Published by the Florida Center for Government Accountability
Sarasota County signals shift on new development
Host: We haven’t seen anything like it in decades: Sarasota County Commissioners voted unanimously to end, or put the brakes on, high-profile developments. Twice. In one week. One of these developments is Hi Hat Ranch, the biggest ever in the county, with 13,000 homes on 10,000 acres. Ramon Lopez has the story.
Ramon Lopez: If you didn’t feel the tremors, there was nothing short of a political earthquake hitting Sarasota County this week. The county commissioners voted 5-0 on both Tuesday and Wednesday, applying the brakes on two major suburban development projects.
They quickly responded to an investigative report by the Florida Trident that showed questionable involvement of a former county commissioner on behalf of the Hi Hat Ranch mega-development leading to a sour situation for Sarasota taxpayers.
And the following day, the five elected officials unanimously sided with bird lovers, traffic haters and flood fearers to protect the cherished Celery Fields and the 250 bird species that populate the nature preserve.
First, the Hi Hat hullabaloo. Newly elected Sarasota County Commissioner Tom Knight most likely told his fellow commissioners: “I told you so.”
This after a January 28 vote by the county commission to approve Hi Hat road construction across 24 acres of county land. An ordinance should require the developer to cover the full cost, but the vote made taxpayers responsible for half of a Bee Ridge extension to the developer’s entrance. The Hi Hat development will add over 13,000 homes east of I-75, the largest residential real estate project in county history.
But Michael Barfield of the Florida Trident discovered, through an exhaustive search of phone records, that former County Commissioner Al Maio played a key role in drafting the terms of the land deal on behalf of the developer during a private meeting with county staffers in December 2024.