We now have a very charming neighborhood with deep historical overtones that is seeing the effects of development pressure. Speculators have driven up the market price for property, housing has become less affordable and the city policy makers react by saying the answer is more density.
The city is considering changing Laurel Park to the more intense, more urban, "Downtown Neighborhood" classification in the new downtown code.
Compared to the current zoning codes, the change would allow:
- much higher buildings (3 stories @ 14' plus roof and foundation vs current 30')
- a "habitable tower" with no height limit
- smaller lot size (3600 sq ft vs 4840 sq ft)
- smaller setbacks (10' vs 30' in front)
- increased density (12 units per acre vs current 9)
- increased impervious surface coverage (no limit vs current 75%)
The City Code says "The impervious coverage standards are designed to help protect trees and other desirable vegetation and enhance the overall appearance within the yard area of single-family neighborhoods."
Is the pressure for development worth losing the charm and diversity of this wonderful neighborhood? Is hardscape more valued than vegetation and tree canopy? Will the speculators win the day with their drive for bigger buildings, more lot coverage and smaller lot size so that at the end of the day they can move on with fat wallets?
Decisions of this sort are made forever. We cannot bring the charm back once it is paved over. Laurel Park is another of the "Last Great Places" in Sarasota, one of the few remaining areas of unique homes and very unique sense of place. Will we lose this place? Will it be gone forever?
Many of the residents of Laurel Park love the place they call home. They value the uniqueness, the canopy, the charm, the diversity and the human scale. Laurel Park is very much like Burns Court and Towles Court - unique to Sarasota and long remembered by those who have visited.
Is Sarasota willing to give all this up in order to satisfy a "standard new urbanist" code? The discussion is happening now. If the speculators and developers win this day, Sarasota and the residents of Laurel Park will lose forever.
We all need to help in the effort to Save Our Sarasota.
1 comment:
With respect to tessdog’s comment on “What is the worth of Laurel Park?”, I would have to say that I agree with the writer on only one thing: the true value of Laurel Park cannot be valued in dollars and cents. Unfortunately, that coin of the realm seems to be what is driving the desire for greater density and greater height.
First, let me say that Laurel Park is in no danger of becoming a “suburban pod.” The neighborhood is roughly five blocks wide in each direction. I don’t have to get in my car to reach the urban landscape--it’s already around me. I can walk to the downtown YMCA (or any of the restaurants, movies, or other businesses around it) in about 8 minutes. And that’s just if I head north. To the west is Burns Court with its shops, restaurants and movies. To the south is the senior center, a real estate firm, the new Metro coffee bar, my dentist , and many other possibilities. To the east is my vet, my paint store, and if I wanted it, a strip club. And there is more, you get the idea. Furthermore, there are businesses grandfathered in to Laurel Park which are not in any danger of disappearing. In other words, we don’t have to become a walk to town neighborhood. We already are one.
What we really are in danger of losing is our historical character, and changing our zoning is likely to accelerate that process. Prices are high, not because of the zoning, but because of our proximity to downtown. Condo units on our border are selling in the now normal downtown price range of $500,000 to over a million. Is it any surprise that prices inside Laurel Park are high? Speculators drive the streets looking for small houses they can tear down to build a two story house in its stead. In the good old days, people of modest means bought those houses and fixed them up. Today we are still lucky in that those who can pay a little more are buying some of the fine old houses and renovating them. But we are losing more than we should.
Changing to Downtown Neighborhood zoning (DTN) will make it happen even faster. For example, the fine old, but neglected, Spanish Med house at 1858 Oak sits on a relatively large lot. In our current RSM-9 zoning, you can only build one house there. It has been purchased by people who plan to renovate it (hurray!) If, however, we change to DTN zoning, a developer could build two houses on that lot. The likelihood of saving that house --or another in a similar situation--would be much harder.
Some people, including tessdog, have argued that changing our zoning will prevent MacMansions. How wrong they are. Yes, the current houses being built in Laurel Park look big. They are big compared to most of the existing one story houses in the neighborhood. The developers of these new buildings are maxing out on what is currently allowed. If we allow even more, the builders will build even more. It’s simple. They will not build sweet little artists’ lofts for the penniless young. They will build expensive condos for the wealthy. They will not build affordable housing for teachers and policemen. They will build 3 story, 50 foot tall rowhouses for the affluent. The destruction of our existing low scale homes and affordable apartments will happen all too quickly because there are big bucks to be made in the construction and sale of those big new structures.
And what is lost? The sense of scale and the sense of neighborhood that Laurel Park currently has. As I said before, we are only about five block in any one direction. It doesn’t take too much destruction before you lose what you started with. Sincerely, Laurel P.
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