Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Earle Kimel STAFF WRITER
December 10, 2000 -- Pleas to fast-track plans for county water service were mixed in with overall praise for the Nokomis Center Revitalization Plan at Thursday night's meeting of the Sarasota County Planning Commission.
The residents set 10 major priorities in a yearlong planning process.
"No. 1 on the list is water and sewer," said resident Patrick McCarthy, who also said many longtime Nokomis residents don't want to see the area change too much.
William Fitzgerald said he was happy to see a plan in place. The 15-year resident said Nokomis has been neglected by Sarasota County officials for too long.
Installation of water and sewer lines, waterway dredging, park and public land improvements and sidewalk construction are key elements of the plan.
It also establishes specific commercial areas and cleans up zoning inconsistencies along U.S 41 and Colonia Lane.
Costs for many of the proposed improvements have not yet been determined.
Planning Commissioner Joseph Barbetta said he hoped the county would find ways to provide tax credits and other incentives to kindle redevelopment of the Nokomis town center.
"What do you need to get the ball rolling?" he asked planner Sarah Blanchard.
Blanchard said some improvements will be piggybacked on projects already scheduled, such as the planned widening of U.S. 41 and improvements of the Colonia Lane intersection.
The county will also try to get federal Community Development Block Grant money for blighted areas to help pay for water and sewer lines, though the plan also calls for a special assessment district so residents can pay their fair shares.
The commission only heard public comment Thursday night. They will continue deliberation and make a recommendation to the Sarasota County Commission at its Jan. 18 meeting.
In other action:
* The commission unanimously approved a 200-unit expansion of Stay- N-Play RV Resort to 598 RV sites. The board did not approve a request by Stay-N-Play attorney Michael Furen to increase the number of park model mobile homes from 100 to 200, nor did it approve a request to allow year-round occupancy of 50 park models.
* Changed the starting time for its meetings to 6:30 p.m., effective in January.
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