New College of Florida has knocked down close to a dozen large trees, including protected live oaks, in Sarasota. They were next to the site of a proposed new baseball field on the college’s east campus, along Tamiami Trail.
The decades-old trees were rooted on land that belongs to the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. Nearby, just a few yards south, a 3.7 acre plot belongs to New College. It used to be a car museum, and now serves as the primary site of a proposed $3.5 million ballpark, first announced in 2024.
But construction on that so-called “Beruff Family Field of Dreams” cannot go ahead until a new lease is negotiated, according to federal aviation authorities, because part of the field would spill over onto airport land.
ALSO READ: New College ballfield hung up by FAA
The move to take down these towering live oaks raises questions about whether permits were obtained, who decided the trees should go, and why?
“It's like preemptive destruction. My understanding is they don't yet have the clearance from the airport to construct the ballfield, so all this is in anticipation of that. And obviously they can't put the trees back," said Jono Miller, the former head of environmental studies at New College.
FAA had weighed in
Miller now heads NCF Freedom, a nonprofit group of alumni and local citizens who are concerned about the college’s direction since it was taken over by conservative allies of Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in February 2025 that no new construction could proceed on the 30-some acres of land until a new lease is negotiated, or the land New College leases from the airport is sold to the college.
Currently, a century-long lease expires in 2056, and allows New College to lease the land for about $108,000 per year. That must be brought up to current market rate, the FAA said.
ALSO READ: Seven reasons why the FAA blocked Sarasota airport’s land sale to New College
"Developers do this. They'll remove trees and then pay a fine or whatever. But it's tragic to see these trees that have been part of the campus landscape, some of them since the college's inception, just tumbled and thrown about helter skelter," said Miller, who has also been past chair of New College’s landscape committee, and the campus master plan committee.
He said some of the fallen trees appear to be live oaks, laurel oaks, cabbage palms and invasive figs, also known as banyan trees.
“This apparently is in aid of the projected ballfield, and yet the clearing appears to go much further north than is required just for the ballfield purposes,” said Miller.
New College was founded as a private college in 1960, and became part of the state university system in 1975. Some of the trees felled were likely planted by New College students in the late 1980s, Miller said.
WUSF has asked the city and airport for comment. The city said it is researching the matter. The airport has not yet responded.
The Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority must get city permits to cut trees on airport land within city limits,” said John Schussler, who retired as director of properties at the airport in 2018. “New College is exempt from city zoning and building permitting requirements on New College-owned land. This is airport land leased to New College.”
A New College spokesman sent the following statement but did not respond to detailed questions, or a phone call from WUSF seeking further clarification.
“The tree removals were conducted in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements, including SWFWMD (Southwest Florida Water Management District), to address stormwater management needs associated with the site,” spokesman Jamie Miller said.
'The boys got carried away'
The trees were taken down by a backhoe. The mangle of trunks, branches and roots are visible from Tamiami Trail, near the site of the Pei dorms, which are uninhabitable due to mold.
Another area was also cleared of trees and brush along University Parkway, to the south of the former car museum.
Internal emails among airport employees from mid-December, apparently prior to the oak grove takedown, show that New College had cut down “multiple palm trees," apparently without permission, "on the airport’s side of the fence.”
The emails refer to an area of airport land near the edge of the college’s leased parcel, toward the front entrance of the airport.
“Ski @ NC [New College] was notified by Properties and he stated ‘the boys got carried away.’ They are offering to replace the cut tree’s [sic], clean up, whatever it takes to make this right — he was apologetic,” said one email from an airport employee.
In the same chain, an email from another employee: “I don’t want the airport to get in trouble with the tree people in the City either. ... The schools don’t have to comply with tree ordinances, but we do.”
A facilities director at the airport adds: “We are already in trouble with the city over trees. Manageable at this point but, escalating … I am replacing 16K worth of trees already out of my budget which must be done by week of Christmas.”
Asked for comment, Miller said that email exchange “relates to a separate matter involving the coordinated removal of sabal palms along the property line. New College employees accidently took down two sabal palms on the airport side of the fence, and apologized for doing so.”
Miller added: “New College has an excellent relationship with the airport and regularly communicates with them on all relevant issues. “
