Planning Board does an about-face on Fruitville Road development

First rejected and then sent back by the Sarasota City Commission to the Planning Board after changes were proffered in the interim, a rezoning request for multiple parcels fronting Fruitville Road and Fourth Street near U.S. 41 has now secured unanimous support for approval.

The rezoning request by applicant Fourth & Trail Developments doesn’t actually change the Downtown Core zone, but rather would permit the by-right development of the site to a maximum 50 units per acre and 10 stories which, if approved, unbinds the site from restrictions agreed to by a prior applicant for the same parcels.

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The owner and developer of the property is Palsar Developments of Lakewood Ranch.

The 1.01-acre site wraps around the low-rise Encore condominiums at the east end of the block. With three other projects on that block between Cocoanut Avenue and U.S. 41 in various stages of planning, the primary concern among Encore residents was parking for its residents and vehicle volume using the only current access point — an alley at Cocoanut Avenue.

That alley would become the only driveway into any developments on the block, which includes the 1274 Fourth Street Residences at the southwest corner of Fourth and Cocoanut, which was previously denied an entrance off Fourth Street by the Planning Board and must use the alley.

All that could change if the City Commission agrees.

Following the initial Planning Board rejection on Feb. 14, Philip DiMaria of Kimley-Horn recruited colleague Bill Waddill to facilitate collaboration with Encore residents, the other developers on the block, Rosemary District leaders and Downtown Sarasota Condominium President David Lough to craft a “win-win-win” solution.

That includes providing five dedicated parking spaces for Encore, 25 public parking spaces for the city and an enhanced streetscape that exceeds city code with ample shade trees and landscaped buffers on both sides of the sidewalk between the street and the buildings. Not just on the project’s frontages, but Waddill is working with the other developers to provide the pedestrian experience around the entire block.

Waddill and DiMaria pointed to absence of affected parties to speak to the Planning Board as evidence of the success of the seven-month diplomacy effort. Representing the Encore Condo Association was its vice president, Michael Gasper.

“We did have some intense discussions, but in a good way. They were very productive, very forward thinking,” Gasper said. “We worked things out that address the Encore Association's short-term and long-term concerns and that, in conjunction with all the benefits that the Rosemary District and neighborhood will get out of this, we are here not to oppose the application, but rather to support approval of the application.”

In exchange, the development would get a curb cut off Fourth Street as a second access point — which is not permitted on a city-designated primary street — and possibly additional density should it take advantage of the city’s downtown affordable housing incentives program. Whether or not it will include affordable housing has not yet been determined.

Still a sticking point is the location of a water line beneath the sidewalk on Fourth Street, which lies in the way of the enhanced streetscape plans. DiMaria and Waddill contend the city should have moved the line to beneath the street anyway, and if the developer is required to expand the capacity of the line, it should be a public-private venture. The water line is 50 years old as it is and would have to be replaced eventually, which would otherwise be a city expense. 

Proffered is a 20-foot pedestrian area that would include, depending on location, a seven- to 10-foot sidewalk and an eight- to 12-foot planting strip “so we can have meaningful canopy trees important to the neighborhood,” Waddill said. There would also be a landscaped strip between the sidewalk and the buildings.

“Where we want street trees you have got water lines that the utility department says you can't plant a canopy tree there and you need a 20-foot easement, which works fine in Lakewood Ranch maybe but it's ridiculous in the downtown environment,” Waddill said. “Certainly if the developer needs to upsize the water line for the development, to dig up two lanes of the street to move it over (is what) the city should have done that with its $20 million of enterprise fund money. I’d say some sort of a public-private partnership is what would be appropriate to accomplish what the city wants.”

That means the developer would pay for the expansion part but the city should pay for moving the line in order for any development to conform to code there.

In addition to approving the rezoning request, the Planning Board unanimously recommended the City Commission coordinate with the developer over the water line issue in order to achieve the desired streetscape.

As for the development itself, it would be consistent with the 10-story maximum height of buildings that surround the site. The rezone ordinance amendment, the applicant contends, is consistent with the current land use patterns and conditions within the surrounding areas that have occurred over the past two decades. 

“This three-block area in the southwest corner of the Rosemary District is undergoing substantial change, and probably about two-thirds of it is going to change for the next 100 years in this next year,” Waddill said. “Because of that, it's a perfect opportunity for us to see if we can get some pedestrian improvements and neighborhood improvements while the getting is good.”