Siesta Key incorporation inches closer to referendum

Residents of Siesta Key have moved closer to a referendum on whether to incorporate. Legislation is now moving through the Florida House of Representatives that, if approved and signed into law, would place the matter before more than 6,000 voters on the ballot for the 2024 general election.

In January 2023, members of the Sarasota County delegation approved placing the ordinance on its agenda, introducing a bill to permit the referendum during the 2023 legislative session. That bill, introduced by Rep. Fiona McFarland, now resides in the House Ways and Means Committee.

“On Wednesday, March 29, House Bill 923, creating the Town of Siesta Key, passed unanimously in the House Local Administration, Federal Affairs & Special Districts Subcommittee,” said Save Siesta Key Chairman Tim Hensey, who along with fellow Siesta Key resident Tracy Jackson is leading the incorporation effort. “While we still have several stops to go before this becomes law, we are cautiously optimistic that the Legislature will grant what all citizens deserve, the opportunity to vote.”

Most of Siesta Key is in unincorporated Sarasota County, and for years some residents have complaIned of neglect by Sarasota County government. The tipping point, said resident and activist Lourdes Ramirez, was the 2021 removal of density restrictions that permitted two hotels to be approved for construction. 

Those planned hotels are currently being challenged in state court, with Ramirez scoring an early round win in her lawsuit against the county in her effort to stop a 170-room hotel on Beach Road in Siesta Key Village, approved by the county in November 2021, when it also removed the density cap for transient accommodations.

Ramirez challenged in the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings that the removal of the density restrictions is in violation of the county’s comprehensive plan. On April 3, Administrative Law Judge Suzanne Van Wyk sided with Ramirez, leaving the county and developer 30 days to appeal.

If that ruling stands, it will also prevent a second, 120-room hotel, planned for the south end of the island, from being built. Previously, a maximum of 26 hotel rooms per acre were allowed, and only if no more than 25% of them included kitchens.

Ramirez said she supports the Siesta Key incorporation movement.

“I think that was the last straw that broke the camel's back,” she said of the hotel approvals. “We've been frustrated out here with the constant county action, which was detrimental to us but beneficial to other people outside of Sarasota County. We’ve just had it up to our eyeballs, and the hotels were the last straw.”

McFarland introduced the bill on Feb. 17. Should it be approved by the House Ways and Means Committee, it will go before the full House of Representatives for a vote. Presuming Senate approval, Gov. Ron DeSantis will have 30 days to sign it into law. The 2023 legislative session ends on May 6. 

The charter provides for a referendum to create the town to be held on Nov. 5, 2024. If approved by majority vote of the affected residents, the Town of Siesta Key is created and incorporated. The charter provides for the first regular election of commission members to take place on March 11, 2025.

Standards for incorporation  

An area proposed for incorporation must meet the following conditions in order to be eligible: 

• Be compact, contiguous and amenable to separate municipal government. 
• Have a total population, as determined in the latest official state census, special census, or estimate of population of at least 1,500 persons and be located within counties with a population of 75,000 or fewer, and of at least 5,000 persons in counties with a population of more than 75,000. 
• Have a minimum distance of at least 2 miles from the boundaries of an existing municipality within the county or have an extraordinary natural boundary that requires separate municipal governments. 
• Have a proposed municipal charter that prescribes the form of government and clearly defines the responsibility for legislative and executive functions, and does not prohibit the legislative body from exercising its power to levy any tax authorized by the Florida Constitution or general law. 
• Have a plan for incorporation honoring existing contracts for solid waste collection services in the affected areas for the shorter of five years or the remainder of the contract term.

Manifest density

Barring extraordinary circumstances, a proposed municipality must have an average population density of 1.5 persons per acre. The FDOR 2022 study indicates an estimated population of 6,769 for the proposed municipality, which spans 2,284 acres in total and 2,049 acres in total land mass. This would result in a population density of 3.03 persons per acre.  

Powers of the town 

• A commissioner-manager form of government.
• Town commissioner, mayor and vice mayor.  
• Administration by town manager and provision for town clerk, town attorney, personnel and planning.
• Adoption and enforcement of ordinances and resolutions. 
• Financial management, including budget administration, capital program and public records. 
• Authority to raise revenue for municipal purposes, including imposing ad valorem taxes.
• Powers of initiative and referendum.
• Amendments to the charter and severability.
• Transition provisions, including a referendum election, initial council election, eligibility for state-shared revenues, local revenue sources, local option gas tax revenues, contractual services and facilities (including existing solid waste contracts), and the continuation of existing county municipal services taxing service units.

The bottom line

A 2022 study by the Florida Department of Revenue provided these estimates of annual revenues, expenses and countywide fiscal impact for an incorporated Siesta Key:

Town revenues 

The Economic Impact Statement submitted for the town projects revenues of $4,714,086 in fiscal year 2025.

• Ad valorem taxes (at 0.50 mills): $4,389,051
• Electric franchise fees: $283,424
• Alcoholic beverage licenses: $8,323
• Investment earnings: $20,000
• Code enforcement fines: $10,000
• General government charges and fees: $1,020 
• Total: $4.71 million*

*Does not include countywide revenue sharing estimates of $2.1 million.

Town expenses

• Local government: $3,293,700
• Public Works: County taxes plus $460,946
• Planning and Zoning: $584,440
• Sheriff: County taxes plus $375,000

Library, parks and recreation, building inspections and fire/rescue are funded by county taxes and assessments. Water and sewer provided by private provider or Sarasota County Utilities via fees by individual customers.

Total expenses

Combined town and county cost to Siesta Key residents based on the adopted fiscal year 2021 budget.

• Sarasota County Sheriff: $2,076,017
• Transportation/SCAT: $522,853
• Emergency Medical: $907,043
• Public works: $797,425
• Building inspection: $214,792
• Culture and recreation: $985,897
• Code enforcement: $28,922
• Planning and zoning: $361,138
• All other county services: $17,792,054
• Total: $23,687,141

Ancillary fiscal impacts

The Florida Department of Revenue prepared revenue sharing estimates for Siesta Key had it been incorporated during the state fiscal year 2023. There are four municipalities plus the county whose total distributions and revenue sharing would have been negatively impacted by the incorporation of Siesta Key, which would have garnered nearly $2.1 million. 

• North Port: Loss of $69,770
• Sarasota: Loss of $49,849
• Venice: Loss of $23,439
• Longboat Key: Loss of $4,221
• Sarasota County: Loss of $1,955,355

Additional impacts

The estimated impact of incorporation on discretionary taxes based on estimated interlocal agreements is a loss of $1.25 million to Sarasota County. The estimated impact of incorporation on county revenue sharing is a loss of $123,254 to Sarasota County.