Selby Gardens master plan draws questions

Already sensing concern from neighboring residents, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens representatives arrived at a community workshop Tuesday ready to offer a concession.

The workshop, held at City Hall, was part of Selby’s effort to implement a master plan for its bayfront campus near downtown Sarasota. Selby hopes to invest more than $67 million in the 14-acre property. Gardens officials say the plan will expand the facility’s green space, improve safety and protect and enhance Selby’s research work.

Major changes include the construction of a five-story parking structure and rooftop restaurant, a welcome center and a new greenhouse complex. At preliminary neighborhood meetings, Selby heard questions about the scope of the project, which the organization plans to phase in over a 10-year period.

So, on Tuesday, the planners working with Selby came with what they hoped would be good news for worried residents. Selby is no longer seeking to rezone its property to a downtown-edge designation, originally thought to be a necessary step to facilitate the midrise buildings and mixture of uses.

Instead, the organization is working with city staff to develop site-specific regulations that would allow Selby to build what it wants while keeping the underlying residential zoning on the property.

It could appear to be a symbolic gesture. Representatives with Selby’s planning partner Kimley-Horn said the garden was willing to take an alternative route as long as the master plan ultimately got implemented.

But, for residents still left with questions about the project’s impact, some saw it as a sign Selby was listening. Hudson Bayou resident Barbara May said she feared the expansion of downtown zoning across Mound Street could negatively affect neighborhoods to the south. For her, the concession was well taken.

“At least they were amenable right away to saying, ‘OK, we’ll work a different way around it,’” May said. “They’re trying to work with us. We’re trying to work with them.”

In & out

Tuesday’s workshop was a mandated meeting as Selby seeks the city’s approval of a comprehensive plan amendment, a rezone, a minor conditional use, a street vacation ordinance amendment and a utility easement vacation.

Those changes could take nearly a year to process, even after the city agreed in October to work on the comprehensive plan amendment a few months ahead of its regular schedule. Kimley-Horn landscape architect Chris Cianfaglione said it could take three to five years before the first phase of the master plan is implemented.

Because it’s so early in the process, Selby representatives didn’t have detailed answers for many questions asked Tuesday. Much of the residents’ concerns focused on traffic — particularly along Orange Avenue, which neighbors describe as a frequent problem area.

Cianfaglione said the master plan creates a smoother circulation pattern entering and exiting the Selby campus. The proposal would close Palm Avenue to vehicles south of Mound Street. There would be an entry and exit point along Mound Street into the parking structure, and another along Orange Avenue.

The master plan was designed around a planned roundabout at Mound and Orange, a project the Florida Department of Transportation has not yet scheduled. Selby is considering advancing money toward that roundabout to accelerate its completion, according to Kimley-Horn Senior Vice President Bill Waddill.

Cianfaglione and Waddill said the roundabout would encourage most visitors to enter and exit Selby via Mound.

“In no way, shape or form are we proposing existing traffic to be increased on Orange,” Cianfaglione said.

But residents remained concerned Selby’s expanded parking capacity — and improved offerings in general — would lead to more traffic. May was one of several residents who said traffic frequently backs up on Orange when a northbound traveler is trying to turn left into Selby.

“It does cause a headache for people who live from Mound all the way to Bahia Vista,” May said.

People asked for specific information on any changes to the road design or projected visitor numbers, which is not yet available, Selby representatives said. Selby  will have to conduct traffic studies and present a more detailed site plan before the city gives final approval of the project. Eventually, Cianfaglione said, residents will get what they’re seeking.

“At the end of the day, the traffic studies we’re going to be doing will guide those answers so it’s built to accommodate the demand that’s there,” Cianfaglione said.

Character counts

Selby representatives made several arguments supporting the overall scope of the project.

By consolidating the surface parking on the site, the master plan increases Selby’s green space by 50%. There are many other multistory buildings along that segment of U.S. 41, including the neighboring four-story Hudson Crossing and the 18-story Embassy House across the street.

Still, some residents remained concerned about the Selby renovations changing the character of the surrounding neighborhoods. Former City Commissioner Susan Chapman, who lives in Hudson Bayou, suggested the changes represented a significant departure for the mission of Selby Gardens — and the effects would ripple outward.

“The last thing Marie Selby wanted was an urbanized site,” Chapman said.

Selby President and CEO Jennifer Rominiecki said the organization devoted time and thought to striking a balance between preserving Selby’s history and pursuing a world-class facility. Historic structures such as the Payne Mansion and Selby House will not be changed, and the gardens themselves are not being disturbed as part of new construction.

“The original parcel of land that was Marie Selby’s will be exactly as it was when she lived there,” Rominiecki said.

Selby representatives felt positive about the general reaction to the master plan. One comment praising the plan drew applause from about half of those in attendance. Although there were still unaddressed questions and concerns, Selby is optimistic future dialog with neighboring residents will be productive.

For those still skeptical, Rominiecki said Selby remains committed to the same mission.

“Marie Selby left her property to be a public botanical garden for everybody to enjoy,” Rominiecki said. “We certainly hold that tenet dear to us, and it really is informing our whole future.”