Funding comes out of revenue from voter-approved tax for acquisition of environmentally sensitive lands and new neighborhood park property
During its regular meeting on Sept. 10, the Sarasota County Commission approved three land preservation initiatives, utilizing the county’s Land Acquisition and Management Program.
All of the items were on the board’s Consent Agenda of routine business matters. As is usual with the votes on that agenda, none of the commissioners offered comments on the individual initiatives.
The three items were as follows:
- The authorization of the purchase of a conservation easement for 13.9 acres located at 8000 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota from The Elling O. Eide Charitable Foundation Inc., a Florida nonprofit, for $56,666.66 per acre, with a maximum price of $825,000. “The conservation easement removes the development rights from the property for current and future landowners, requiring landowners to maintain the property in its natural state and manage resources for conservation purposes,” a county news release noted.
The land is bordered by South Tamiami Trail to the east, Little Sarasota Bay to the west, and the Bayonne Preserve to the north, a county staff memo in the Sept. 10 agenda packet pointed out.
“The property consists of scrubby flatwoods, coastal hammock, mesic hammock and wetland habitats,” the staff memo added. Wildlife observed on or near the property include white-tailed deer, bobcats, gopher tortoises, gopher frogs, the Eastern indigo snake, bald eagles, swallowtail kites, great horned owls, and various wading bird species, the memo said.
Among the native vegetation species on the land are the Florida slash pine, live and laurel oak, cabbage palm, Southern red cedar, pignut hickory, Southern magnolia, saw palmetto, prickly apple cactus, the giant airplant, wild cinnamon, coontie, and black, red and white mangroves.
The closing on the purchase of the conservation easement is expected by Feb. 12, 2025, the memo added.
Further, the memo explained, “While the county will acquire the conservation easement, the fee ownership will remain with the Seller,” which is The Elling O. Eide Charitable Foundation. “The Seller and all future landowners will be responsible for maintaining the land in accordance with the [county’s] Baseline Inventory Report. The Property will not be open to the public.”
- Approval of a Neighborhood Parkland Acquisition Program (NPP) Work Plan for the property located at 2.25-acre Center Road in Sarasota, which is east of the Celery Fields Regional Stormwater Project, an internationally known bird-watching destination.
The memo in the Sept. 10 agenda packet regarding that plan said, “The site has multiple structures, including a small single-family residence, detached garage, small stable and a few small outbuildings, several of which are dilapidated. The site is overgrown and has some native vegetation such as slash pine, oaks, wild coffee, beautyberry and cabbage palm,” along with “invasive vegetation such as air potato vine, Brazilian pepper, Australian pine, java plum, carrotwood, and bamboo.”
The memo added that the property could serve as an expansion of the Celery Fields and provide educational opportunities related to the history of the area. The land “would enhance the Celery Fields and the immediate neighborhoods and surrounding community,” the memo continued. Among the improvements, the memo added, could be “a small play area, picnic shelter, nature study, interpretive education signage, and parking.”
The memo also pointed out that approval of the Work Plan allows “staff to continue with activities related to the potential acquisition of the site. Funding for appraisals and other necessary due diligence associated with the Work Plan will come from the Neighborhood Parkland Acquisition Fund.” A second document in the agenda packet added, “The property owner is a confirmed willing seller.”
- Authorization of the acquisition of a 5-acre parcel located at 955 E. Venice Ave. in Venice for $950,000 through the county’s Environmentally Sensitive Lands Protection Program (ESLPP). The site is within the Sleeping Turtles South Protection Priority Site, which won board approval in 1998, a county staff memo said.
That land is home to various wildlife and vegetation species, including turtles, red-shouldered hawks, bobcats, live and laurel oak, Florida slash pine, and beautyberry, county staff noted.
A “single-family residential structure and detached converted garage serving as a workshop and in-laws’ residence are standing on the site, a county staff memo pointed out. “The structures will be evaluated and considered for potential future use,” the memo continued. “If no appropriate uses are identified, one or more of the structures may be demolished.”
Among the potential improvements on this site are nature trails, a picnic area and parking, the memo said. Moreover, the property offers the potential for connections with Sleeping Turtles Preserve South and Snook Haven, “as well as possible future connections with other public lands to the south,” the memo added.
The closing on this acquisition is expected in early 2025, the memo said.
The ESLPP and NPP programs are voter-approved and taxpayer-funded by property owners in Sarasota County, the county news release explained. They “have been instrumental” in the county’s acquisition and protection of more than 110 properties, totaling more than 41,000 acres, since the ESLPP began in 1999 and the NPP began in 2005, the release noted.
Sarasota County encourages residents and visitors to participate in land protection initiatives, the release added. A video explaining the program may be viewed here. Interested individuals may complete a land nomination form by visiting SarasotaCountyParks.com/LandAcquisitions.