County rules private school's modular buildings violate code as legal battle persists
Residents along Bee Ridge Road gained a victory in their ongoing case against the construction of a school seeking to enroll 1,300 students.
A Sarasota County Special Magistrate found The Classical Academy, a private K-12 school, in violation of the county code for the modular classrooms on its new campus at 8000 Bee Ridge Road. The school has until March 11 to either remove the buildings or secure the necessary permits to keep them on campus, and it will receive a $250 fine for each day it doesn’t comply past the deadline.
The Jan. 26 hearing is the latest development in a months-long legal proceeding that’s seen residents push back on the school’s impending construction. It began when members of Sarasota East Enders for Responsible Development filed an administrative challenge, which alleges Sarasota County violated the law in approving a special zoning exception for The Classical Academy, against the school and the county in August.
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Though the code violation doesn’t address the continuing case against the special exception, Jane Graham, the petitioners’ attorney, said the special magistrate’s ruling still holds the school accountable to the law.
“We were relieved to see that the county did find them in violation,” Graham said. “The special magistrate looked at the evidence and saw that it was pretty clear.”
The school submitted permits to remove three of the 54 modules on the premises on Jan. 23, but it is unclear whether it will remove all its buildings or opt to keep them on campus. The Classical Academy headmaster Josh Longenecker did not respond to requests for comment.
Sarasota County’s Code Enforcement department has issued at least two prior violation notices to The Classical Academy regarding its modular buildings — one dated Sept. 11, 2023, and one dated Oct. 16, 2023. The first ordered the school to remove the buildings before Oct. 9, but they remained past this compliance deadline.
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Residents maintain that they weren’t aware the school would employ modular buildings, and the site plan the school submitted does not mention them. SEERD Vice President Miles Toder said he and his neighbors were “stunned” by the buildings and concerned that they weren’t up to code.
“The issue is that they weren’t forthcoming,” Toder said. “All of a sudden, people said, ‘We have a trailer park in our neighborhood. How’d that happen?’”
Resistance to the modular buildings comes in addition to the general challenge against the school, which nearby residents say isn’t compatible with the neighborhoods along Bee Ridge Road. The Sarasota County Commission granted the special zoning exception allowing the school to build in an area zoned as open-use estate, which is designated as agricultural and residential land.
According to the site plan, The Classical Academy will bring students to the campus in phases, starting with 300 students in phase 1, and eventually build six classroom buildings. The school began enrolling students at the beginning of this academic year, but it’s unclear how many currently attend.
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Toder and his neighbors have noticed a considerable uptick in traffic, noise and overall activity since August, he said. He hopes the administrative challenge will force commissioners to reconsider the school’s approval and residents’ pleas to mitigate its impacts, which Toder and his neighbors felt the commission ignored.
“The process is being short-circuited,” Toder said. “Our elected leaders are not listening to what residents have to say.”
Sarasota County does not comment on pending legislation, and SEERD’s challenge to the county’s special exception is still awaiting action in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court.
Contact Herald-Tribune Growth and Development Reporter Heather Bushman at hbushman@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @hmb_1013.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota County private school faces code violation for modular buildings
