City ready to receive Downtown Master Plan Committee applications

Following an hour-long discussion that focused largely on meeting attendance requirements and how to go about enforcing them, frequency of meetings and whether a developer can serve as chair, the Sarasota City Commission had settled on the composition of an ad-hoc committee to help determine the future of downtown.

The issue of a developer serving as chair, should one be named to the committee, was raised by Commissioner Erik Arroyo, citing perceived if not potential bias in the shaping of the future of downtown.

“We need to stop fearing this conversation about developers and developers’ interests and individuals in the pockets of developers,” cautioned City Manager Marlon Brown. “I know we're trying to satisfy certain voices in this community, but we need to stop that. We need to stop vilifying people who are developers."

Whether or not a developer should be eligible to serve as chair was not included in the motion eventually made by Commissioner Debbie Trice and approved unanimously. The committee will have as many as eight other members, after all, more than enough to dilute any sway a single member — such as a developer — may bring.

The volunteer group of at least seven, but as any as nine, members will be tasked to advise staff on an update of the city’s Downtown Master Plan 2020, which expired four years ago. The plan was crafted under the leadership of famed planner and new urbanism guru Andres Duany, who visited the city in January and was among four subject experts in a speaker series hosted by Architecture Sarasota to recommend an update.

At least one member of the committee will be selected from each of these categories:

• A downtown resident.
• A downtown merchant.
• An owner of downtown commercial property.
• A representative of social services.
• A representative of services and activities for young persons who is younger than 40.
• A person who works downtown.
• A frequent city resident and patron of downtown businesses.

In addition, commissioners may consider selecting members with experience, background or interest in:

• Urban design and planning.
• Sustainability, resiliency and  environmental planning.
• Architecture and/or landscape architecture.
• Economic development and/or tourism.
• Historic preservation and/or adaptive re-use.
• Downtown culture and arts.

Members may satisfy more than one of the criteria, all of which are consistent with the outcome of a commission special meeting held Sept. 9 with one additional caveat suggested by Trice. Should any of the seven primary categories receive only one application, the commission may consider an additional applicant’s experience, background or interest to fill the seat.  

As for attendance and enforcement, applicants will be informed the committee’s work could last 18 to 24 months, if not longer. And as is the case with other city advisory committees, enforcement will fall on the department, in this case the Planning Department, that oversees it.

“This isn't like a lot of our advisory boards. The people applying for this board know that this is going to be a a really intense commitment. I believe that they will understand that, want to do this and are all in,” said Mayor Liz Alpert. “I think there's enough mechanism in the city that they would know that they couldn't continue and that somebody else would have to be appointed.”

Like the Purple Ribbon Committee, seated to study repurposing of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, the Downtown Master Plan Update Committee will have a city-appointed facilitator to keep the group on task.

“With seven to nine members, I think there will be enough flexibility, and we'll have a facilitator and who can alert us if there's a problem and we need to step in,” Trice said.