Housing, development dominate Sarasota City Commission District 1 Tiger Bay forum

The banquet hall of Michael’s on East was occupied on Thursday afternoon by about 125 of Sarasota’s elite players in business and politics. City commissioners, government officials and representatives from influential development firms rubbed elbows and enjoyed salmon and black olive salads and iced tea for lunch.

The venue and clientele contrasted with the voters of Sarasota’s City Commission District 1, who make up the most diverse and lowest income city residents. Nevertheless, the suit-and-tie crowd was there for a forum that featured the three candidates to represent the district on the City Commission.

District 1 covers much of North Sarasota – Bayou Oaks, Amaryllis Park, Central Cocoanut, and Newtown. It contains Sarasota’s only significant Black voting bloc.

The incumbent, Kyle Battie, grew up in District 1. A Sarasota High School graduate, he moved back to the area eight years ago and defeated longtime commissioner Willie Shaw by more than seven percentage points in 2020.

The commissioner used as much time as allowed for him to speak and controlled much of the forum with his comments.

Sequoia Felton began her campaign with endorsements from Shaw and Fredd Atkins, Sarasota’s first Black mayor. She has previously served on the city’s Human Relations Board.

A political newcomer, Felton said she was focused on the overall quality of life for District 1 residents and over development. She kept some of her answers short and did not criticize Battie head on.

“I wouldn’t say it’s time to replace Mr. Battie, but you definitely need a voice in District One,” Felton said.

Melissa Furman, a longtime flight attendant and resident of Central Cocoanut, said she got into the race because of her concerns over what she said was “unbridled development in the city,” as well as enforcement of zoning codes.

Battie has far out gained his opponents in campaign contributions. He had raised more than $36,000 as of July 12. Felton has received more than $10,000 in contributions and Furman has raised about $1,642.

The forum was moderated by Kevin Cooper - a Vice President of Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium and Sarasota Memorial Hospital Board Candidate.

Housing and development dominate forum

Much of the afternoon was spent talking about the most universal issues in Sarasota this election season: Development and the cost of housing.

Sarasota County has consistently been ranked as one of the most expensive areas in Florida for renters. The median price for a home in Sarasota is about $521,000, according to the National Association of Realtors – among the costliest 12% of areas in the country.

Battie defended the city’s affordable housing policies through developer incentives and said the issue would be at the top of his agenda during a second term.

Sarasota’s Downtown Attainable Housing Density Bonus Program allows developers to build more units than an area is zoned for, as long as at least 15% of these bonus units are attainable to households than make between 80 and 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI) in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metro area. This comes out to between about $65,840 and $98,760 a year, according to the University of Florida’s Shimberg Center for Housing Studies.

“The numbers that we came up with - at 15% - were not arbitrary. They weren't conjecture. They weren't just grabbed out of thin air,” Battie said. “There were experts that spoke to us at length in our planning department and development department.”

Felton and Furman both said the density bonuses did not go far enough to address the cost of rent. The median household income in Newtown is $23,877, about a third of the national median household income, according to the city’s 2020 Newtown Development Plan.

“Housing should be attainable and affordable for all income levels,” Felton said. “People who work here should be able to live here as well.”

Furman questioned why the bonus density percentage couldn’t be higher, up to 20 or 25%. Battie responded that it would cause the developers to lose interest in the incentives altogether.

Two questions from Tiger Bay members were about affordable housing, and both quickly became contentious exchanges between the inquirer, the moderator, and the candidates.

As local attorney Dan Lobeck wound up his question on the efficiency of the attainable housing program, Cooper asked him to keep the question brief.

“I’m setting it up,” Lobeck said.

“You don’t need to set it up. They know the issues!” Cooper said.

“I know you’re on the opposite side...” Lobeck began.

“You don’t know anything, Dan,” Cooper finished.

Battie also sparred with local activist Cathy Cannon Antunes when she also questioned whether the bonus incentives created enough attainable units.

“That’s the threshold of which developers will build and give us affordable housing or attainable housing,” Battie said. “I will take that over the alternative, which is zero, which we have been given (in the past).

Felton argued that the mere construction of more dwellings and apartment buildings would not make housing more affordable in the district.

“I'm just worried about infrastructure. There's a lot of condos being built, and people that I know can't afford to live there, so I don't see a purpose of having so many condos,” Felton said.

Public engagement, the city manager and gun violence

Off the topic of housing, Felton kept many of her answers short. When Cooper asked about the candidates’ thoughts about City Manager Marlon Brown’s job performance, Felton admitted she did not know him very well, but based on her time at the human relations board he “seemed like a nice guy.”

Asked about the city’s public engagement efforts, Felton said she did not know a lot about the issue.

“I can’t answer that question because I really don’t know what the city’s doing on that end,” Felton said.

Battie spoke as long as he was allowed to by the moderator – both to commend Marlon Brown as the city manager and as a personal mentor, and to laud what he said was the city’s transparency with the public.

“I do not think there is a development or project that happens in this city that does not listen to the public or have public engagement or workshops or what have you,” Battie said.

The candidates shared their most consensus when Cooper referenced a report by the Herald-Tribune on the recent increase of gun violence in Sarasota.

Furman advocated for more patrols by the Sarasota Police Department in high-crime areas. Felton made clear she felt the issue was not specific to Newtown, or even Sarasota itself, but was a broad social ill that needs to be addressed with more community outreach and activities for at-risk youth.

Battie acknowledged that many of the shootings have taken place in his district. The commissioner said there was no simple solution to fix the increase in violence, but it would take a sustained, community effort.

“It’s going to take effort by committee, by all of us,” Battie said. “It is not just the police department, not just one person or one community, or one neighborhood, but this entire city.”

Christian Casale covers local government for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Email him at ccasale@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @vanityhack

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota City Commission candidates discuss housing costs, development