SARASOTA, Fla. — The New College of Florida Board of Trustees voted Dec. 17 to adopt a 2025 update to the college’s campus master plan, concluding a multi-hour meeting during which trustees pressed university counsel and planners on legal compliance, public notice and the uses planned for leased airport property.

The board’s outside counsel, William Clegg of Scribe Galvano, told trustees the update "is in full compliance with the legal standards under Florida statutes, both procedurally and substantively, for the adoption of this 2025 campus master plan update." He said the firm found no enforceable restriction in the record that would bar the uses described in the plan and described the document as a long-range planning tool that can be revised as circumstances change.

The vote followed sustained questioning from trustees and members of the public about whether the version of the plan on which the board would vote differed in material ways from the redlined draft used during the public hearing process. Trustee Baldonado pressed the board to be clear about which document it was approving and whether changes could be made at the meeting. Clegg said the board could approve the update before it and, where necessary, address refinements later.

Trustees also discussed an MOU with the University of South Florida (USF) and whether the master plan would conflict with any existing agreements. Clegg told the board he was not aware that USF had ever asserted a breach related to recent uses of the Uplands property and said any contractual disputes would be for the other party to raise. Trustees asked for confirmation about technical issues including FAA involvement and whether planned uses on airport-leased land complied with state and local comprehensive-plan requirements; counsel and the administration said they had reviewed those items.

The motion to adopt the master plan was called to a vote after a member moved to "call the question." Trustees voted in favor; the chair declared the motion carried.

The plan includes development concepts for an East Campus area, use of leased airport property and updates to campus density and open-space designations that university officials said are intended to support enrollment growth and new facilities. President Corcoran described the master plan as part of broader efforts to address deferred maintenance and increase bed capacity and programming across campus.

The board approved the plan with no further business recorded and adjourned. The college’s administration said it will continue to refine implementation steps as necessary and return to the board with additional details when required by statute or policy.