Revisiting Laurel Park

A comment to a recent post (Apr 21) indicates that market forces will change Laurel Park no matter what. And the way to preserve some of the quality is to diversify - at least in living choices.

An interesting quote from the New Urbanist guru, Andres Duany: "Higher density housing offers an inferior lifestyle ... when it is without a community as its setting." The sentiment expressed seems to be similar, only Duany uses the term community rather than specific types of uses. Laurel Park is connected to downtown, it is part of the downtown community but it has its own community also. Perhaps it could be enhanced by allowing other uses.

I’m not sure I understand the writers economic theory of single use equating to high price. Seems like the downtown core property has the highest price and the most uses. As you get further away from downtown (unless there is a special attraction like waterfront or easy transportation access) the prices are increasingly lower. All over Sarasota land prices are escalating rapidly. The economic theory that most would subscribe to is that scarcity (implying high demand and low supply) leads to high value and therefore prices. In the case of Laurel Park, what is scarce is property close to downtown, it doesn’t matter what the use is. As the property value climbs, the market will determine what the best economic use will be. The question many people ask: is the economic value the only value?

What is the vision for Laurel Park? This is the core question. Of course, very closely related is the question: who’s vision is it? Many different stakeholders have a vision for Laurel Park, most probably are somewhat different. The values that stakeholders hold will affect the vision they articulate. Right now my vision is that it’s a pretty cool and charming place and it would be great if it remained so. But there are undeniable pressures at work. Among these are speculation that comes with rapidly rising prices, Florida’s tax laws that depend heavily on real estate and give a break only to homesteaded owners, the location in a great city, the current economy with low mortgage rates and the low dollar valuation. The fact that the stock market tanked a few years ago and many people decided to put money into real estate doesn’t help either.

Does the vision include some of the current physical environment or would it be better if higher density and more uses were allowed? There is no clear cut answer. Whatever vision is finally settled upon there will be pros and cons, winners and losers. It is vital that all have a voice in determining the vision. If the vision is determined by "someone else", whomever that may be, it is unlikely that many will buy into the vision.

This seems to be where we are at the present time. The city staff are trying to determine a vision that residents and property owners can live with, or buy into. It also seems that there is a divide between the owners and the renters. Personal economics comes into play here. The city has also jumped the gun a bit by targeting Laurel Park as part of the Downtown Neighborhood classification with it’s code requirements.

Our hope is that many well meaning Sarasotans communicate their values, articulate their vision, listen to the vision of others and help make a decision about Laurel Park’s future that most stakeholders can live with.