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Commission rejects diocesan variance to install retaining walls along Myakka River
Summary
After hours of expert and public testimony, Sarasota commissioners unanimously denied a variance request from the Diocese of Venice seeking buried retaining walls and driveway realignment inside the Myakka River Protection Zone. Opponents cited the county's Myakka River Protection Code and potential harm to tree roots, seagrass and river ecology.
Sarasota County commissioners unanimously denied a variance Dec. 17 that would have allowed Our Lady of Perpetual Help Retreat Center to install two buried retaining walls and realign a driveway within the Myakka River Protection Zone.
The request (variance 2021-163022-RL) sought permission to place 107 feet of bulkhead at a northern site and about 272 feet at a southern site, with some segments proposed as close as 10 feet from the river. Applicant engineers and representatives said erosion had undercut access and threatened safety and that the proposed buried walls—set landward of the bank—were a long-term solution to protect access. The applicant said it had moved the proposal inland by 10 feet since an earlier hearing and planned revegetation and drainage improvements.
Why it mattered: Environmental groups, conservation experts and multiple county veterans of coastal permitting warned the board that pile-driven steel walls and associated construction would sever tree roots, compact soils and undermine the soft-shoreline natural stabilization the Myakka designation seeks to preserve. They pointed to the Myakka River Protection Code, which generally prohibits construction inside the 50-foot buffer.
What happened: After staff presentations and a long public-comment record that included local scientists, the Friends of Myakka River, certified arborists and former county coastal-permitting staff, Commissioner Smith moved to deny the variance. Commissioners cited alternatives—including moving the driveway outside the 50-foot buffer, targeted rock placement in small scour locations, and additional revegetation—and noted that the applicant had not demonstrated unnecessary hardship under the county's variance criteria. The motion passed unanimously.
Key testimony: Father Mark Yavroon, director of the retreat center, described repeated erosion that had forced the retreat center to move a prayer deck twice and said flooding after Hurricane Ian had submerged the property. The applicant's consultants described proposed design changes, deeper tie-backs and drainage redirection. Opponents including arborist Becky Zarem, conservation director Mary Hardy and former county coastal-permitting director Rob Patton said the scale of the proposed walls (379 feet total according to some commenters) was excessive, risked killing stabilizing roots and that less-invasive alternatives were available.
Board action: The motion to deny the variance (mover: Commissioner Smith; second: Commissioner Mast) carried unanimously; the Office of County Attorney will work with staff on a formal denial resolution to return to the board.
The board closed the hearing after the vote. The denial preserves the 50-foot Myakka River buffer rule in this location and directs opponents and applicants to pursue alternatives that avoid construction in the protection zone.
