Newsletter 252

NEWS FROM THE SUNCOAST …..

FLORIDA SOLAR TAX CREDITS & INCENTIVES IN 2024

Florida gets an average of 237 sunny days a year, making it one of the most effective states for harnessing the power of the sun. After all, it is called the Sunshine State. But installing solar panels in Florida—or anywhere in the U.S.—comes with some high upfront costs. Luckily, the residents in the Sunshine State can take advantage of several Florida solar incentives, including tax credits, tax exemptions, special loans, local incentives and rebates and net metering, to lower the cost of solar panels. Florida solar incentives include the federal tax credit, multiple tax exemptions, local rebates and loan programs and even net metering. These incentives will help you save money on installation or recoup some of the investment; you’ll also want to research the best solar panel companies in Florida to ensure you’re getting the highest quality at the fairest price. While Florida doesn’t have a state solar tax credit, everyone across the country can take advantage of the federal solar tax credit. Officially called the Investment Tax Credit (ITC), this allows taxpayers to recoup 30% of their total solar panel installation investment when they file their taxes. For example, if your total investment is $20,000.00 you’d be able to claim a $6,000.00 tax credit come filing season.

The tax credit is nonrefundable, so if the credit is larger than your tax liability, you won’t get a refund. Instead, any remaining balance from the credit will roll forward to the next tax year until you’ve used it completely. The Investment Tax Credit won’t last forever but is set to reduce to 26% for the 2033 tax year and then 22% for the 2034 tax year. If Congress does not renew the credit before then, it will expire starting in 2035. Floridians who invest in solar panels should expect the value of their homes to increase. According to Zillow, solar panels increase home values by roughly 4%. Normally, this would result in higher property taxes. However, Florida’s Property Tax Abatement for Renewable Energy Property program prevents property taxes from going up for solar water heat, solar photovoltaics, wind power generation and geothermal heat pumps, as well as lithium-ion storage technologies. This program will expire at the end of 2037. For more information on this story, courtesy of Forbes, please click here: Florida Solar Incentives

SPRING TRAINING GUIDE FOR BRAVES & ORIOLES

When the Atlanta Braves departed Kissimmee in 2019 and relocated their spring training headquarters to south Venice, it gave Sarasota baseball fans two teams in the county to watch. And the Baltimore Orioles and Braves proved to be worth watching in 2023. Baltimore won the American League East for the first time since 2014 and has a host of young and exciting players returning for another run at a division title. The Braves, your 2021 World Series champions, have won six straight National League East titles and should be right in the hunt to make that seven in a row in 2024. Both teams have real World Series aspirations and started their quest to be Major League Baseball’s best in Sarasota last Thursday. Here’s what fans need to know if they are going to venture out to watch the Orioles and Braves this spring. Starting Feb. 15 through Feb, 23, fans can watch practice on the fields behind Ed Smith Stadium. It’s free, as is parking in the east lot. Practice will take place each day from approximately 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Orioles’ team store, located inside Ed Smith Stadium, will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Since 2010, the Orioles have played at Ed Smith Stadium, 2700 12th Street in Sarasota. The facility opened in 1989 and was named after the former president of the Sarasota Sports Committee and the man whose friendship with Chicago White Sox owner Arthur Allyn was key in luring the White Sox from Tampa to Sarasota in 1960. After the White Sox moved their spring training to Arizona after the 1997 season, they were replaced by the Cincinnati Reds, who left Sarasota after the 2008 spring to share a new facility with the Cleveland Indians in Goodyear, Ariz.

To read more, courtesy of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, please click here: Braves & Orioles Spring Training

BOOMERS DOMINATE HOUSING MARKET

Tough luck millennials and zoomers.The Sarasota-Manatee metro area has the eighth highest share of housing owned by baby boomers in the United States, with nearly half of all residential property owned by people between 58 and 76 years old, according to a report using U.S. Census Bureau demographic data. Construction Coverage released its latest report on boomer dominant housing markets recently with Sarasota ranking in the top 10 of all metro areas in the country. In total, boomer households own 142,000 homes in the metro area that stretches from Bradenton to North Port. The construction industry research group used the American Community Survey 2022 one-year estimates to compile its rankings, breaking each metro into a large, midsize and small category. Sarasota ranked second in midsize metros only behind South Carolina’s Myrtle Beach metro. Punta Gorda ranked second at 52.9%. Of the top 10 metro areas, Sarasota had the most homes owned by boomers and the most boomers renting property with nearly 19,000 households in that age group in the two-county region. While nationally baby boomers make up just over 20% of the population, Sarasota-Manatee’s boomer population accounts for 31.7% of people living in the region. Construction Coverage put the total national share of residential property owned by boomers at 38%. The report does not try to explain the dominance of the boomers’ share of the housing market, although part of it can be explained by that generation’s longer time in the workforce, their large size compared to Generation X and the economic turmoil that’s beset the millennial generation; which came into homebuying age toward the end of the Great Recession. There’s more on this story here: Boomers Dominate Housing Market

PROPOSED VACATION RENTAL FEES EXAMINED

Local officials are leery of how proposed restrictions that cap the fees cities can charge for vacation rental registration could impact local ordinances already on the books. Vacation rentals have been a hot-button issue among local and state officials for years, and legislators have proposed new restrictions that cap registration fees, outline maximum penalties, and preempt other regulations to the state. Proposals “grandfather” local policies governing vacation rentals that were in place before June 2011, leaving local officials with questions about how the new state laws would impact ordinances like those adopted in Sarasota and Bradenton, and island cities like Anna Maria and Holmes Beach, which all have approved their own policies. The Florida Senate approved regulating vacation rentals on Feb. 1, and the House of Representatives is set to consider a parallel bill. The bills would have to be combined and eventually signed by the governor into law. The Senate bill preempts regulation of advertising platforms to the state and allows local governments to charge a “reasonable fee” to register vacation rentals and conduct fire code inspections. It also allows cities to issue fines of up to $500 for violations, and to file and foreclose on liens based on those fines. The House version of the bill, which has not yet been voted on, contains language that limits the registration fees that cities are allowed to a maximum of $150, and fines to $300. The bill also allows cities to file and foreclose on a lien based on the fines. The proposal also preempts regulation of advertising platforms to the state, grants the Division of Hotels and Restaurants certain enforcement mechanisms against vacation rentals without a state license, and requires that it create a vacation rental license information system. It also requires that vacation rental owners display license and registration information. Please follow the jump for more on this story: Vacation Rental Fees Examined

SIESTA KEY RESIDENTS UNITED IN HOTEL OPPOSITION

The hundreds of Siesta Key residents who had a chance recently to let developers know just what they thought of the latest proposals fortwo new hotels on the low-key barrier island didn’t pull any punches. “You are ruining Siesta Key,” one person said. Another asked how the developer’s agents sleep at night knowing the strong opposition to the project on Siesta Key. “Almost universally people are opposed to these hotel developments for a variety of reasons and one has to ask the question why would you be moving against the interests of almost everybody on the key,” John Doherty said. “If you think that we are maybe somewhat irritable, it is because the people are being trampled on based on interest of just a few.” Hundreds of people tuned in to two Siesta Key virtual community workshops hosted by developers of two midrise hotel towers proposed for Siesta Key Village.

Residents participating in the workshops overwhelmingly rejected the proposals, often in contentious hypotheticals directed toward the agents for the two development groups. Engineering and planning firm Kimley-Horn and influential real estate attorney Bill Merrill represented both development groups during the two sperate meetings. Benderson Development has proposed the 147-room hotel on Calle Menorca and SKH 1 LLC has proposed the 163-room hotel on Calle Miramar. While the majority of the residents kept a civil tone, the deep-seated opposition sometimes boiled over because the hotels would be a sharp departure from the development approach for the island that has been in place for decades.

There’s more on this story here: Siesta Key Residents United

SARASOTA MASTER PLAN AUTHOR REVISITS

While Sarasota’s skyline has changed over the two decades since the “Duany plan” became the guiding document for downtown development, its author sure hasn’t. Andrés Duany’s performance at Art Ovation in downtown Sarasota combined comedy with criticism, and was sure to leave some in the audience of hundreds somewhat ruffled by his dismissive air toward the city’s perceived problems. But none of that should come as a surprise from the celebrated founder of DPZ CoDesign, an urban planner who helped pen the master plan for downtown Sarasota and has tackled numerous other cities’ thorny downtown issues. On previous visits after the plan’s adoption, he’s told Sarasota to stop acting like a fifth grader, called it prissy and often told it to stop wearing “short pants” a reference to not acting its age, something he once again referenced recently.

“Get a suit, stop wearing short pants. Just get a suit,” he said. This time, he also took aim at people opposing projects — NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard) — and a passing shot at Lakewood Ranch’s suburban nature, although he praised stretches of Sarasota’s urban core, particularly Main Street and Palm Avenue. “There’s such a scarcity of walkable, sociable public space in America and (if you have) two blocks you become famous — and you probably have six or eight blocks and really good stuff,” he said. Maybe with the years, Duany’s gone soft, because while he did share some criticism of a stretch of U.S. 41 he called a mess, most of his commentary centered on just how well things have shaped up over the past 20 years. Sarasota “is a kind of place that’s just blessed with health,” he said. “It just is. It has been from the beginning; it had good ideas.” He also didn’t take credit for those successes, praising previous planners for the current urban landscape. “You’re very lucky and I think you really built on it,” he said. Duany said he remembers coming to Sarasota thinking that there must be some problem that needed fixing as that’s how often engagements with his firm start. “We’re in trouble,” city leaders often tell him. Often they do have major problems, either structurally, socially or some combination. But he did not find trouble in Sarasota and he doesn’t see major obstacles now, saying the biggest problems appear manufactured from engaged residents with vested interest in maintaining the status quo. Please click here for more: Master Plan Author Revisits

LAZY C RANCH PROJECT APPROVED

Manatee County approved comprehensive plan changes for the development of the Lazy C Ranch, which is poised to bring thousands of new homes to East Manatee. County commissioners discussed the project during a land use meeting recently when they also approved plans for two multifamily housing projects and a new car dealership. Commissioners unanimously approved a comprehensive plan change that allows for the construction of up to 1,100 residential homes at a development called the Lazy C Ranch in East Manatee County. The 495-acre property is located at Rutland Road and Rye Road in Parrish. The vote focused on zoning changes that allow for the construction of up to three homes per acre on 405 acres of agricultural land located east of the county’s Future Development Area Boundary line. The boundary marks the furthest to the east the county provides water and sewer services and is meant to restrict dense development on agricultural lands. The Lazy C Ranch is the fourth development to receive similar approval to skip over the line. Similar approvals have been granted for an eastward expansion of Lakewood Ranch, the development of East River Ranch, and Gamble Creek Village. Manatee County commissioners unanimously approved a zoning change for about 20.2 acres of agricultural land located east of Interstate 75, at 2208 Lena Road, to accommodate the development of a multifamily housing project called Amara. The project will be developed by the WB Development Group. Plans call for the construction of seven multifamily buildings 606 multi-family units, with plans for at least 25% of them to be priced affordably to receive a necessary density bonus. Each building is capped at a maximum of five stories.

Please click on the link for more: Lazy C Ranch Project Approved

LEGACY TRAIL EXPANSION: LINKING PARKS

Sarasota County agreed recently to pay a design firm to plan a portion of the

Legacy Trail connector at Nathan Benderson Park. The extension would run along 17th Street’s north side to Honore Avenue, then north along Honore’s east side to the park. The 12-foot-wide asphalt trail extension would run about 1.5 miles. The county’s design includes lighting and signals. At a Jan. 30 meeting, the County Commission finalized an agreement to pay Kimley-Horn and Associates about $440,000 for the trail design. The firm has previously consulted with the county on construction projects at Sarasota’s Boulevard of the Arts and for additions to the 17th Street athletic facilities. Parks and Recreation Director Nicole Rissler said the aim is for the design to be completed by the end of 2024. “This connector is going to go from the Legacy Trail and connect to Nathan Benderson Park and ultimately Lakewood Ranch when the overpass” extending Lakewood Ranch Boulevard over Interstate 75 is built, Rissler said. “The Legacy Trail itself is really a railroad corridor that we put a trail on. All these points that connect in, we really call them connectors to the Legacy Trail.” The estimated cost for the Nathan Benderson connector is about $3.5 million. That number is fluid until the designs are finalized, Rissler said. “Once we have the design, we will put out for solicitation for a contractor to bid on developing it,” Rissler said, adding that she does not yet know when the entire trail may be completed. There’s more on this story here: Legacy Trail: Linking Parks

OFFICIALS PREPARE TO ADDRESS RISING SEAS

Residents in Sarasota County will have a chance this year to weigh in on proposals to address sea level rise and the growing problem of persistent coastal flooding, county officials say. The county, with the help of consultants, has been looking at data on the subject, said Sara Kane, sustainability and resilience manager for Sarasota County, working with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. The work will produce a flooding-vulnerability assessment for the county, a sort of road map for policy makers to follow in the years ahead when making decisions on public-works projects and more. “We’re looking at all of our assets to see how they’re being affected by sea level rise and flooding,” Kane said. “And then we’re actually going to take that analysis and come up with a list of projects … that will make our community more sustainable and resilient.” Kane estimates that results of their analysis and suggested projects will be ready for public input perhaps as early as June. “We hope to have some public meetings to talk about the results of the study.” Kane says projects could include stormwater management, green infrastructure projects, planting trees, “doing living shorelines or coastal habitat restoration projects that could reduce flooding and also improve water quality at the same time.” This analysis is part of a statewide effort, through grants from Resilient Florida, to fight the effects of climate change. Resilient SRQ received $201.5 million in federal block grant funding as part of the program. “Our entire state is preparing for that, and rightfully so,” Kane said. “We have the most coastal areas out of any state. So, this is a big problem for Florida in general and especially the coastal areas.”

Beach renourishment, one of the more visible tools in the county’s arsenal to fight nature’s adverse effects on the coastline, would not meet the grant criteria to receive funding from Resilient Florida. Rachel Herman, the county’s environmental protection division manager, said while the primary benefits of beach renourishment are recreational, the practice does have environmental benefits. “Upland structures and infrastructure will be better protected from storm damage,” she said. “A wide, nourished beach system absorbs wave energy, protects upland areas from flooding, and mitigates erosion.” Click here for more, courtesy of ABC7: Officials Prepare To Address Rising Seas

MOSQUITO CONTROL FACILITY COMING

Sometimes, on a particularly humid night outside, it can feel like Florida belongs to the mosquitos, and they just let us borrow it. However, with the recent groundbreaking for a new $12.7 million facility, Sarasota County’s Mosquito Management Services hopes a new location and updated infrastructure will help them keep the local population under control. Wade Brennan, the department’s manager, said the new facility’s central location at the northwest corner of the Interstate 75/Laurel Road interchange will give his team easier access to the community it services. “We’re literally managing the entire mosquito population throughout all of Sarasota County, Brennan said. “Our crews are heading out to wood lots. They’re treating ditches. They’re also completing service requests.” Rather than focusing on managing the mosquito population as a nuisance, Brennan said his team views it from a public safety standpoint – like preventing the spread of diseases such as Dengue fever. Of the over 80 species of mosquitos that reside in the Sunshine State, Brennan said the county Mosquito Management focuses on the ones that can harm humans. The facility is equipped to better store biological pesticides used to kill mosquitos. An on-site aquaculture unit will also allow mosquito services to cultivate more mosquitofish – which eat precisely as their name implies. “Mosquitofish are at a lot of the existing lakes and ponds,” Brennan said. “But when we have developments going on, we will double-check and make sure that the fish are there.” Less than six months ago, Brennan was at the forefront of Sarasota County’s rare battle against a locally transmitted malaria outbreak, the worst in Florida in two decades, and one that drew national attention. It was declared over last September. The new facility will also feature a larger meeting room for Brennan’s staff, an observation window for testing of mosquito-borne viruses, and a space for educational events. Brennan was also excited about one underrated aspect of the facility’s design: That it’s one building. “We currently have seven separate buildings with parking lots in between them, Brennan said. “There’s a lot of lost working time just walking back and forth between buildings, so this new ability will have one solid building to where we can work closer together and have a much better facility.” Designs for the 19,600-square-foot space began in November 2021, and the staff of the Mosquito Control District aims to move into the new facility in the spring of 2025. Please click here for more: New Mosquito Control Facility

EMBRACING OUR DIFFERENCES OPEN FOR 21ST YEAR

Each year, Embracing Our Differences selects 50 pieces of art submitted by children and adults from around the world and matches them with messages that are meant to inspire a better understanding of the world. This year, the organizations received more than 16,000 submissions, about equally divided between art and quotes, from 125 countries. Panels of judges make the final choices for each category. A grand opening celebration was held on Jan. 21 at Bayfront Park with tours, music and food trucks. Up to 15,000 school students from the Sarasota region take field trips to visit the display and others participate with virtual programs. But students won’t be shown six of the 50 pieces because they deal with gender identity or sexual orientation.“We put them in the back circle of the exhibits. They are not in the field trip zone that we’re providing to educators, even though some of them were created by students,” said Ben Jewell-Plocher, the organization’s learning and engagement director. The organization is trying to navigate the Parental Rights in Education law (dubbed “Don’t Say Gay”). Wertheimer said a lack of clarity in the law has added to fear among individual teachers and whole schools about whether their participation in the program could violate the law and cost them their jobs. “It’s a fear of the really unclear situation where they don’t know where the guardrails are,” Wertheimer said. “We don’t want them to put themselves in a position where they could lose their livelihood.”

It is an ironic problem that Embracing Our Differences, which was created to celebrate diversity, equity and inclusion faces state law that limits such ideas in schools and government offices. Each year, jurors select four $2,000 awards for art work and the quotations, divided among adults and students. (Student winners split their prizes with their schools.) Visitors will vote on people’s choice awards which will be announced for both Sarasota and St. Petersburg. The Best-in-Show Adult artwork award went to Samantha Dennis of Woodbridge, Canada for “‘Hand’le with Care,” featuring four hands of different colors and abilities cradling colorful lights in the shape of a heart. Sylvia Tirado, an 11th-grade student from High Wycombe, United Kingdom won the Best-in-Show Student artwork award for “Are My Roots Showing?” featuring a young woman of color looking at the dark roots under her dyed blond hair. There’s more to read here: Embracing Our Differences Open

NEW ARTS GRANT FORMULA APPROVED

Sarasota County Commissioners are looking to drastically change the way arts and cultural organizations are supported by a small portion of the tourist taxes collected on short-term hotel stays and rentals. Last year, the county provided a record $3.2 million in funding to 35 arts and cultural organizations through the half cent of the bed tax that has long been allocated for that purpose. Other money from the tax goes for beach renourishment, sporting events, and marketing and promotion of the region for tourism. But how and where that arts and culture money is spent will change in the coming year and could be more completely overhauled in the future, based on comments made as commissioners approved a one-year extension of a long-running contract with the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County to oversee the grant application process. For years, the arts and culture grants were intended to encourage programming that would extend the traditional tourist season and help attract visitors through more of each year. Those requirements have shifted a bit over time. A study by Americans for the Arts released in October showed that arts and cultural organizations had a $342 million economic impact on Sarasota County in 2022 and that tourists are a major component of that economic impact. For fiscal year 2025, commissioners voted recently to require that 50 percent of grant funds be used for marketing programs and events, with the rest spent on the programs themselves. There will also be some changes in the scoring procedures for grant applications. Organizations will continue to provide information from visitor surveys to show lodging information and how programs attracted tourists. There’s more on this story here: New Arts Grant Formula Approved

LUXURY EVENT SITE DEBUTS

A new event space, The Ora, is opening on the campus of the Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee and will soon offer a state-of-the-art luxury venue for Sarasota’s many special events and celebrations. Featuring a 10,000-square-foot ballroom, The Ora is among the largest event spaces in the region. It was envisioned by the organization’s board of directors, who felt the region lacked a versatile and luxurious space. The new facility at 578 McIntosh Road offers guests and event attendees multiple spaces that combined cover 30,000 square feet. The Ora includes top-of-the-line lighting, audio and visual equipment, and custom imported stone. It also has more than 400 parking spaces. It’s a major marketing point — The Ora can comfortably host gatherings of up to 1,000 people. The Ora is headed by Director of Operations Deanna McGrath, who returned to the region for the job and has 15 years of hospitality and event management experience. “The Jewish Federation is constantly trying to improve the facility, not just for the Jewish community, but for the community as a whole,” McGrath said during a tour of the space. “There is such a need for a large space in Sarasota and we don’t think we realized that until we went live with our reservations. Most inquiries are looking for something that seats 400 to 600. That is perfect for us because it really eliminates a lot of other venues. There’s just not too many in the area that can seat that amount. We are very excited about being open and hosting.” Initial designs were created in 2020 and Sarasota-based Tandem Construction broke ground on the 16-acre facility in June 2021. Tandem CEO Peter Hayes said the project has been steadily progressing over the past few years, employing over 1,000 vendors and site workers as part of the construction. The facility had a Feb. 11 soft opening. Please click on the link for more: New Luxury Event Site Debuts

SEASON OF SHARING CAMPAIGN RAISES OVER $4M

Following what was possibly one of its most critical fundraising campaigns ever, this year’s Season of Sharing campaign saw $4.21 million in community donations – the second-highest amount raised in the fund’s 24-year history. By the season’s close at the end of January, more than 2,600 contributions had been made by donors of all means during the three-month campaign, the Community Foundation of Sarasota County announced. The donations included $700,000 in matching gifts by The Patterson Foundation, which commits every year to giving $100,000 for each block of $500,000 raised from the community for Season of Sharing. This year was only the second time that donations topped $4 million since the Community Foundation and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune launched Season of Sharing in 2000 to help prevent homelessness. As in the past, the monies will be distributed year-round through area nonprofits to residents in crisis in Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto and Charlotte counties. The assistance covers one-time emergency expenses in rent or mortgage payments, utilities, childcare or vehicle repairs. Please click here for more on this story: Season Of Sharing Raises $4M