Siesta Key hotel developer alleges unequal treatment by Sarasota County officials

A Siesta Key hotel landowner has taken Sarasota County to court over proposed changes to the county's growth policies that would allow hotels to be built on the barrier island but exclude the one he has proposed for his property.

Dave Balot, who wants to build a 112-room hotel on Siesta Key near Midnight Pass Road, argues his experience shows that smaller developers do not get equal treatment from Sarasota County compared with larger ones.

Balot, who is also an investor in an existing hotel on Siesta Key, traces his allegations in the suit to the County Commission's initial approval of his new hotel project by a 5-0 vote in 2022. Commissioners similarly approved two other projects for about 300 hotel rooms on the popular barrier island beach destination in 2021.

Though Balot's development wasn't challenged in court, the two others were. As the legal challenges played out over months, Balot argued county officials should have processed his hotel development application under the rules in effect at the time.

Instead, the county put his application on hold. After losing in court last August, the County Commission rescinded the development code changes underlying the three big hotels approved in 2021.

While Balot says he tried repeatedly without success over a period of months to meet with county officials to get his hotel plan back on track, Benderson Development − a nationally known shopping center developer that has also proposed a Siesta Key hotel − had no such difficulties in getting an audience.

By the end of 2023, the County Commission had authorized county staff to work with Benderson Development on changing the county's growth management policy needed to allow its 147-room hotel in Siesta Key Village. That same policy would also preclude Balot from building the hotel he proposed after Benderson amended their plans in the spring, according to Balot's lawsuit.

"All I can really say is, this is not my playing field and unlike the actual players, I seem to be asked to sit the bench," Balot told the Herald-Tribune. "Do I think that is fair? No."

Previous coverage: Sarasota County Commission supports Benderson over other Siesta Key hotel proposals

Sarasota County in another legal battle over Siesta Key hotel proposal

Though Sarasota County officials do not comment on pending litigation, court documents show the county attorney's office disputed Balot's arguments while also citing procedural issues with the suit.

Deputy County Attorney David Pearce argued that Balot was aware of the two lawsuits filed against the county's development code, therefore the approval of the his 112-room project did not create vested rights.

Today, Balot's hotel cannot be built without violating the county's growth policies, the county argued in it's response to the complaint, as it currently calls for more than 26 rooms per acre.

"If a property owner had good reason to believe that government policy might change, reliance on the status quo is not possible," Pearce wrote in the lawsuit.

A county spokeswoman rejected Balot's other claim that Sarasota County officials give some developers preferential treatment.

"Planning and Development Services staff regularly meet with professionals, property owners, neighborhood representatives or those who need access to PDS, on a variety of topics," said Sara Nealeigh, Sarasota County media relations officer. "Those seeking information or looking to speak with any county staff, including PDS, can be connected by dialing 311."

Siesta Key resident Lourdes Ramirez for once agrees with Sarasota County on a Siesta Key development issue, saying Balot's suit would set "dangerous precedent" and she hopes it is not successful.

Balot is asking the court to force county officials to process his development application despite a Sarasota County circuit judge's rejection last year in a lawsuit Ramirez filed over a 2021 development code change designed to allow large hotels on Siesta Key.

His suit claims that because his hotel project did not draw a lawsuit from concerned residents in 2022, county officials should have continued to process his time-limited application.

Herald-Tribune investigation: Documents show close contacts between major developers and Sarasota County officials

Siesta Key hotel development has been a contentious issue resulting in packed county meetings and grassroots mobilization against changes to long-standing restrictions over the past few years as developers have sought to dramatically raise the number of number of rooms.

By the time the circuit judge shot down the county's original changes to allow more hotel development, documents show county officials had already been discussing with developers a new idea.

Last November, Balot, Benderson Development and the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce each submitted proposals to the County Commission for how to allow larger hotels than rules have allowed over a period of decades on the barrier island.

Benderson's proposed removing room counts in evaluating hotel developments, leaving the hotel capacity to be dictated by the size of the building that could fit on the site according to the zoning codes. It's plan calls for 147 rooms on about an acre.

Developer: Siesta Key hotel proposal stymied by Sarasota County

Balot, seeking to build 112 rooms on 2.15 acres, said his proposal for the barrier island hotel regulations essentially copied Benderson's submission, striking language that would have allowed for "unlimited density" of hotel rooms and proposing instead a cap of 52 units per acre, which would still be roughly double what the current rules allow.

The Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce proposed a cap of 52-units per acre, with a max of 75 rooms per hotel project. The Chamber's proposal would have also capped hotel height at 45 feet.

The County Commission decided to take only Benderson's proposal forward for public hearings and potential adoption as growth management policy.

At the time it was submitted to county staff, the Benderson proposal would have allowed Balot's hotel to be developed if approved by the County Commission. But modifications made to it in the months since the board directed its staff to process the growth management change, would now prevent any hotel seaward of Midnight Pass Road from being developed − a change that would block Balot's plan, according to a draft policy Balot received in March.

When the county discussed the proposals last November, Commissioner Mike Moran said he felt the Benderson proposal provided "the most latitude" to bring projects forward as a reason it earned his vote.

Commissioner Neil Rainford said he was in favor of "limiting the number of transient accommodations" and that the Benderson proposal does that by limiting the total amount of hotel development on Siesta Key to no more than 15% of the total commercial land available.

Balot said he copied Benderson's proposed rules "because I wanted to leave the County Commission no realistic reason not to process my application."

He said he's flummoxed and feels the county left him no choice but to go to court to force commissioners to handle his hotel proposal fairly.

"I'm at a disadvantage now and I believe the county has treated me differently simply because my last name is Balot and not Benderson," he said.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Siesta Key landowner says not all developers treated equally by county