By Rachel Brown Hackney SarasotaNewsLeader.com Given continuing frustrations of residents and visitors trying to find parking spaces at Siesta Public Beach, the Sarasota County Commission directed staff to work on proposals, including charging a fee, whose revenue could be used to provide more mass transit options. County Administrator Tom Harmer said staff would […]
By Rachel Brown Hackney SarasotaNewsLeader.com As the No. 1 Beach rankings have brought more and more attention to Siesta Key since 2011, property owners have capitalized on increased demand from visitors for accommodations — including single-family homes, Sarasota County Code Enforcement officers say. “I get lots of emails [about […]
By Rachel Brown Hackney SarasotaNewsLeader.com A June 12 vote by the Sarasota County Board of Zoning Appeals has prompted not only legal action but also a proposal for an amendment to the county’s Zoning Code that governs all of Siesta Key. With the consensus of the Sarasota County Commission on July 12, County […]
By Rachel Brown Hackney SarasotaNewsLeader.com The Siesta Key Association (SKA) has unveiled one of the key arguments it intends to make against the dredging alternative upon which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has settled for the proposed Lido Renourishment Project. During the nonprofit’s regular meeting on July 6, Robert Luckner, a member […]
By Rachel Brown Hackney SarasotaNewsLeader.com Call it a “tale of four houses.” In a two-block span, three new towering residences and one under construction epitomize for longtime Siesta Key residents the unwelcome changes that have been taking place on the island in recent years. The four-story structures at 547 and 551 Beach Road are advertised […]
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, […]
