Sarasota County

Sarasota County Commissioners said they were reacting to a steady barrage of concerns from residents over the impact of the proposed developments.

The Sarasota County Commission voted unanimously to add a referendum to fund the Environmentally Sensitive Lands Protection Program through 2049. It'll need a simple majority of votes to pass.

What began as a controversial land deal in The Meadows has escalated into a wider fight over governance, communication and control of the community’s future.

The policy would restrict protests on school property, or during the school day, by staff and students.

A shortfall looms while the county's tax collector seeks a 52% budget increase.

A Sarasota County judge dismissed a legal challenge to a controversial Siesta Key land swap, clearing the way for a 5,000-square-foot home to be built on a county-owned parcel originally purchased for preservation.

The largest private landowner in the district would control its own local government to finance and oversee future expansions of the shopping hub, largely composed of commercial retail around the mall and rowing park.

A proposed land swap is now on hold after Siesta Key activist Lourdes Ramirez filed a legal challenge alleging violations of county development codes and improper disposal of public land.

Local officials, attorneys and community leaders gathered in Venice to warn that state preemption and developer influence have eroded meaningful local control over growth, citing laws like SB 180 that limit regulation and weaken environmental protections.

Sarasota County’s bid to end a years-long legal battle over beach access on Siesta Key might have backfired, igniting a new lawsuit and allegations of a costly giveaway of taxpayer-owned parkland.

On "The Florida Roundup," Sarasota County Schools Superintendent Terry Connor and Politico's Andrew Atterbury gave insight into these changes and how they may affect public schools.

All state lawmakers representing Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties voted for the “Schools of Hope” expansion . Now that a Miami-based charter operator has filed early notices to occupy several local schools, most of those lawmakers have declined to answer questions about the law or its local impacts.