County denies variance for Siesta Key beachfront home

The owner of a beachfront property on Sista Key has been denied approval of a coastal setback variance that would allow construction of a two-unit multifamily project by the Sarasota County Commission. With little discussion at its Nov. 19 meeting, commissioners first denied a continuance and by a second vote approval of a petition for the variance at 564 Beach Road.

Both votes were unanimous.

The petitioner, Saba Sands II LLC, had petitioned the county to build the structure west of Tenacity Lane, an alley that runs behind homes that front Beach Road. Among the primary objections expressed by the more than 20 residents who spoke in opposition was the variance would also have included by-right approval of approximately 4,000 square feet of driveway within Beach Access 10 to access the property.

The structure was proposed to have a combined total of 6,350 square feet of habitable space and a building footprint of 3,400 square feet. Associated accessory structures included a swimming pool and pool deck, paver driveway, and 8-foot breakaway privacy walls on the side lot lines. 

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Saba Sands principal William Saba acquired the site on Nov. 2, 2012, and in Nov. 2015 received Circuit Court final judgment confirming ownership of accreted lands that extended 37,203 square feet to the shoreline. In 2017, Saba applied for a coastal setback variance to construct a smaller two-unit residential structure extending 209 feet seaward. At that time, the parcel size was noted as 39,370 square feet on the submitted survey, growth of more than 2,000 square feet as the coastline receded. 

That 2017 application was deactivated because the petitioner failed to respond timely to requests for additional information and was therefore not considered by the County Commission.

“There's an art to this, and we appreciate how difficult it is for you to make these decisions,” said consultant Martin Black representing the petitioner. “We're trying to be a good neighbor, but we also want to ensure that the property owner is able to reasonably use the property that is zoned for multi-family purposes. The threshold is not minimum use.”

A 2015 lawsuit settlement with the county granted Saba access to the lot with no plans at the time on how to apply that access. The question to consider, then, wasn’t whether he could use the Beach Access 10, but rather disruption of the dune system along the Gulf, even though Saba had acquired the land via gradual accretion.

“The right of way is something that the county holds in trust for the citizens to use, so it could be developed as a road,” said County Attorney Joshua Moye. “We're using now as a pedestrian access way. They do have a platted access to the property. The question is, should they get the variance they're requesting.”

Commissioner Mark Smith summarized the commission’s issues with the proposal.

“It's not compliant with the comprehensive plan, doesn’t have consistency with environmental policy … and we’re building 100% on dune habitat,” Smith said. “The buyer knew the history, bought it anyway, rolled the dice, and here we are today. I also don't feel comfortable with turning over essentially a public beach access to private use.”