An analysis
In the current political environment, great plans no longer spring from the brain of a wily developer, nor do they come from an organized cabal of good ol’ boys.
Planning today is decentralized. Big plans are little snowballs of ideas pushed down a civic hill to gather their own momentum and size. Given the right conditions, those little snowballs could become an avalanche of progress. But they can also find obstacles along the way: melting in the scorch of financial heat, blocked by a solid wall of opposition or simply not finding enough snow along the path to become an unstoppable force.
Over the past several months, three hugely ambitious snowballs have started rolling downhill – plans involving millions and even billions of public and private dollars. One is a plan to redevelop Sarasota County after a natural disaster (a.k.a. hurricane). Another proposes creation of a new county utility to make solar hot water a reality for tens of thousands of homeowners. And a third looks at a strip of aging and increasingly obsolete development along Bee Ridge Road.
Each of these "snowballs" is in some stage of development. None of them may have any measurable impact on the future, but their creation and growth explain why Sarasota County "isn’t your father’s Oldsmobile anymore."
HOT WATER IN HOT WATER
Some of Sarasota’s problems were solved decades ago, but the solutions were discarded in the name of "progress." Ronald Reagan was a spokesman for the General Electric Company in the 1950s and 1960s. He convinced millions of viewers that an electric clothes dryer was vastly more modern than a solar clothes dryer (a.k.a. a backyard clothes line). The solar clothes dryer was considered so unsightly many communities banished it with covenants or codes.
In similar fashion, solar hot water heaters fell out of favor. In the 1920s, if you wanted hot water in Florida, solar was your first option. But Reagan and his ilk convinced millions of Floridians to forgo free solar power for metered electricity (or natural gas) to heat their household water.
Today water heating and clothes drying are significant profit centers for coal-, oil- and gas-fired utilities. If everybody in Florida tomorrow magically used clotheslines and solar hot water collectors, electricity consumption would fall by double digits. Less carbon dioxide would be emitted from power plants, and megawatts of energy would be saved.
With that in mind, the Sarasota County Commission empaneled a Solar Hot Water Task Force to develop a plan to "re-solar" the county. The task force met for months, trying to devise a system that would swiftly install thousands of collectors on the roofs of homes, businesses, government structures and civic group facilities. In well-attended public meetings, the task force took input from industry, public groups, individuals and associations. As always, the root issue was money. The task force recommended the county pursue the goal as a utility.
The county would install and maintain the collector and bill the user based on a meter. The bill would guarantee at least a 10-percent savings. The little snowball found a way to cut carbon emissions, reduce energy consumption and save money.
On April 14, the county commission unanimously rejected the idea. The not-so-little snowball hit a brick wall. County staffers are examining the pieces for residual value.
POST-DISASTER DISASTER
Another snowball rolling down the hill started in Tallahassee. Sarasota County – with five other counties and one city – is tasked with creating a redevelopment plan to use after a huge natural disaster – Hurricane Andrew visits Siesta Key, for example.
This isn’t a "sweep up the broken glass" plan. It’s an "I can’t even find my house" plan. The effort went public on April 27 at Twin Lakes Park. The civic reception was curious. County staff prepared for two pulses of participants – the 4:30 p.m. crowd and the 6:30 p.m. crowd. The first show was a full house. The latter group didn’t materialize at all.
This sends a message to future snowballers: Working people don’t add snow. Scheduling civic events for working folks draws fewer people, if any at all. Despite the fact that half of the county’s residential territory lies in a Category 4 storm surge evacuation (and destruction) zone, folks living in that area didn’t show up.
Siesta and Casey keys were well-represented, because those residents know they are on the front lines of this battle with mother ocean. The intricacies of redevelopment on the barrier islands are the heart of this plan, and lawyers are sure to start deploying soon. The county commissioners get to evaluate this snowball in December or January.
The fundamental issue of this plan is spending federal disaster relief money. If there is no plan, the money will be spent scatter-shot instead of for specific and itemized purposes. Once again, money is at the center of the snowball.
The plan will be refined over the summer, and staffers will take it "on the road" to community and civic groups for input. The deadline for completion is the end of the year.
BEE RIDGE ROAD
Probably the most profound snowball headed downhill is the future of Bee Ridge Road. The corridor was long a toy of micro-scale developers. A fast-food restaurant here, a grocery store there – anything you want, anywhere you want. The result was pure American sprawl, as universal and unattractive as a mud pie.
Bee Ridge was picked to be a case study for "transit-oriented design" to facilitate the redevelopment of the corridor. Civic leaders were asked to form a doctrine or philosophy for the eventual redevelopment of the road.
The stretch is attractive because it contains several large parcels, most with major parking lots along the road. The recently approved Urban Service Boundary referendum will force redevelopment and in-fill, and Bee Ridge is viewed as a likely area for such activity.
"We’re not proposing any particular proposal or development," said New College sociology professor David Brain. "We want to establish guiding principles." A public meeting on May 1 featured a panel discussion, including the newly hired Sarasota County director of smart growth, Peter Katz.
"The most effective transportation system is a continuum, from a skateboard to a [Boeing] 747," said Katz. "Much of planning is counter-intuitive, especially the D-word. Density."
Increasing density while maintaining the vitality of the existing neighborhoods surrounding the Bee Ridge corridor is recognized as the major obstacle facing this snowball. If in-fill and redevelopment are the future of the City and County of Sarasota, what happens to the Bee Ridge snowball will provide the testing laboratory.
SNOW IN SUMMER
Sarasota’s commitment to sustainability is being tested now, with the future of solar hot water in a hang-fire status.
Millions ride on this snowball.
Sarasota’s commitments to tourism, economic redevelopment and public safety in a post-disaster environment are similarly challenged by emerging public and private assumptions. Billions are at stake on this issue, if a nightmare storm arrives.
Most fundamental of all is the future of Bee Ridge Road. Katz’s arrival is a hopeful sign that wiser heads may prevail. Redevelopment of prime property is inevitable. Sarasota is too desirable to people who want to live, shop and enjoy their lives in a friendly, human-sized scale.
Each of these snowballs must survive not only the heat of summer scrutiny, but also the warm attention of political, professional, parochial and private business groups. Profit is a driver, and responsibility is a requirement, for we are crafting the Sarasota of tomorrow. Oaks from acorns grow, and cleverly crafted snowballs might prevent another avalanche of mediocrity.
May 28th 2009 - 1:13PM