Sarasota County does developer’s bidding
Once again, the Sarasota County commissioners have voted to subsidize the ambitions of billionaire developer Pat Neal, this time proposing taxpayer funds to connect his Wellen Park development to Manasota Beach.
Local taxpayers will foot the bill while residents of this rural area are left to absorb the consequences.
This project is not just about a road; it’s about a pattern:
- Agricultural land is rezoned to residential, and then it is paved over and lost forever.
- Wetlands that prevent flooding are filled in.
- Wildlife corridors disappear.
One wonders if Mr. Neal will be satisfied only when the last gopher tortoise is erased, and when the very features that make this area livable are gone…