Neighbors of proposed development urging big turnout
At 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 3, the Sarasota County Planning Commission is scheduled to hold its public hearing on the mixed-use and residential proposals for the Cassia Cay project, located at 7914 S. Tamiami Trail.
The session will be held in the chambers of the County Administration Center, located at 1660 Ringling Blvd. in downtown Sarasota.
Copies of the developer’s petitions and supporting documents will be available on the Planning Commission’s webpage by Friday, Oct. 28, staff has notified interested persons, who relayed that information to The Sarasota News Leader.
The developer is seeking the rezoning of the site to allow for a mixed-use development on 18.42 acres — with one building as tall as 49 feet — and a 13.75-acre, multi-family residential community on Little Sarasota Bay, county Planning and Development Services Department records show. The former would encompass 170,000 square feet of commercial space, up to 40,000 square feet of office space and 120 residential units, according to the application submitted to the county in February.
Buildings proposed for the latter part of the project would be 45, 56 and 68 feet with a total of 98 units, the application says. A special exception will be necessary for those structures to exceed the height allowed by the current zoning of the property, the application notes.
Residents of the nearby Pelican Cove neighborhood are hoping for a large turnout at the Planning Commission hearing, the News Leader has learned. The goal, according to an email from one of the Pelican Cove residents that was shared with the News Leader, encourages “citizens [to] express their concerns about traffic, overdevelopment, loss of natural environment, and other issues.”
Cassia Cay would be built about 2 miles south of the proposed
Siesta Promenade project, which would be built at the intersection of U.S. 41 and Stickney Point Road.