The long-simmering fight over the former Gulf Gate Executive Golf Course is finally heading to a decisive vote. On February 10, the Sarasota County Commission is scheduled to take up the future of the 49-acre property, a rare chunk of open land that has neighbors and developers staring each other down across the fairway that used to be.
Residents and environmental groups are urging the county to buy the land and either lock it in as permanent greenspace or convert it into a stormwater treatment site to reduce neighborhood flooding and protect Sarasota Bay. Developers already hold entitlements for roughly a 100-home subdivision, and the property has changed hands several times since the golf course closed, leaving nearby homeowners worried that this time the bulldozers really will roll. The upcoming meeting could finally settle a years-long tug of war over whether the land stays open or turns into new housing.
As reported by WWSB, the commission is expected to decide whether to pursue a county purchase or allow existing project approvals to stand so developers can move ahead. Coverage by FOX 13 Tampa Bay has spotlighted neighbors’ worries about repeat flooding, lingering red tide impacts and declining water quality, and noted Commissioner Joe Neunder’s call for the county to study a potential acquisition as a regional stormwater asset…