Friday, October 23, 2020

Fish Farm Deadline for comments extended


The Army Corps of Engineers has extended the deadline for people who wish to comment on the proposed fish farm off of Sarasota's shores. Apparently their email was not working, and comments previously submitted were not received. 

Here is the address to the now working email: 

 OceanEra_VEAquaculture@usace.army.mil 

From the Corps:

The Corps is extending the comment period an additional 15-days to November 19, 2020 to ensure we receive all comments regarding this proposed project. If you previously sent comments to the OceanEra_VEAquaculture@usace.army.mil email address, please resend those comments as soon as possible. You will receive an email response confirming receipt of your comments. We apologize for this inconvenience.

Deadline Extension for comments:

Project Name: 15-Day Public Notice Comment Period Extension for Ocean Era, LLC Velella Epsilon Aquaculture Pilot Project

County: Sarasota County

Comment Due Date: November 19, 2020

File Name: SAJ-2017-03488 (SP-KRD)

Due to a technical issue, the Corps became aware that the comment email mailbox, OceanEra_VEAquaculture@usace.army.mil , was not receiving external emails. 




Thursday, October 22, 2020

Calling all fish harvesters, restaurants, tourism/entertainment industries, retailers and more!

If you are a business owner/operator in the Gulf of Mexico, we hope you will consider signing onto this letter from coastal businesses to public officials demanding that they prioritize Gulf businesses, support your recovery from coronavirus devastation, and call on the government to halt the development of new industrial aquaculture facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. You can sign on and read the full letter here. Deadline is Thursday, November 2. 

The looming threat of industrial ocean fish farming in the Gulf of Mexico is growing. EPA just issued the first permit needed to construct Velella Epsilon, a finfish aquaculture facility just 45 miles off the coast of Sarasota, FL. The US Army Corps of Engineers is about to close a commenting period on the second and final permit necessary to build the first of what will likely be many of these destructive operations throughout the Gulf of Mexico.

Industrial aquaculture facilities push external costs of operation onto the ocean ecosystem and coastal economies, from direct discharge of toxins to privatization of the ocean. 



For the Gulf of Mexico, this means extra nutrients to feed the red tide and increased competition for limited marine space (and much more). The industry has its sights set on the Gulf of Mexico as the first place it wants to operate in the U.S. – starting with the Velella Epsilon project off the coast of Sarasota, to be followed by a larger “Aquaculture Opportunity Area” to host up to 5 facilities in the region. This could devastate Gulf businesses that have already been struggling to recover from recent natural disasters and devastation from the impacts of COVID-19.

Join us in telling public officials to support local and coastal businesses in the Gulf, and stop pushing a harmful new industry in the region! Sign on and read the full letter here. Deadline is Monday, November 2.

Please feel free to spread the word and contact htempleton@foe.org with any questions.


<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 

Hallie Templeton

Senior Oceans Campaigner

(434)326-4647

htempleton@foe.org

Friends of the Earth

    


Monday, October 19, 2020

Questions for Mike Moran

When it came to light earlier this month that three people running for office in Sarasota, all new to politics, had erred in accepting donations larger than what the county Charter allows, Commissioner Mike Moran didn't hesitate to condemn their acts:
“I find it outrageous that these candidates appear to be violating the very charter that they were running to protect,” Moran said in a statement. “It is clear they didn’t bother to read the rules of the charter, do not understand them, or have chosen to ignore them.” 

Mr. Moran now has some acts and omissions of his own to explain. 

A look into the Commissioner's public records reveals unpaid business taxes; unpaid intangible tax for three years; questionable and possibly illegal campaign contributions; undisclosed private debt, and the troubling appearance of multiple conflicts of interest within his campaign and Political Action Committee, or PAC, operators. 

Moran and Jack Brill demanded the Sheriff to investigate the Democratic candidates, who received contributions from their own party and its executive committee, all of which they reported to the Supervisor of Elections. Two candidates reported receiving $1,000 each; the third, reported $7,500, - for a total of $9,500 for all three candidates. (HT story 10.2.20)

Mr. Moran found the candidates' acceptance of money from their own party "outrageous." Those contributions however comply with State law, which allows up to $50,000 from parties to candidates. It turned out the party's donations violated a $200 limit peculiar to Sarasota County's home rule Charter.

The Democrats immediately acknowledged their errors and returned the contributions.

Questions about practices

Questions about certain of Mr. Moran's practices have now arisen.

According to the Herald Tribune of October 15, Mr. Moran last year made $100,000 from serving as executive director of a public/private agency that appears to use the credibility of public officials to market home improvement loans. 

Jim Ley
Before becoming PACE executive director -- apparently through recruitment efforts of former County Administrator Jim Ley -- Commissioner Moran voted to approve Sarasota County's working with PACE, the HT reported.

PACE falls under no regulatory authority; a Tampa Bay Times investigation showed that homeowners were not clearly warned of risking a "tax hit":

. . . many homeowners didn’t know their property tax bills could spike. Some PACE recipients in the Tampa Bay area risked losing their homes because they could not pay the hefty loans and thousands of dollars in interest. . . .One Brandon man’s annual tax bill jumped from $900 to $6,250.    TampaBay

Mr. Moran has reportedly helped shape the loan program which has ties to the powerful local builders' association lobbying group:

Manatee-Sarasota Building Industry Association serves as a mailbox for Florida PACE and holds a contractual agreement with the agency – an agreement that Moran helped shape. (HT)

The head of the Building Industry group, Jon Mast, serves on state boards and on the Sarasota Board of Zoning Appeals. The record of interrelationships of Mr. Moran's work on the PACE program raise conflict of interest questions. At least two Florida counties have broken relations with PACE, citing potential dangers and a lack of protection for consumers. 

The convoluted relationships extend further: Mr. Moran's accountant for PACE and another line of private business, Wendi Leach, also chairs the Florida Country PAC which has contributed more than $185,000 to his reelection campaign.

And the Herald Tribune reported that Commissioner Moran failed to pay business taxes due on his PACE directorship job.

Unpaid taxes, undisclosed debts

Soon after the HT story broke, new evidence emerged suggesting that Mr. Moran might face more to answer for:

According to public records cited by NoMoreMoran.com, Mr. Moran 

  • not only failed to pay business taxes, but also reported no intangible taxes on two side businesses which account for hundreds of thousands of dollars of income;
  • his campaign has received contributions from a 501(c)3 -- illegal in Florida;
  • the Chair of the Florida Country PAC, Wendi Leach, is the subject of a federal election complaint alleging an illegal contribution from a foreign corporation, and 
  • in public filings, Moran repeatedly failed to disclose private mortgage debt to a Sarasota businessman and political donor:



Arm's length Political Action Committee?

The connections and potential conflicts of interest thicken, as revealed by documented research into Mr. Moran's campaign financing.

PACs are supposed to have an "arms-length" relation to candidates*, yet as noted, Ms. Leach is Mr. Moran's employee in two private business ventures. Mr Moran's campaign treasurer, Eric Robinson, is also treasurer of the Florida Country PAC, which has taken in $185,000 from developers to reelect Mr. Moran. Robinson, who is involved in dozens of PACs that move anonymous money into various campaigns, recently was the subject of a Florida Election Commission complaint resolved in his favor..

For someone outraged by $9,500 of contributions to Democratic candidates, the record of Mr. Moran's actions while in public office raises troubling questions. Sarasota Republican Party Chair Jack Brill, who called for a criminal investigation into the Dems, has said nothing regarding the concerns surrounding Mr. Moran.


What does Mr. Moran have to say?

So far, Commissioner Moran has denied conflicts of interest regarding his role in PACE, but has said nothing publicly about the other issues.

The trail of public records leads to further questions involving large contributions from developers in other counties, and to how the redistricting effort of 2019, rushed through and challenged in court, cost taxpayers some $400,000 to protect Mr. Moran. His District 1 was gerrymandered to exclude voters from Newtown - the black, largely Democratic community. Newtown was removed, and two largely white conservative precincts were added to tip the balance in the Republican's favor.

Read more, with links to public records here: NoMoreMoran.

===

*Regarding the relationship of PACs to candidate campaigns:

Florida Statute 106.011 (12)(a) states: “Independent expenditure” means an expenditure by a person for the purpose of expressly advocating the election or defeat of a candidate or the approval or rejection of an issue, which expenditure is not controlled by, coordinated with, or made upon consultation with, any candidate, political committee, or agent of such candidate or committee. An expenditure for such purpose by a person having a contract with the candidate, political committee, or agent of such candidate or committee in a given election period is not an independent expenditure.

Thursday, October 15, 2020

Sarasota County move to change petition rules is met with outrage

Last evening the Charter Review Board, which has done nothing for a couple of years, voted to approve measures that will complicate the process citizens must undertake to get a Charter Amendment on the ballot.

This specific measure was developed in a CRB committee headed by developer James Gabbert.

It was proposed after the citizens placed an amendment for Single Member District Voting on the 2018 election ballot, and it passed in all five districts.


From a piece by Tim Fanning in the 10.15.20 Herald Tribune: 



SARASOTA COUNTY — Two
controversial measures expected to make it harder for citizens to change Sarasota County government rules by voting to amend the county charter sailed through a special review panel late Wednesday:

Among the proposed changes the charter amendments would require:
  • A petition cannot conflict with the Florida Constitution, general law or the county’s charter, though charter amendments already cannot conflict with the Florida Constitution.

  • A petition to be signed by at least 10% of the number of registered voters in each district in Sarasota County. 

  • A petition would need to be reviewed for legal sufficiency by the county upon the collection of validated signatures of 1% of the registered voters of the county. Signatures must be submitted before Jan. 1 of the year the election is held. If the legal review is invalid, it will be thrown out. 

  • A petition would need a fiscal impact statement prepared by the county. It would accompany any charter amendment proposed by the petition and would appear on the ballot. 


The proposed changes come just two years after the county placed some of the most restrictive measures to date for charter amendments on the November 2018 general election ballot.

Those measures, passed by voters, increased the number of required signatures for citizen petitions and imposed a narrow deadline for petition signatures to qualify for future initiatives.

The measures to double the number of citizen signatures to qualify for a ballot amendment came at the instigation of Commissioner Mike Moran, who initiated Board discussion at the July 10, 2018 meeting (start at the 2 hr 19 minute mark). The Board quickly adopted new language and got the measure on the Nov. 2018 election ballot.

Many who opposed the Board's doubling of required signatures said it will make new citizen amendments virtually impossible.


More:




The broadcast of the 10.14.20 meeting was NOT clearly advertised. No one was able to offer input from a remote location. Several citizens did attend in person and spoke. The meeting can be seen at the link below:




Monday, October 12, 2020

Eliminating density restrictions just one concern with 3 Siesta Key hotels

Three Hotels Proposed for Siesta Key

Location of 2 proposed hotels at intersection of Beach Rd and Calle Miramar

Two Proposed Hotels in Siesta Village – Image Courtesy Sarasota county  —  

Three hotels are being proposed for Siesta Key,  two in Siesta Key Village and one near the south bridge.   All building proposals plan for over 100 rooms of Transient (nightly) Accommodations, exceeding existing limitations.  Two of the hotels would exceed the 35-foot height restriction.

None of these hotels, as proposed, are legal under current zoning regulations.  All proposals also violate the two critical barrier island protections prohibiting an increase in density and intensity of property use.  These hotels can only be built if the County Commissioners grant special exceptions and amendments to current zoning and regulations.

The adjacent picture (image courtesy of Sarasota County) shows the location of the two proposed Village hotels, which are side by side.

Redevelopment of Siesta Key Resort

The first Village hotel is an expansion of Mike Holderness’ Siesta Key Resort on Ocean Blvd. from 55 rooms to 170 rooms.  The buildings would adhere to the 35-foot height regulation.

 View plans for this expansion on the Sarasota County web site.

New Hotel on Calle Miramar

Robert Anderson is proposing the second Village hotel with its entrance on Calle Miramar.  This hotel would sit on the vacant UPS store lot and an adjacent empty lot on Beach Road, and three lots behind them on Calle Miramar.  A 170-room, 100-foot building would replace existing single-story buildings.

View plans for the Beach Road hotel on the County web site.

Hotel near South Bridge

The third hotel, proposed by Gary Kompothecras, is located near Siesta Key’s South Bridge on Old Stickney Point and Peacock Roads.  This hotel would be a new 120-room, 100-ft building. A separate parking garage would provide some parking for the hotel.

View plans for the South Bridge hotel on the County web site.

How this will impact the Key?

These proposed hotels will add hundreds more cars driving daily on and off Siesta Key (in addition to extra traffic from the approved Promenade Hotel at US 41 and Stickney Point.)  Beach Access #5, in the Village, and beach access #12 near the Stickney Point Bridge will be overwhelmed with hundreds of extra visitors. Added transient accommodations will increase traffic, pedestrian, and beach congestion – how much can one little island absorb?

Another key component in the hotel proposals is a change to the County definition of Transient Accommodations.  Currently, for the barrier islands, including Siesta Key, Transient Accommodations are limited to 13 rooms/acre or 26 rooms/acre without a kitchen.  These hotel proposals include changes to zoning regulations that eliminate any restriction or allow much higher density.  More than 100 rooms per acre are proposed for each of the three hotels.   Proposals specifically state that certain property on Siesta Key may be developed “to contain transient accommodations which exceed the density restrictions of the zoning regulations.” This opens the flood gates for similar proposals on other Siesta Key commercial property.

Some Siesta Key Residents have asked what people can rely on when making a purchasing decision, if the Comprehensive Plan, Sarasota zoning code, and the SKOD regulations can be changed at a request for personal gain.  What protection can homeowners count on from the County?

Siesta Key Association continues to oppose special exceptions, variances, and amendments to the Sarasota County Comprehensive Plan, Unified Development Code (UDC), or Siesta Key Overlay District (SKOD) for current and future development projects that increase the density, or intensity of property use on Siesta Key.

Current Hotel Status

Pre-applications have been submitted to the County Planning Department and comments returned on two of the projects.  No formal applications have been submitted; no public hearings have been scheduled.   If you have thoughts about the hotel proposals, you can voice them to the County Commissioners at commissioners@scgov.net.

Read extensive articles on hotel proposals:

 Sarasota News Leader:   South Bridge HotelCalle Miramar and South Bridge Hotel ProposalsCalle Miramar Hotel

The recent filings of preliminary applications for two new 80-plus-feet-tall hotels on Siesta Key will encompass more than land development considerations, The Sarasota News Leader has learned.

Each proposal calls for major changes to the Sarasota County Unified Development Code (UDC), which contains all the land development and zoning regulations. Each application also proposes a modification of the county’s Future Land Use policy that applies to residential density on the barrier islands.  SNL 7.23.20

Siesta Sands:   Calle Miramar HotelSouth Bridge Hotel

Herald Tribune: Developers look skyward on Siesta

Check back on the SKA site for further information on these hotel projects.

 

Thursday, October 8, 2020

UPDATE: MORE time to take a stand against fish farming

The comment period has been extended to Nov. 4!!

The Virtual Hearing was successful in getting the Army Corps (USACE) to open a Comment Period on the construction permit for the Velella Epsilon Fish Farm off Sarasota’s coast.

Please send comments to the Army Corps expressing your objections to the permit and requesting a public hearing at the email below by Nov. 4. Comments “must state the specific reasons for requesting the public hearing”:

COMMENTS regarding the potential authorization of the work proposed should be submitted in writing to the attention of the District Engineer through the Tampa Permits Section, 10117 Princess Palm Avenue, Suite 120, Tampa, Florida 33610-8302 or preferably by electronic mail at: OceanEra_VEAquaculture@usace.army.mil within 30 days from the date of this notice (i.e. November 4, 2020).
 
The decision whether to issue or deny this permit application will be based on the information received from this public notice and the evaluation of the probable impact general navigation pursuant to Section 10 of the RHA.
 
QUESTIONS concerning this application should be directed to the project manager, Katy Damico, in writing at the Tampa Permits Section, 10117 Princess Palm Avenue, Suite 120, Tampa, Florida 33610-8302 or preferably by electronic mail at : OceanEra_VEAquaculture@usace.army.mil or, by telephone at (813) 769-7076 or (813) 467-6603.


      Submit your comments now thru November 4


=======


There's still time to speak out!

There are a few more days for the public to add thoughts and voices to the overwhelming opposition to offshore fish farming near Sarasota's beaches. (Sample testimony)


Submit your comments now - open through Oct. 14.

=====


LTE of 9.21.20 in the Herald Tribune


The federal government recently moved to speed the development of industrial fish farming in the Gulf of Mexico by designating an “aquaculture opportunity area.”

But what “opportunity” is it really creating?


Offshore aquaculture consists of floating pens filled with tens of thousands of fish – and waste, excess feed and various chemicals freely polluting the surrounding environment. 



When those facilities are damaged during extreme weather, they can rupture, allowing the fish to escape and disrupt our local ecosystems.





If this isn’t enough, the Army Corps of Engineers is poised to issue a permit for a new fish farming facility in federal waters off Sarasota called Velella Epsilon, without making the application public. This comes in spite of strong opposition from Sarasota, Holmes Beach and Sanibel.


The facility may increase red tide, and pollute beaches and waters that are the backbone of our local economy.


On Sept. 30, a coalition of residents, government officials, business owners and environmentalists will participate in a virtual people’s hearing to give the public a voice in the permitting process, and make our opposition loud and clear.


Register to speak here


Submit audio, video and written statements

 

Dr. Neal Schleifer, Sarasota

Audubon's Dubi: Quad Parcels are Public Lands Forever

A letter from Jeanne Dubi of Sarasota Audubon -





Audubon has set up a special account for the restoration of the Quad Parcels. 

Saturday, October 3, 2020

Two Quads Agreements set for County Approval October 6

 


This Tuesday, Oct. 6, a plan for the Quads parcels at the Celery Fields comes before the Board for approval. It's a plan that contains two Agreements: one places perpetual easements on three of the four parcels; the second provides for the design of what the three parcels will becomes, with Audubon agreeing to play a major role.

In a nutshell, the County grants a perpetual easement for three of the four parcels:





The two agreements -- worked out in private with the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast and Sarasota Audubon -- set a future course for these parcels, marked as #1 (SE), #2 (SW) and the NW parcel with retention pond. Parcel #3 (NW) has a new fire station and about 6 acres reserved by the County for future development (at Commissioner Maio's recommendation).

Below are links to the Memorandum and two Agreements which the Board is set to vote on:

         1. County Memo explaining the background and purpose of the agreements.

         2. Conservation Easement Agreement with Conservation Foundation

         3. Management Agreement with Sarasota Audubon


Comment: The Conservation Agreement includes two "development envelopes": one allows for the construction of a building of up to 40,000 s.f. on the western six acres of the SW parcel #2. Uses for the facility are limited to government, civic, recreational, education and conservation. Earlier discussions with the community included possibilities such as a history museum, visitor and nature center, or cafe.

The second envelope allows for the construction of "limited public amenities" -- restrooms, a pavilion, parking -- on a quarter acre of the eastern portion of the same parcel #2.  

         


The Agreements are listed as Item 18 on the Board's Consent Agenda for Tuesday, Oct. 6