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Sarasota County OKs purchase of Forest Lakes golf course for stormwater project after neighborhood talks
Summary
The Sarasota County Commission voted 5-0 to approve a purchase-and-sale agreement and related budget and CIP amendments to acquire Forest Lakes Golf Course for conversion to stormwater ponds and floodplain mitigation, while directing staff to use a 120-day due-diligence period to resolve covenant and neighborhood concerns.
Sarasota County commissioners voted unanimously to approve staff recommendations to move forward with acquisition of the Forest Lakes Golf Course and related budget and capital-improvement plan changes intended to convert portions of the site into engineered stormwater ponds for floodplain creation and water-quality benefits.
Planning staff told the board that Grove Squares Capital LLC offered the property for $2.2 million, supported by two independent appraisals ($2.0 million and $2.5 million), and that a seller-signed purchase-and-sale agreement is in the packet. The project is listed as CIP project number 75890; staff asked for a budget amendment to appropriate $2,262,000 for land acquisition and estimated $54,000 in operating impacts.
Ben Quartermaine, Director of the Stormwater Department, described the idea as an early-stage retrofit to create stormwater ponds from fairways to provide flood protection and water-quality…
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