Massive development with thousands of homes proposed for 2,700 acres in Sarasota County

Sarasota County’s latest master-planned community is one step closer to bringing thousands more homes east of Interstate 75.

The Sarasota County Planning Commission has unanimously recommended next steps for the development of 3H Ranch — a mixed-use project with more than 6,500 residential units, 250,000 square feet of commercial space and 120,000 square feet of office space. The development, which will stretch across more than 2,700 acres south of Clark Road and east of I-75, will now go before the County Commission.

With more than 1,000 units, 3H Ranch was approved as a Development of Critical Concern: a designation that requires a more rigorous application process with greater criteria than others. The site was also rezoned to allow for more units.

Developers 3H Ranch LLC and Sioux Investment Partners LLC — the latter of which is owned by prominent Sarasota developer Pat Neal — proposed the project in a joint venture. Construction is slated to begin next year and conclude in 2040.

“This will be a hot property,” Neal said. “It will be fiscally very powerful.”

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The Sarasota School Board discussed purchasing 125 acres of the land from 3H Ranch for a K-12 magnet school, a middle school and an elementary school in 2019. 3H Ranch's development plans include space for future schools.

The development echoes other local master-planned communities like Lakewood Ranch and the neighboring Skye Ranch. Housing will include both single-family homes and multifamily complexes across 14 neighborhoods, according to the site plan. Each neighborhood will have its own focal “neighborhood center,” which will include either parks and recreation areas or small commercial centers.

The development will include 447 acres of preserved space for native animal habitats, wetlands, wildlife corridors and other natural components. The county’s 2050 Comprehensive Plan typically requires designated village developments to reserve 50% of land as open space, but as a Clark Road Property, 3H Ranch was eligible to reduce the requirement to 33% with proof that the space will provide the same ecological benefit.

The commission approval also exempted 3H Ranch from a standard 500-foot greenbelt buffer requirement, which drew criticism from the public.

Speakers found the proposed greenbelt buffers — which, per the project plan, could span as long as 50 feet or as little as zero feet — insufficient in separating 3H Ranch from nearby neighborhoods. Residents of the Serenoa community were particularly vocal about the buffer, as they felt development too close to Ibis Street would burden the usually quiet area with noise and traffic.

“It’s a rural road,” said Kristin Fanburg, a Serenoa resident. “Losing that buffer, we lose that.”

Ibis Street — a two-lane road — is the lone entry point to Serenoa, and per 3H’s development plan, it could serve as an access road for construction vehicles. Residents cautioned that large trucks on the road already inhibit neighborhood drivers and cyclists, and additional congestion would make navigating and leaving the neighborhood difficult.

Joe Aquaro, a Serenoa resident, said a restricted exit could pose a serious safety issue, and he encouraged the commission to prohibit construction access to the road.

“We do not have the infrastructure to get us out of there in time if we need to get out of there,” Aquaro said. “It’s the base thing that you could offer us.”

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Questions about potentially widening or improving Ibis Street were ultimately shut down, as the street is as built out as county guidelines allow.

Planning commission approval included some stipulations from planning staff, which ranged from restrictions on the number of allowable units to preserved acreage guidelines to ensure an ecological benefit. Commissioner John LaCivita said 3H Ranch’s included green space will provide much-needed vibrancy and nature to the area.

“Mr. Neal’s going to make that a better place from what it is now,” LaCivita said. “It’s kind of a dead property from an ecological standpoint.”

Contact Herald-Tribune Growth and Development Reporter Heather Bushman at hbushman@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @hmb_1013.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Massive 3H Ranch development moves forward in Sarasota County