Developer fights cost to extend Osprey roadway

Sarasota County taxpayers may have to shoulder the costs for a road extension that was originally a developer’s obligation under the Osprey Revitalization Plan. 

In a 4-3 vote Thursday, the Sarasota County Planning Commission approved a request that would allow developer D.R. Horton to amend the development concept plan for the 30-acre site, known as Bay Acres, in Osprey.

Before the recession, the site, located between U.S. 41 and Old Venice Road, behind Walmart, was part of a larger 40-acre parcel with planned-use development zoning. 

D.R. Horton purchased 30 acres of the property from Redus Florida Condos LLC in 2012.  In the original plan, the developer was responsible for paying for the cost of connecting Bay Acres Avenue to Old Venice Road, creating another thoroughfare option for residents. 

D.R. Horton plans to reduce the density of the residential development from 13 units per acre to six. Jeffery Boone, Horton’s agent for the amendment, said that the significant reduction in density eliminated Horton’s need for the road. Further, the original agreement was predicated on one firm developing the entire 40 acres. Now that the land is divided into three parcels, it’s not clear who is responsible, Boone said. 

"To abandon this now is disingenuous to the people from back then," Planning Commissioner John Ask said.

Planning Commissioner Bob Burrus said he could understand the developer’s perspective.

“I don’t see they’d have the responsibility at this time, but the broader public good here is the question. Does the community want this road to be built?” he asked. 

Commissioner John Ask disagreed. As the former president of the Nokomis Civic Association, Ask has worked with the county during the adoption of the revitalization plan, which was created in 1999. He said the street connector had been important to the community at the time because it gave residents an alternate route to access U.S. 41.

“This was a really big deal,” he said. “It was a rough area and at the end of the day it had a lot of public support. To abandon this now is disingenuous to the people from back then.”

Ask also recognized that the approval of Horton’s request would set a precedent: The developers of the other parcels could refuse to pay to extend the avenue. At that point, Ask said the burden of cost could shift to taxpayers.

 “Now, the probability that the public will pay for it will most likely increase,” Ask said. 

Planning Commissioner Michael Beaumier, who lives in the Rivendell subdivision located south of Bay Acres Avenue, voted no on the request. 

“They bought this land knowing what the zoning requirements were. I feel we’re impinging on that plan now,” he said. 

The request will go on to the Sarasota County Commission for final approval.

“Not making them build this gives ammunition to those who think development doesn’t pay for itself and doesn’t do what we say it will,” Ask said. “We should do everything in our power to make sure this is built.”

Ask said he was surprised no one from the Osprey community protested the decision. Only one homeowner spoke at the meeting, and only to get reassurance that the street, when eventually built, would not run through his yard.

Rivendell resident Christopher Morrison, who did not attend the meeting, has lived in Osprey for about 15 years. He served one year on the Osprey Revitalization Committee, which sunsetted in 2009. The advisory committee reviewed development applications that affected the revitalization plan. Morrison said the Bay Acres Avenue extension was an important centerpiece for the Walmart development. 

 “As a person who would benefit from (the street extension), I would support it,” he said. “It would help me tremendously.”