Planning board backs city-led comp-plan amendment, conditionally approves rezoning for Newtown Gateway site

The Sarasota City Planning Board voted 5-0 to recommend that the City Commission approve a comprehensive-plan amendment and a rezoning request that would enable light-industrial development on the city‑owned Marion Anderson property at 2046 Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. Way.

The board found petition 25‑PAO‑02 — which would change the parcel’s future land‑use designation from Community Commercial to Production Intensive Commercial — consistent with the Sarasota City Plan and recommended the change. The board also recommended approval of rezoning petition 25‑REN‑04 from CRD (Commercial Residential District) to IGD (Industrial General District), subject to a proffer described during the hearing as a recorded deed restriction intended to prohibit dust‑producing and other polluting open‑air operations.

Why it matters: The votes clear two steps needed to sell and redevelop roughly nine acres of a larger city‑owned parcel that has been vacant for decades. City staff and the applicant said the change would allow light‑industrial, warehouse and distribution uses the property’s current CRD zoning forbids, and would pave the way for cleanup and redevelopment of a long‑vacant brownfield site.

Applicant and project background Baron Channer, a representative of Newtown Gateway LLC, told the board the rezoning request applies to the southernmost roughly nine acres of a 14‑acre site the city now owns. Channer said Newtown Gateway and the city entered a May 2023 purchase‑and‑sale agreement that anticipates the southern parcel will be marketed for light‑industrial uses such as “picking, packing, shipping” in multi‑tenant warehouse space. Channer said a conceptual site plan previously proposed a building of roughly 100,000 square feet with dock‑high loading for tractor‑trailers.

Davis Smith, manager of long‑range planning, said the city filed the plan amendment on its own behalf as property owner and would sell the site to Newtown Gateway if the land‑use change and rezoning proceed. Smith summarized staff’s public‑benefit analysis, saying approval “would further economic development of North Sarasota” by transforming a long‑vacant, blighted parcel into a job‑producing site. Smith told the board the site is separated from some nearby homes by the Seminole Gulf Railroad right‑of‑way, about 130 feet wide; the separation, staff said, may reduce potential residential impacts.

Brownfield cleanup, public oversight and proffer details City staff and the applicant confirmed the site is designated a brownfield. Channer said the north parcel is already under a Brownfield Site Rehabilitation Agreement (BISRA) with the state and that the southern parcel would enter a similar state rehabilitation agreement before development. He described existing environmental studies and recent borings and said remediation plans depend on final building locations; much of the contamination described in the record was compacted solid waste rather than deep chemical contamination.

Board member J. Salem pressed the applicant on the risk that a future owner could operate outdoor heavy‑dust or concrete‑crushing activities that residents have complained about elsewhere in the city. Rebecca Webster, acting development review chief planner, said the IGD zone allows some exterior work activities but explicitly prohibits “waste‑related” uses. Channer and Newtown Gateway representatives told the board they would accept a recorded deed restriction (a proffer) prohibiting specified dust‑generating or polluting activities; the city attorney and staff will draft the proffer language and include it as a condition of rezone approval forwarded to the City Commission. The parties discussed recording the deed restriction to run with the land and said the purchase‑and‑sale agreement contemplates additional covenants to protect community interests; staff indicated the deed restriction would be recorded at or near closing.

Public outreach and local reaction Staff said a community workshop on Feb. 26, 2025, drew four members of the public. Commenters at the hearing included residents who noted nearby school expansions and asked the board to ensure protections against truck noise, dust and open‑air recycling or demolition material processing. Philip DiMaria and representatives of the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation supported a separate zoning change the board considered later that clears a path for relocating the McAlpin House; several preservation advocates addressed that item but also expressed concern about long building lengths and tree protections in the later zoning text amendment discussion.

Formal actions and next steps The Planning Board’s recommendations are advisory; final approvals require City Commission action. The board recorded its votes on both items as unanimous, 5‑0. The rezone recommendation is conditional: staff and the applicant agreed to add proffer language restricting dust‑producing and similar polluting activities; the city attorney will draft precise language and include it in the ordinance forwarded to the commission. Channer said the purchase‑and‑sale agreement requires the developer to proceed only in ways consistent with the proposal the city approved, and that the developer must advance through permitting steps before closing, giving the city visibility into final plans.

Votes at a glance - Plan amendment (25‑PAO‑02) — Motion to find amendment consistent with the Sarasota City Plan and recommend approval: Passed 5–0 (Salem, Christie, Clermont, LeMay, DeLeo — yes). - Rezone (25‑REN‑04) — Motion to recommend rezoning to IGD subject to conditions in staff report and an applicant proffer restricting polluting/dust‑generating activities: Passed 5–0.

What remains: The City Commission will consider both items; staff said a deed restriction will be prepared and attached to the rezone as the condition described at the Planning Board hearing. The applicant and staff also noted remaining steps: entry into state brownfield rehabilitation agreements, additional environmental site assessments, and submission of a site plan and traffic study during permitting.