By Roger Drouin Every time Michael Holderness drove by the Siesta Beach Resort & Suites, in the past, he thought about the potential. The only official hotel on Siesta, the property had seen more glorious days as a small, yet popular tourist mecca that was built in the fifties. Now, Holderness is working to put […]
By Rachel Brown Hackney SarasotaNewsLeader.com With one partial summary judgment ruling already having gone against the plaintiff in the case, Sarasota County is seeking a second one relating to the County Commission’s May 11, 2016 vacation of a 357-foot-long segment of North Beach Road. In a June 2 filing in 12th Judicial Circuit Court, Assistant […]
By Rachel Brown Hackney SarasotaNewsLeader.com As sand has continued to accrete on Siesta Key’s beach, more and more property that once was completely or partly underwater has become increasingly attractive to developers. Still, within the past four years, the Sarasota County Commission has remained stalwart in denying petitions for Coastal Setback Variances to allow new […]
By Rachel Brown Hackney SarasotaNewsLeader.com Adjacent neighbors refused to support the plan, and a county environmental specialist explained why it did not conform to standards for such projects. That led the Sarasota County Commission to unanimously deny the request of residents on Siesta Key’s Lotus Lane to construct a dock and boatlift on the canal […]
By Rachel Brown Hackney SarasotaNewsLeader.com Since the free Siesta Key Breeze trolley was launched on March 20, county commissioners have joined representatives of island organizations in lauding its effectiveness. In recognition of its high ridership levels, Sarasota County Administrator Tom Harmer has assured the County Commission and the public that the circulator will continue to […]
By Bob Stein Since Siesta Key is one of the few barrier islands in Florida that is not incorporated. The Island Associations and the Siesta Key Chamber are Siesta Key’s closest form of local government. The Siesta Key Association is one of the largest and oldest associations in all of Florida representing a barrier island. […]
By Rachel Hackney More than five months after representatives of a Siesta Key chiropractor held a neighborhood workshop on the initiative, Sarasota County staff has yet to receive a proposed Comprehensive Plan amendment that would allow hotels on redeveloped land zoned Commercial General (CG) on the barrier islands. That was the news from Matthew Osterhoudt, […]
By Rachel Brown Hackney SarasotaNewsLeader.com A 12th Judicial Circuit Court judge ruled in late April that it was premature for the Siesta Key Association (SKA) to seek a court remedy for what it alleges is a City of Sarasota violation of Sarasota County’s Comprehensive Plan related to the city’s proposal to dredge Big Sarasota Pass […]
By Rachel Brown Hackney Representatives of kayak and paddleboard rental companies are resigning themselves to having to comply with a Turtle Beach Park management program Sarasota County will implement as of July 1. Still, several say they feel the program is unnecessary and that the expense of purchasing “medallions” — certificates to show their conformity […]
By Roger Drouin Several years ago, Pelican Plaza, across from Westfield Sarasota Square Mall, looked much different. A dilapidated façade was the most noteworthy aspect of the mostly-empty plaza. The center had struggled since its former anchor, Linens ’n Things, closed in 2008 following a bankruptcy filing by its parent company. Then in 2012, Manatee-county […]
By Rachel Brown Hackney The vice president of the Siesta Key Association (SKA) told members at the April 6 meeting that the organization expects to need another $80,000 to $100,000 as it pursues two types of legal challenges in the effort to prevent the dredging of Big Sarasota Pass to renourish South Lido Key Beach. […]
By Rachel Brown Hackney SarasotaNewsLeader.com A 12th Judicial Circuit Court judge’s ruling in favor of North Beach Road property owners actually will help the fight to overturn the Sarasota County Commission’s decision to vacate a 357-foot-long segment of the road, Siesta Key resident Michael Cosentino told SNL. Late on the afternoon of April 12, Judge […]
