County Commission approves ‘Resolutions of Necessity’
The Sarasota County Commission has taken another step to facilitate the widening of Fruitville Road between Debrecen Road and Lorraine Road.
In unanimous approval of the board members’ Feb. 10 Consent Agenda of routine business matters, they adopted 19 Resolutions of Necessity, which authorized the acquisition of 14 “sub-parcels,” 16 drainage and slope easements, and 18 “temporary construction easements” for the project.
As a county staff memo in the Feb. 10 agenda packet explained, approximately 1.5 miles of Fruitville Road will be widened from two lanes to four lanes. Among other work planned are the construction of bicycle lanes and sidewalks on both sides of the road, and the installation of roadway lighting and landscaping, the memo said. Further, “Open and closed stormwater facilities and drainage systems will be included, the memo added, “to accommodate the roadway improvements.”
The memo also pointed out that eminent domain “may be necessary” for the county to acquire “48 outstanding sub-parcel acquisitions” within the 19 “parent parcels, including property along both sides of Fruitville Road …”
Under the heading of Next Steps, the staff memo did explain, “Should voluntary acquisition efforts fail, adoption of these Resolutions of Necessity will allow the County to acquire the fee simple interests, permanent drainage and slope easements, and temporary construction easements needed for this vital Project using eminent domain authority and allowing the Project timeline to remain on track. Negotiations shall continue during this process in the hopes of voluntary settlements being reached prior to adjudication.”
“As the Project progresses,” the memo said, “frequent communication with the owners and businesses in proximity to Fruitville Road from Debrecen Road to Lorraine Road and through their legal representatives will continue in an effort to acquire voluntary settlements.”
The commissioners confirmed that priority during a May 21, 2025 discussion about county transportation projects.
During the May 2024 budget workshop discussion, Spencer Anderson, then-director of the Public Works Department — now director of the Transportation Department — noted that the design for the Fruitville Road widening was complete, with right of way acquisition in progress. At that time — before Tropical Storm Debby and Hurricanes Helene and Milton wrought major damage in the county — Anderson anticipated construction getting underway in the 2025 fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 30, 2025.
However, an update that the Capital Projects Department released for this month says that the design is expected to be completed this spring, with construction to get underway in the summer of 2027. The project is anticipated to be finished in the summer of 2029, the document adds.
“Initial notices and offers began for the Project” between February 2023 and July 2025, the memo noted, with negotiations in progress.
Further, the memo featured a timeline related to the initiative. Among the information in that timeline, it says that in April 2023, the County Commission approved a $4-million agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) “for construction and construction engineering and inspection services … for the Fruitville road capacity improvement …”
Earlier, in January 2019, the commissioners seated at that time “established the Windward at Lakewood Ranch Community Development District … for the property located north of Fruitville Road and west of Lorraine Road.” More than a year later — on Aug. 26, 2020, the memo continued — the board members approved an interlocal agreement with the District “for design and permitting of the widening of Fruitville Road from Debrecen Road to Lorraine Road …”
On March 29, 2022, the memo continued, the commissioners approved another interlocal agreement with the Windward at Lakewood Ranch Community Development District “for the design and permitting of utility improvements” as part of the widening project. The county was to reimburse the District $118,979, the memo said.
Just months later — on Aug. 30, 2022 — the board members approved another interlocal agreement with the District “for design, engineering, permitting and ancillary services” for the widening initiative.
In December 2024, the memo said, the board members approved an amendment to an interlocal agreement with the District that increased the “not to exceed amount” from $751,960 to $1,226,900.