Silver Oaks residents to protest Palmer Ranch development buffer

Silver Oaks residents plan to pack the Sarasota County Commission chambers tomorrow to gain traction with commissioners against the proposed buffer between their community and a new development to the south.

Pending approval of a rezoning, Taylor Morrison is poised to build about 170 homes on a 103-acre lot south of the Silver Oaks community on Honore Avenue in Palmer Ranch. The 103 acre-parcel is currently a cattle pasture and zoned open use estate, which allows for building one unit per five acres. The rezone asks for residential single family zoning with 2.5 units per acre.

Residents of Silver Oaks don’t oppose the development, but rather it’s buffer between the two communities.

The original proposal had a 20-foot buffer between the new development and Silver Oaks. Residents fought this size, which they feel will put homes too close together, instead asking for a 50-foot buffer and an 8-foot berm with a wall. At the March 19 Planning Commission meeting, Silver Oaks residents protested and Taylor Morrison agreed to a 30-foot buffer and a 4-foot berm with a 6-foot wall standing on the berm. The Planning Commission specified that no more than 13 lots could be developed along the southern boundary of Silver Oaks.

The Silver Oaks residents have 200 signatures on a petition against the buffer size, and are planning 12 to 15 speakers to protest during the public hearing, said Jorg Hernler, a Silver Oaks resident.

Hernler and other neighbors have gone door to door to gain awareness from their community, and have even had neighbors in surrounding Palmer Ranch communities voice support. Some residents met Sunday to prepare for Tuesday’s public hearing, and they already have their speakers and experts lined up, he said.

“The whole community is preparing for this meeting,” he said. “We’re hopeful the commission will hear us.”

Hernler and other residents of Silver Oaks had also suggested that Taylor Morrison reconfigure one of the proposed streets in the new development; realigning the road would, according to their calculations, cause the developer to lose one to two lots but gain some distance between Silver Oaks and the new development. However, Taylor Morrison was not receptive.

Charlie Bailey, the agent for Taylor Morrison, said changing the street would require a “substantial” redesign.