Commission approves Siesta Isles’ tree permit appeal

The Sarasota County Commission all but apologized to representatives of the Siesta Isles Association at its Dec. 8 meeting before approving a tree permit it had been denied.

The group won two $20,000 Neighborhood Initiatives grants from the county to cover approximately half the cost of improvements, approved for compliance with Florida Friendly landscaping standards, to subdivision entrances. But the county asked the association, within a day of breaking ground, to stop construction because it did not obtain a tree permit, needed to remove or alter trees in a public right of way.

The 8 trees present, some of which are invasive, would have been removed, most of them relocated, and replaced with Florida Friendly landscaping including ten Royal Palms, according to association President Tony Romanus.

“I’m sorry,” said Commissioner Christine Robinson at the meeting, “but this is just government at its finest. There’s not much else to say.”

The appeal was granted unanimously, and Robinson went further, moving that staff look into changing the language of the ordinances related to tree permits to allow for trees’ protection, but also to apply common sense solutions in similar cases.