Binding concept plan released for 5160 Calle Minorga parcel in Siesta Village
At 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 2, Siesta Key business owners and residents will have an opportunity to hear a presentation on plans for a miniature golf course at 5160 Calle Minorga in Siesta Village.
A neighborhood meeting — required by the Sarasota County Planning and Development Services Department — has been scheduled at St. Boniface Episcopal Church, located at 5615 Midnight Pass Road.
Mike Driscoll, owner of The Fish Hole miniature golf course in Lakewood Ranch and a similar business in Bradenton Beach, filed an application with the county in August, seeking rezoning of the Calle Minorga property from Office, Professional and Institutional to Commercial General with a binding concept plan.
The proposal call for a starter house/restroom facility encompassing about 200 square feet, plus 13 vehicle spaces and room for bicycle and motorcycle parking, for a total of 16 spaces. Because the Siesta Key Overlay District (SKOD), which governs zoning uses on the barrier island, calls for a total of 36 spaces, the county will necessitate separate approval of an alternative parking plan, county staff has pointed out.
The SKOD “would strictly limit lighting design and any outdoor music or announcements” on the site, according to a document filed on the county’s website with the notice of the meeting.
The Calle Minorga property consists of 10,500 square feet, according to the application.
The material provided for the neighborhood workshop explains that if the concept plan receives county approval, “the uses and configuration developed on the … property would have to conform to the [plan]. To convert the property to any other [Commercial General] use or to expand the building, a future applicant would have to go through the rezoning process before the County Commission,” the document adds.
Driscoll and his wife, Debbie, introduced themselves to members of the Siesta Key Village Association (SKVA) during that organization’s Sept. 6 regular meeting. The theme for the new miniature course would be The Fishing Village, Driscoll explained, adding that the Calle Minorga parcel would be transformed into “pretty botanical gardens … with koi fish and turtles.”
His goal, he said, is “a very family-friendly but also neighborhood-friendly operation.”
Representatives of two Siesta Key organizations told The Sarasota News Leader that the property originally was envisioned for expanded Village parking, but no steps ever were taken to achieve that goal.
The parcel is owned by a limited liability corporation called 5160 Calle Minorga that was registered with the state in August 2011. The agent is Sentinel Management LLC of Sarasota, whose manager is Jeffrey R. McCurdy.
The land was purchased from the Lambco Corp. in September 2011 for $450,000, county Property Appraiser Office records show. That entity’s registered agent is attorney John Meshad of Sarasota, according to state Division of Corporations records.
The land was valued this year at $425,300, the records say.