Hiring of independent hydrologist proposed
By count of The Sarasota News Leader, eight Sarasota County residents this week urged the Sarasota County Commission to pause approval of new residential developments until after comprehensive research has been undertaken into the factors that contributed to the extensive flooding that resulted from Tropical Storm Debby’s rainfall.
Vicki Nighswander, who launched a petition drive in support of that effort, told the commissioners during their regular meeting on Aug. 27 that more than 1,200 people had signed the petition as of that morning.
(By 2 p.m. that day, the News Leader found, the total number of signers was 1,227. As of midday on Aug. 28, the tally had climbed to 1,332.)
The petition, which dates to Aug. 13, points out, “Many neighbors have lost their homes or have substantial repairs with insurance questionable for many who had no idea they could be subject to such a disaster. It will take some time to put a cost to this disaster. One thing is for sure, we have all realized we are all vulnerable and there is a lot of uncertainty. For some, recovery might be unattainable.”
In regard to the pause on development, the petition asks that the County Commission refrain from approving amendments to the county’s Comprehensive Plan, which guides growth in the community — including any changes to the county 2050 Plan, which provides the guidelines for new development east of Interstate 75. The petition also calls for a halt on rezonings; approvals of Special Exceptions for development; and any modification of the county’s Unified Development Code (UDC), which contains all of the county’s land-use and zoning regulations, that would “increase density and intensity of development projects in the vulnerable areas [of the county] …”
Further, the petition requests the following:
- A comprehensive hydrology study.
The petition explains, “We need to know why this [flooding] happened, what is the extent of the problem, where else in the County are we vulnerable, how can further damage be prevented and what are prevention options? At least 3 reputable providers must be considered,” with assurance of public transparency and benchmark reports. “A monitoring component must be included,” as well, the petition says. “Quality is a priority,” it adds, emphasizing that no connection should exist between whoever is hired to do the work and any “local developers.”
- A report on all of the county’s wastewater spills linked to Tropical Storm Debby, plus a plan detailing how to prevent such incidents in the future. Further, the petition calls for protocols regarding more efforts to warn the public — including the erection of more signage — “to protect the health and safety of our residents” after spills have taken place.
The petition adds, “It seems no one anticipated the flooding that took place … We are going to experience more storms soon. Ignoring the significance of what we have just experienced is irresponsible particularly in your position as our County Commissioners. Transparency will be of the essence as we navigate solutions for the health and safety of our community.”
During her remarks during the Open to the Public portion of the commission’s Aug. 27 meeting in Venice, Nighswander told the commissioners, “We want answers, not just clean-up,” in the aftermath of the tropical storm.
In regard to the hiring of a hydrologist, she explained, “We want a very objective analysis. I think you owe that to the public.”
The ‘changes that developing has made’
The very first speaker on the topic, Brad Grandbouche, told the board members that he resides in the eastern part of the county.
“Rural living is being pushed right out of the county,” he said.
Yet, “Rural communities are wanted and needed,” Grandbouche stressed. The people who bought property in rural areas, he pointed out, did so with the expectation that the low-density residential zoning around them would remain in place.
His wife, Jane, followed him to the podium. “You’re taking wetland, swampland” to serve as new development sites, she said, noting that the stormwater ponds that are part of 2050 Plan communities are even factored into the “open land” requirements for those developments.
“When those ponds fill up, where do you think [the water] goes?” she asked.
“I love development,” Jane Grandbouche added, but “I like it done the right way.”
Applause rang out in the Commission Chambers as she concluded her remarks, prompting Chair Michael Moran to urge the audience members not to engage in such displays.
Yet another speaker, Tom Matrullo, told the board members, “Please explain why 84 out of 86 homes in Laurel Meadows flooded severely.”
He was referring to the community located at the intersection of Lorraine Road and Palmer Boulevard that has been featured in numerous photos and videos shown after Tropical Storm Debby’s rainfall ceased, with water surrounding the residences. County Public Works Director Spencer Anderson and his staff have been working to try to determine whether problems with stormwater pipelines in the affected area led to that flooding, as the News Leader has reported.
Moreover, Matrullo pointed out, all county property owners pay stormwater assessment fees each year. He asked how the resulting funds have been used and how the money will be used in the future.
He also inquired of the board members, “What do you want to learn from this [Tropical Debby] experience?”
Another speaker, Robert Wright, said he has been involved in environmental engineering for 35 years; he spent 15 of those working with the county’s stormwater program.
What county residents experienced with Debby, Wright said, “could easily happen again.”
Open land and forests, he told the commissioners, “are so incredibly important,” as stormwater sinks into them instead of flooding neighborhoods.
Yet another speaker who addressed the petition, Lynn Inganamort, said that she has lived in the area of Lorraine Road for 24 years. Before relocating to Artistry, she continued, she lived in Laurel Lakes, where residents reported fecal matter floating in the water that flooded that neighborhood following Tropical Storm Debby’s rains.
“I have seen the changes the developing has made,” she continued.
Artistry has an elevation of 26 feet, Inganamort pointed out, but its roads were flooded. “I was stuck for four days,” she said, as were other residents of that community without big trucks.
Laurel Meadows is located at a lower elevation, in the same general area, she pointed out. “They were covered with water.”
She urged the commissioners to consider the pause in approving any increased residential density in the county “until you have the solutions” to preventing the level of flooding that Tropical Storm Debby produced and can prove “that we all will be safe.”