Siesta Key residents strongly oppose new hotels for low-key Sarasota Co. barrier island

The hundreds of Siesta Key residents who had a chance recently to let developers know just what they thought of the latest proposals for two new hotels on the low-key barrier island didn't pull any punches.

"You are ruining Siesta Key," one person said.

Another asked how the developer's agents sleep at night knowing the strong opposition to the project on Siesta Key.

"Almost universally people are opposed to these hotel developments for a variety of reasons and one has to ask the question why would you be moving against the interests of almost everybody on the key," John Doherty said. "If you think that we are maybe somewhat irritable, it is because the people are being trampled on based on interest of just a few."

Hundreds of people tuned in to two Siesta Key virtual community workshops hosted by developers of two midrise hotel towers proposed for Siesta Key Village.

Residents participating in the workshops overwhelmingly rejected the proposals, often in contentious hypotheticals directed toward the agents for the two development groups.

Engineering and planning firm Kimley-Horn and influential real estate attorney Bill Merrill represented both development groups during the two sperate meetings.

Benderson Development has proposed the 147-room hotel on Calle Menorca and SKH 1 LLC has proposed the 163-room hotel on Calle Miramar.

While the majority of the residents kept a civil tone, the deep-seated opposition sometimes boiled over because the hotels would be a sharp departure from the development approach for the island that has been in place for decades.

The commercial property on Sarasota County's world-famous Siesta Key currently consists of mostly one-, two- and three-story buildings, confined to roughly 45 acres. But if developers can convince four county commissioners to rewrite parts of Sarasota County's growth plan regarding barrier islands and coastal area protection, the popular beach community could soon be home to an 85-foot-high hotel and an 80-foot-high hotel mid-block in the busy tourist destination.

A height limit of 35-feet has precluded taller buildings for decades, and a development cap of 26-rooms per acre has discouraged hotel development since the 1970s. While current zoning codes allow for special exceptions to the height limit, hotel developers now want to eliminate the cap, allowing as many rooms as it can fit inside a permitted structure.

The most recent development proposals follow a 2021 change to the county's development code that a Sarasota judge last year determined violated the county's growth plan. Those hotel approvals sparked a backlash on Siesta Key that led to a the successful legal challenge, as well as a grassroots movement to incorporate the barrier island into its own town. The movement failed in the Legislature.

Previous coverage from 2021: Disputed Siesta Key hotel project moves ahead after Sarasota County Commission removes hotel room cap

Changing the growth plan

The new hotel development proposals appear tailored to avoid legal challenges by changing the growth policy the Sarasota County judge ruled the previous proposals violated.

Several other policies, including one that discourages hotel development in hurricane-vulnerable evacuation zones such as the one encompassing Siesta Key, would be erased, making the island a favored place for hotels, according to the draft growth plan policies.

The density cap for hotel rooms would also be removed countywide.

The policy changes would also attempt to cap the total allowed hotel usage to 15% of the total commercial land on Siesta Key, or about 6.6 acres of property. The two hotel sites currently proposed would total about two acres and another developer has 2.15 acres of property approved for a special exception in 2022 for a hotel.

Dave Balot, a Sarasota County resident, had attempted to modify the growth plan for his hotel proposal on Midnight Pass Road with a 52-unit cap for Siesta Key after the judge's ruling on Sarasota County's growth plan. However, his proposal was rejected by Sarasota County commissioners last year in favor of the approach sought by Benderson Development.

Over the two meetings last week, more than 100 questions were submitted in writing and dozens of people commented on the attempt to rewrite the growth policies that effectively froze development limitations on Siesta Key at what was allowed in 1989.

Another comment asked the developer's agents to provide definitions for the words greed and avarice.

However, the majority of the comments were focused on traffic and safety concerns. In particular residents sought reassurance that a detailed traffic study would be completed prior to the hotel being approved.

Siesta Key has constrained roads that often back up during peak times with little space for improvement. There are also just two bridges on and off the eight-mile-long island.

Several residents sought reassurances that Siesta Key's unique traffic situation would be considered in the methodology for a required traffic study. Others wanted that traffic study to focus on the cumulative impact, not just the amount of traffic generated on site by the project.

The developers' agents at both workshops noted they would do what was required by Sarasota County planners.

More: Developers avoid court costs, leaving Sarasota taxpayers with the bill in Siesta Key suit

Lourdes Ramirez, a Siesta Key resident who challenged the hotel proposals in court and won, spoke at both workshops. After the sessions she said she was grateful for the large turnout, but left unimpressed with the responses received.

She said most did not provide residents with answers, often with the comment that it was too early in the process. She pointed to the previous Siesta Key workshops from 2021 where resident participation was also high with dozens of comments, suggestions and opposition.

She said nothing changed as a result of those comments in the final proposal that was approved by the County Commission in 2021.

"I didn't expect real answers," she said, noting the workshops were required of developers. "It is a way for them to check a box. There was not any real discussion."

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Siesta Key hotel proposals find skeptical, hostile audience at meeting