mention the Euclid Canal stormwater canal.
- The Report states that the land is zoned Industrial. That is incorrect, the correct zoning is Government.
- The Report fails to mention that the majority land area of this parcel is a FEMA designated flood zone. (see map)
- The Report’s summary inclusion for this property references the Avon Heights plat map which platted 45 small lots. This is very misleading as the majority of this land is now drainage reservoirs. Although the report states that the narrowness of the land precludes multifamily development, it asserts that the 45 lots could be sold if the County could meet the “situational challenge… of the water facilities proximate to the site.” The water facilities are not proximate to the site; they in fact are the majority of the site. It appears that the report recommends filling in the retention areas and building over them.
- In the Report, site 8 in Venice was declared unsuitable because of the “possible needs for environmental studies”, yet it seems the School Ave. site, with all the storm water infrastructure and flood control, would not hold any environmental concerns.
- Another disqualification for other sites would be that the site would need to be rezoned. Although School Ave. would need rezoning as well, this was not considered a disqualifying feature.
- In several of the other disqualified sites, another factor was single family neighborhoods. For example, Site 5 7650 Bee Ridge Rd, one of the disqualifying items was the site was “surrounded by single family homes likely to bring opposition.” Yet School Ave, which is also surrounded by single family homes, was not a legitimate disqualifying factor but merely a threat from “NIMBY opposition.”
- The most egregious fault of the Colliers Report is not doing any background history of the site. There is no explanation of why the County acquired the property in the first place or the subsequent failed attempts at housing twelve years ago. And most importantly, there is no mention of the massive and costly engineering of new and larger detention areas as well as reconfiguring drainage from Alta Vista School that new housing would require.
CONCLUSION
This narrow strip of land is a critical part of flood control and maintaining the health of Hudson Bayou/Sarasota Bay. To allow building on the entire parcel and private ownership of both sides of the Euclid Canal will jeopardize property and the health of the environment. Even building in the small flat areas of this parcel will create more impermeable surfaces and would require enlarging detention areas.
There are over 1000 County owned properties with the use listed as “drainage,” yet this is the ONLY parcel listed as surplus and proposed for sale.
We believe that this property including detention ponds and the Euclid Canal should be removed from the surplus property list and retained by the County as part of its stormwater flood control system. We believe strongly that the property should be held in fee simple and not merely with the limited right to use though an easement.
If the “flatlands” are considered for affordable housing, this much smaller site may or may not prove to be suitable. It would be difficult to build in that footprint. In fact, the canal has been widened and the actual site may be significantly smaller than indicated on plat maps; a survey would be required.
We would also recommend that any housing proposal consider the character of the neighborhood and its unique challenges, such as the practice of parent pick-up from the schools, which backs up traffic along Hatton St., and increased traffic congestion now that School Ave. is closed.
Therefore, our two alternative recommendations are: 1. Remove the parcel from the surplus list and retain it as a water management area. 2. Separate out the possibly buildable flat areas flanking Shade for sale while retaining ponds and canal in public hands.
David Turner, Browning Street, Sarasota; [email protected]
Linda Kitch, Bay Street, Sarasota; [email protected]
This narrow strip of land is a critical part of flood control and maintaining the health of Hudson Bayou/Sarasota Bay. To allow building on the entire parcel and private ownership of both sides of the Euclid Canal will jeopardize property and the health of the environment. Even building in the small flat areas of this parcel will create more impermeable surfaces and would require enlarging detention areas.
There are over 1000 County owned properties with the use listed as “drainage,” yet this is the ONLY parcel listed as surplus and proposed for sale.
We believe that this property including detention ponds and the Euclid Canal should be removed from the surplus property list and retained by the County as part of its stormwater flood control system. We believe strongly that the property should be held in fee simple and not merely with the limited right to use though an easement.
If the “flatlands” are considered for affordable housing, this much smaller site may or may not prove to be suitable. It would be difficult to build in that footprint. In fact, the canal has been widened and the actual site may be significantly smaller than indicated on plat maps; a survey would be required.
We would also recommend that any housing proposal consider the character of the neighborhood and its unique challenges, such as the practice of parent pick-up from the schools, which backs up traffic along Hatton St., and increased traffic congestion now that School Ave. is closed.
Therefore, our two alternative recommendations are: 1. Remove the parcel from the surplus list and retain it as a water management area. 2. Separate out the possibly buildable flat areas flanking Shade for sale while retaining ponds and canal in public hands.
David Turner, Browning Street, Sarasota; [email protected]
Linda Kitch, Bay Street, Sarasota; [email protected]
