Powerful panel might pivot

The Sarasota County Planning Commission, a powerful board that has significantly shaped the fate of a multitude of development projects, could be shifting toward a pro-development stance.

At a minimum, the three newest members of the commission, which reviews comprehensive plan amendments, come from backgrounds where approving developments in and of itself isn't a bad thing. That approach would be a marked difference from the commission's makeup in the recent past, especially in the mid-2000s. That's when a common gripe from local builders, developers and contractors was the board skewed anti-growth.

County Commissioner Christine Robinson, herself a member of the planning commission from 2008-2010, has heard the anti-growth sentiment about the panel. But she says she decided each case on the merits, and she expects the new members to do the same.

The new members on the 10-person commission are Joseph Gessner, an executive with M&I Bank in Sarasota; Robert Morris III, a small business owner and developer and the son a prominent homebuilder in Sarasota; and Terry Richardson, a retired general contractor.

Morris, a Sarasota native, says he doesn't seek to carry out an agenda on the commission, despite his background. “I will look at things with a balanced approach,” Morris tells Coffee Talk. “I'm not opposed to new development, but I believe things should be done properly.”

Still, Morris, with projects that include Phillippi Landings, a waterfront condo community in Sarasota, can't totally disregard his past work. Says Morris: “I'm not opposed to density. I'm not an anti-growth person.”

The other new members are similarly diplomatic, with a tint of pro-growth. For example, in his application, Gessner wrote that “providing appropriately master-planned economic development centers that attract business and contribute to the tax base and employment of the region” is a pressing issue.

The trio replaces three members who have been on the commission for several years: one former commissioner stepped down; one is ineligible to run again until 2013; and a third commissioner's application for another term was denied.