Officials OK controversial roads proposal for large east Sarasota County project

Sarasota County Commissioners on Wednesday agreed in a split vote to terms of a proposed agreement that would allow developer Hi Hat Ranch access through county-owned land to Bee Ridge Road in return for about $15 million in road improvements and more than $3 million in right-of-way elsewhere along Fruitville Road.

The County Commission approved the agreement 3-2 in a workshop at the Sarasota County Administration Center, with commissioners Tom Knight and Joe Nuender dissenting. Knight objected to the agreement earlier in 2025, setting off weeks of controversy and setting up Wednesday's meeting.

The basics of the agreement are:

• Hi Hat would donate 10 to 24 acres of Hi Hat right of way along the southern side of Fruitville Road to widen the road, eventually. The county values that land at nearly $3.6 million. The developer would not be responsible for the actual widening work.
• Hi Hat and the county split equally the cost of widening the two-lane section of Bee Ridge Road from the Bent Tree entrance to the Lorraine Road roundabout. That split would be roughly $14 million each.
• Hi Hat would pay the full price to widen the Lorraine Road roundabout to four lanes. Price? About $1 million.

And Hi Hat would be responsible for building a road that extends Bee Ridge from the Lorraine Road roundabout, past several county facilities and Rothenbach Park to the site of its proposed residential village.

Hi Hat’s responsibilities in the deal total about $18.6 million vs. the $360,000 the county gives up in allowing the developer access to county-owned land east of Lorraine Road. Hi Hat would extend that portion of Bee Ridge to the entrance of its development at an estimated cost of $50 million, all of which the developer would pay.

Hi Hat owns about 10,000 acres west of Lorraine Road and between Fruitville and Clark roads. On June 9, 2021, County Commissioners approved a proposal allowing the developer to build about 3,000 homes on about 2,100 acres. Among the conditions of the Master Development Order (MDO) was “The Hi Hat Ranch Property and Sarasota County shall work together to establish future access to Bee Ridge Road using the existing right of way from the Lorraine Road/Bee Ridge intersection to the proposed development.’’

But county staff objected last year to granting Hi Hat access to extend Bee Ridge. The issue came to a head in late February when Knight triggered public opposition by saying he objected to taxpayers paying $14 million to extend Bee Ridge.

Instead, the county had agreed to split the cost 50%-50% with Hi Hat to widen a mile of Bee Ridge east of Lorraine Road — a stretch that neighboring residents have complained about for years and which previously had been in county plans to widen.

Knight’s objections caused commissioners to schedule Wednesday’s workshop to clarify the Bee Ridge extension and whether Hi Hat should have access to the county right of way.

Before the vote, Knight and Neunder both praised Hi Hat’s plans and its owners, the Latimer Turner family. But they said they could not vote in favor of the proposed terms because they wanted the county attorney to review a 1928 Palmer Farms plat showing that Bee Ridge Road was platted to be extended all along.

They noted they had not seen that document until the night before the meeting.

Jim Turner, one of the family owners of Hi Hat, told commissioners: “Forget about the plat.” Even if the plat was

proven valid or invalid, Turner said the family would continue to stand behind its offer to pay what amounts to more than $80 million for road improvements.

“If you turn this deal down,” Turner said, “your ability to pay for other road improvements will get worse. You will be worse off, not better.”

Expressing her support for the terms of the agreement and the Bee Ridge extension, Commissioner Teresa Mast noted: “We’re getting a $50 million improvement without one dollar coming out of taxpayers. … From someone who lives in this district and drives it every day, throughout my entire district, I have heard no negative comments. They’ve said, ‘Why have you not done this sooner?’

“This is a legacy project,” Mast said. “You (the Turner family) have been judicious stewards of the land. I want to thank you for you for the benefit you are providing to our community.”

Added Commissioner Ron Cutsinger: “This is exactly the way planning should be done. I believe it’s a great development for the county.”

The approved MDO opens the door for as many as 13,081 homes. Zoning changes allowing the development to proceed are not under consideration, with the county moving first to solidify the roads planning.