County Environmental Protection staff had discovered structure while reviewing aerial maps
Acting formally as the Sarasota County Water and Navigation Control Authority, the County Commission has unanimously approved what is called an “after-the-fact” permit for a rock revetment located at the residence standing at 8307 Midnight Pass Road on Siesta Key.
The item was listed on the July 10 commission agenda as a Presentation Upon Request, meaning that if no board member wanted to hear details about the issue, no comments would be offered by staff or the applicant.
With no member of the public having signed up to address the proposed permit — and no member of the board having sought staff remarks or offering comments — Commissioner Mark Smith made the motion to approve the permit, and Commissioner Ron Cutsinger seconded it.
Smith is a long-time Siesta resident.
As the county staff report in the agenda packet explained the situation, the revetment was installed by the prior owner of the Midnight Pass Road property “sometime in 2018 or 2019.” The 71-foot-long structure is located landward of the Mean High Water Line (MHWL), the report said, though it is within the coastal wetlands.
“As the current property owner was not responsible for creating the violation, no after-the-fact penalty fee has been assessed on this after-the-fact permit request,” a county staff memo added.
“The unauthorized rock revetment is in a location that cannot be authorized by [county] staff and has impacted the hydrologic connections between [Little Sarasota Bay] and the on-site coastal wetlands,” the staff report pointed out. The structure was installed before 2020, the report noted. “During high tide events,” the report continued, “the rock revetment holds water on-site longer, while lower tidal events do not allow for sufficient hydration of the existing wetlands …”
“On March 20, 2023, [county] Environmental Protection Division staff observed on an aerial map that a hedge … approximately 8 to 10 feet wide and a rock revetment between the hedge and the mangroves were present within the coastal wetlands,” the report explained. “This observation then initiated compliance case CP-23-17 with the property’s current owner. The owner did not want to remove the rocks from the wetland area to resolve the compliance case. Rather, the property owner has chosen this [Water and Navigation Control Authority] WNCA Major Work Permit application for after-the-fact approval.”
The owner of the property — the Ross Schilling Revocable Trust — also was seeking permission to install four new pipes “to allow tidal flow to enter and exit the on-site wetlands” and connect the site to the bay, the report added.
The trust took ownership of the property in December 2021, the Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s website says. Prior to that, James L. Talkie sold the parcel in November 2020 to Ross Schilling for $3.3 million, the Property Appraiser’s Office record notes. The market value of the property this year is $4,891,400, the record says.
Details about the site and prior owner’s actions
The county staff report explained, “The 19,620-square-foot property at 8307 Midnight Pass Road is zoned RSF-2/SKOD (Residential, Single Family/Siesta Key Overlay District) and is developed with a single-family residence, swimming pool and accessory dock … The property is approximately 74 feet wide and includes a mangrove fringe and coastal wetlands extending landward of the mangroves to the retaining wall approved when the site was redeveloped in 2013.”
The staff report also pointed out that the applicant had proposed removing “the landscaped silver buttonwood hedge [on the site] and [the installation of] approximately 750 square feet of native coastal vegetation as mitigation located within 10 feet landward of the rock revetment.”
The report further explained, “The existing coastal wetlands were identified as protected native habitat during the 2013 Building Permit review for the site and were to be preserved.” The rock revetment, the report added, affects about 355 square feet of those wetlands.
The report also noted, “The prior property owner had two code enforcement cases addressing wetland impacts on the property that required restoration and preservation of the wetlands. Compliance was achieved, and those cases were closed in 2016.”
Additionally, the report pointed out, “The Management Guidelines for Tidal Marshes Habitat, found within the County’s Comprehensive Plan, relevant to the scope of work for this Major Work Permit application, state that:
- “a. Tidal Marshes shall be preserved or enhanced.
- “b. Dredging and filling of tidal marshes shall be strictly prohibited.
- “d. Discourage shoreline hardening adjacent to tidal marshes and promote shoreline softening through vegetation projects.
- “e. A resource management plan for perpetually protected areas, based on best available technology, shall be submitted for review and approval by the County prior to or concurrent with the preliminary plan or site and development plan development review process.”
The Comprehensive Plan guides growth in the community.
Therefore, the report continued, “The [County Commission] may find the [proposed] project inconsistent with the Management Guidelines for Tidal Marsh Habitat, as it impacts the hydrologic connection with the bay, fills tidal marsh wetlands, and hardens the shoreline adjacent to the Tidal Marsh Habitat on the subject property.” Additionally, the report said, “The Board may find the project inconsistent with the Management Guidelines for Bay Waters Habitat, which discourages shoreline hardening adjacent to Bay Waters.”
Nonetheless, the staff report acknowledged, “The proposed construction will not likely affect the waterway’s use for navigational, recreational, or other public purposes and conveniences.”