Commissioner Smith once again had broached topic
Following multiple unsuccessful attempts since his election to the board in November 2022, Sarasota County Commissioner Mark Smith this week won the support of three of his colleagues to conduct a future discussion on requiring applicants for land-use changes to hold in-person Neighborhood Workshops.
The county requires such sessions as part of the application process, before proposals reach the public hearing stage. The goal is to inform residents and property owners in the vicinity of the proposed action to be able to learn about the details and ask questions.
During the commission’s regular meeting on March 26, in Sarasota, Smith brought up the issue again during his report to his colleagues, acknowledging, “I know I’ve tried this before.”
Nonetheless, he said, “I think the board should consider bringing back in-person Neighborhood Workshops. Time and time again,” he continued, “we hear about folks … that aren’t technologically advanced,” having difficulty participating in the workshops, which the commissioners seated at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic authorized as a means of protecting the public from the disease.
Smith also reminded his colleagues that county staff had looked into the issue after he had raised it following his election.
During the March 7, 2023 commission meeting, Smith explained that he had received emails asking for the switch back to in-person meetings. He added that he had met with residents in Desoto Acres, who had expressed their displeasure with a workshop they recently had participated in via Zoom.
During that March 2023 discussion, Matt Osterhoudt, director of the county’s Planning and Development Services Department, pointed out that the Zoom workshops as a rule had gone well. However, he did acknowledge that couple of them recently had been plagued by technical glitches, including the one involving the Desoto Acres residents.
Smith also noted that, prior to his November 2022 election, he had participated in a Zoom meeting with the county’s Planning Commission, “and some of [the members] didn’t’ even turn their cameras on … If you think there’s … a disconnect with government to the citizens, do a Zoom meeting and [the members of the body conducting the proceeding] don’t even turn the cameras on.
On March 26, Smith pointed out, “I seriously believe the time has come [for the resumption of the in-person meetings]. We’re past COVID.”
He did suggest that the board allow applicants to provide virtual meeting options, as well, such as Zoom, in conjunction with the in-person sessions.
Nonetheless, he said, “I think it’s important that our citizens have the opportunity to meet face-to-face with the folks that are proposing land-use changes.”
He would leave it up to his colleagues, he said, to decide how to proceed.
Chair Joe Neunder characterized the remarks as a request for a discussion “and presumably a vote” on the issue at a future date.
Smith replied that that was correct.
Neunder also noted that he believed both Commissioners Teresa Mast and Tom Knight had joined the board since Smith last broached the topic.
Yet, Smith had brought up the recommendation in December 2024, during one of the board’s last meetings of that year, after Knight and Mast joined the commission.
When then-interim commission Chair Neunder asked on Dec. 17, 2024 whether any of the other commissioners wanted to speak on the issue, no one said anything.
“No comments,” Neunder said before moving on to the report from Commissioner Knight that day.
This week, though, when Neunder asked for the will of the board — with Knight absent — Mast responded.
“Commissioner Smith,” she began, “I see no problem with bringing it back and having it as an agenda discussion.” Any time the board members can make county processes more accessible to the public, she added, “I’m very supportive of it.”
County Administrator Jonathan Lewis did note — as Smith had alluded to — that county staff had undertaken research into the proposal when Smith first brought it up following his November 2022 election to the board. The resulting report, Lewis said, could be used as the basis for the future discussion.
“That sounds great,” Neunder replied. When he asked if any of his colleagues had an objection to that, no one responded.
Smith ended up making a formal motion, directing staff to schedule the discussion for a future meeting, and Mast seconded it. The motion passed 4-0.