Celery Fields is for both people and the environment

In the January 9th Observer, Jon Thaxton presented the rationale related to county’s Comprehensive Plan for denying the change in zoning for the Smith Farm, adjacent to the Celery Fields, for high density housing by the behemoth developer, D. R. Horton. 

It was in response to a previous Observer column by Matt Walsh who laid out his premise that a recommendation to deny the zoning change was favoring the Birds over the People, or more aptly over the Developers who reap the profits. 

The Sarasota Planning Commission voted to deny the zoning change, but the final decision will be made in February by a vote of the Sarasota County Commissioners. Presented here is an additional justification for denying the zoning change. 

Walsh invoked the rights of the people for housing and stated that the objections by the environmentalists to the zoning change were “laughable.” What is well “laughable” is his suggestion that the “Stargazers” and the Sarasota Audubon Society buy the property. 

The Suncoast Stargazers are a club serving Sarasota and Manatee Counties operating only on donations with no membership fees! 

Funding of the Sarasota Audubon is through minimal dues and private donations, and it took many years to raise the $1.3 million in private funds to build the Nature Center at the Celery Fields. 

Apparently, an offer was made to the Smith Family via the Environmentally Sensitive Lands Protection Program (ESLPP) to purchase the property at assessed value, but ostensibly a higher offer was provided by D.R. Horton. The ESLPP is a Sarasota County voter approved program designed to acquire and protect natural lands and parklands. The criteria are rarity, quality, connectivity, manageability and water quality, benefits all apropos to the Celery Fields location.

Now for how the Celery Fields is “for the people” as well as the environment, birds and other wildlife. 

The Sarasota Audubon Society has a 60-year history of volunteerism by many hundreds of local and seasonal residents and recently chronicled in the book “Sarasota Audubon Society: An Historical Perspective*.” 

The primary focus of the Sarasota Audubon Society has been at the Celery Fields since the late 1990s and volunteers have offered numerous environmental programs for hundreds of both area youth and adults. The programs and projects were greatly expanded in 2015 with the opening of the Sarasota Audubon Nature Center. 

The Celery Fields, including “Mt Celery” (the observation hill at the location), are also regularly utilized by people with a wide range of interests from endurance training to access to a quiet and peaceful environment. The list includes walks, jogging (individuals and high school track teams), endurance training on the hill (fire department), nature education for youth and adults, yoga groups, plein air art classes, and sighting and recording of birds and other wildlife.

A high-density housing development on the adjacent Smith Farm property would directly impact many of these programs and activities. 

Two boardwalks were constructed out into the wetlands of the Celery Fields, one of which is adjacent to the Smith Farm at Raymond Rd. Over 120,000 visitors from around the world come to the Celery Fields each year and many use the boardwalks for better viewing. 

Over the past several years, 900 area school children and teachers have been bussed and dropped off at the Raymond Rd boardwalk to learn about water quality and the importance of different habitats to animals and plants through a program offered by the Sarasota Audubon Society. 

Both the safety of the children and their outdoor experience would be negatively impacted with the proposed housing development. Many of the other programs and activities listed above would also be disrupted with the increased traffic, noise and potential flooding. The necessary increased lighting would also be detrimental to the bird habitat.

There is no scarcity of new housing developments in Sarasota and Manatee Counties, just look at Lakewood Ranch or Wellen Park in Venice with 10,00 residents and plans to accommodate 50,000 residents in 22,500 homes.

The protection of the Celery Fields environment is very beneficial to thousands of local residents as well as to the plethora of visitors to the region. 

The fields and facilities are for everyone, now and in generations to come, to learn about and appreciate nature in quiet, peaceful surroundings. 

Why should we allow a behemoth developer to reap more profits and diminish one of the best accessible natural areas in the entire region? Choose people and nature over a high density housing development.

–Raymond A. Young, emeritus professor and Sarasota resident