Developers seeking zoning changes will once again face the scrutiny of live audiences.
By Noah Lechtenstein
Original Air Date: June 3, 2026
Host: In-person neighborhood workshops are back in Sarasota County. Developers who ask for exceptions from zoning rules now have to present their projects to live audiences again. Noah Lechtenstein explains.
Noah Lechtenstein: On Tuesday, the Sarasota County commissioners approved a return to in-person neighborhood workshops. The pandemic had forced these workshops online. Critics have since pointed out that these online workshops lacked transparency and limited two-way conversations. On June 2, after months of discussion, the commissioners passed the amendment in a 4-1 vote.
The in-person workshops will be a bit different from the pre-pandemic version. The amended version allows for a wider radius of where the meeting can be held, doubling the previous radius. Meetings were previously required to be held within two to five miles of a proposed project. Now, they may be held as far as 10 miles away. Although not required, there is also an option to provide an online version of the meeting.
The amendment also states that all workshops should accommodate for the anticipated number of participants.
Commissioner Mark Smith has been supportive of this idea for a long time. In March of 2023, he first introduced a motion to bring back in-person workshops. At the time, no other commissioner voted to pass this motion.
The proposal comes in response to criticism from neighborhood organizers. Residents would often face issues such as questions being overlooked, being muted or not being able to interact enough.
In March of 2025, with two newly elected commissioners on the dais, Smith brought back the proposal. This time, the commission agreed to hold a future discussion on the proposal.
This brings us to June 2. This time, the amendment passed in a 4-1 vote. Ron Cutsinger was the only commissioner to disagree. He stood his ground that these workshops should be held strictly online.
Ron Cutsinger: I’m going to continue to be a no based on the fact that I believe wholeheartedly that more people will attend [online]. In the evening, older folks can get out very rarely.
NL: He also made sure to note that while an online meeting could be added on, it will not be required at all.
Another concern, brought up first by Commissioner Teresa Mast, highlights that an in-person venue may not be able to hold enough people.
Teresa Mast: You never know how many people are going to show up. I want to be very thoughtful about not putting unintended consequences attached to something. We’re putting ourselves in a corner that we don’t want to be put in.
NL: Mast voted to pass the amendment. Joe Neunder stated concern about venue size.
Joe Neunder: My one comment would be that, as applicants go through the process, it’s always better to have a little more space. There’s a pulse here in Sarasota County that people know—maybe intuitively, they would know, “This one is gonna be somewhat involved, and we should go for a 200-seat venue as opposed to 100.”
NL: With this amendment, neighborhood workshops will now be exclusively in-person, with the option to add a virtual feed.
In another topic during Tuesday’s County Commission meeting, a state law called “Yes in God’s Backyard” is about to become a requirement rather than optional. The bill, which was passed in 2025, allowed counties and cities to approve affordable housing developments on property owned by religious institutions, regardless of underlying zoning.
The new version makes it a requirement for counties to approve such housing projects. The amendment is currently awaiting Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature. If signed, it will take effect on July 1.
Only one religious institution in Sarasota—a church—has so far filed an application under this law.
Reporting for WSLR News, this is Noah Lechtenstein.
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