Special City Commission Meeting September 9, 2024: Downtown Master Plan Ad-Hoc Committee Resolution

The Sarasota City Commission met in special session on September 9, 2024, to consider Resolution No. 24R-3272 creating an Ad-Hoc Committee to assist in the update of the Downtown Master Plan. The meeting was called to order at 10:02 a.m. and adjourned at 11:32 a.m. The Commission heard public testimony, reviewed the proposed committee duties and membership criteria line by line, and directed staff to return with a revised resolution.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No citizens signed up for the initial Citizens' Input period.
• Chris Volker urged the Commission to include Downtown Improvement District (DID) representation on the ad-hoc committee. He said the DID was established in 2008, reinvests an average of $800,000 per year from voluntary property taxes, and represents 222 businesses and 5,850 ownership groups, giving board members street-level knowledge of downtown challenges.
• Ronnie Sugar, a DID board member, spoke on his own behalf and as a board member. He said he had invested over $50 million in downtown properties, supported adding one or two DID members to the committee, and cautioned against having a 'residential activist' represent the DID.
• Harmony Cruising, owner of a Main Street business celebrating 21 years, said it was a 'huge mistake and somewhat disrespectful' not to make DID board membership mandatory or suggested. She asked the Commission to reconsider and also suggested adding an Upper Main Street property owner because that area is being developed. She planned to apply as the merchant member.
• William Waddell, a downtown resident, said the committee should be composed of committed stakeholders rather than technical experts, since the city will hire expert consultants. He recommended monthly meetings, a 10-to-12-month process, committee involvement in consultant selection, and starting the RFP in October or early November so a consultant could be under contract before the end of the winter season.
• Howard Davis, a city resident who lives and works in Sarasota, provided a draft resolution and spoke in favor of the committee. He emphasized selecting members with prior city experience, collaboration skills, open-mindedness, and the ability to serve as ambassadors; he later offered specific wording changes.

Discussion Items

• City Manager Marlon Brown presented a matrix of roughly 20 possible membership criteria and recommended that the Commission review each item. Planning staff (Director Steven Cover, General Manager Ryan Chapdelain, Long-Range Planning Manager David Smith, and Chief Planner Briana Dobbs) were available for questions.
• Vice Mayor Jen Ahearn-Koch urged adding a citywide perspective, saying the plan affects the entire city, and asked that the committee make formal votes and recommendations to the Commission, similar to the Charter Review Board and Purple Ribbon Committee.
• Commissioner Debbie Trice suggested focusing first on the committee's duties, requested a map of the downtown area covered by the plan, and proposed combining several downtown resident categories into one 'downtown resident' seat. Commissioner Kyle Battie described downtown as the 'heartbeat and pulse of the city' and supported DID representation.
• The Commission went through the proposed duties one by one. Duty No. 1 was revised to 'represent the interests of the downtown Sarasota community and key stakeholder groups.' Duties 2 through 6 and 8 were accepted with no or minimal changes. For Duty No. 7, the Vice Mayor asked that the committee be able to make formal recommendations; the City Manager said this could be handled as a stand-alone item. Duty No. 9 was split into two items after discussion: the committee would facilitate community outreach and would take a committee vote and make a recommendation on the completed plan to the City Commission for formal adoption. Mayor Liz Alpert initially voiced concern that formal recommendations could put the decision in the committee's hands, but she later supported splitting Duty No. 9; Commissioner Trice also changed her mind and supported a committee recommendation.
• The Commission then reviewed membership categories. They agreed to combine all downtown resident categories into one 'downtown resident' category; include a downtown merchant; include an owner of downtown commercial property (rather than a dedicated DID board seat); include social services; require a representative of services and activities for young people under age 40; include people who work downtown; and include frequent visitors/patrons of downtown businesses who live within the City of Sarasota. They declined to require multimodal transportation planning staff. The remaining categories were designated 'nice to have' on the application, including urban design/urban planning, sustainability/resiliency, architecture/landscape architecture, economic development/tourism, historic preservation/adaptive reuse, and downtown culture/art/placemaking. The Commission also discussed a possible nine-member committee with two at-large seats at the Commission's discretion.
• The Commission directed that the word 'expert' be removed from the application language and that a map of the covered downtown area be included with the application and resolution.

Other Matters

• Commissioner Erik Arroyo asked the Commission to draft a proposed resolution standing with the Venezuelan people in Sarasota and denouncing the results of the recent presidential election in Venezuela. Commissioner Kyle Battie spoke in favor; Commissioner Debbie Trice, Vice Mayor Jen Ahearn-Koch, and Mayor Liz Alpert expressed concerns about whether it was city business. Commissioner Trice suggested a proclamation recognizing an organization instead, and Commissioner Arroyo said a proclamation would be acceptable. The Commission agreed that Commissioner Arroyo could place the matter on a future regular meeting agenda.

Key Outcomes

• Commissioner Trice moved, and Vice Mayor Ahearn-Koch seconded, to bring back proposed Resolution 24R-3272 with the changes discussed. The motion carried 5-0.
• The revised resolution will include the agreed-upon duties, seven mandatory membership categories, optional at-large seats, removal of the word 'expert,' and a map of the downtown plan area.
• Commissioner Arroyo's Venezuela request will be considered for a future agenda item.