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Sarasota City Commissioners got their anti-business, anti-jobs, anti-economy reputation the old-fashioned way — they earned it.
The latest piece of evidence comes from Rodney Dessberg, a property owner whose portfolio includes the Cabana Inn near Sarasota Memorial Hospital, which some in the community consider an eyesore and magnet for unsavory activity. Dessberg, who owns more than 20 properties along U.S. 41 in Sarasota, recently sought approval from the commission for a project that would replace the Cabana with a national hotel chain.
Dessberg's plan, outlined by consultant Terry Purdy, would increase the amount of rooms in the Cabana from 64 to 88, which would require a zoning exemption for 30 extra rooms. But the vast majority of neighbors — the people who would be impacted by the extra rooms -- favored the project, along with community activists. It would significantly upgrade a deteriorating property, place an attractive hotel on high-traffic Tamiami Trail, provide jobs during a deep recession and practically everyone was in favor.
Perfect.
The Sarasota City Commission's response: Project denied.
Commissioner Terry Turner, according to the Sarasota Observer, the Review's sister paper, said he thought a medical complex would be “a better fit for the neighborhood.” Despite the glut of empty medical space already in the area, Coffee Talk is confident that Turner knows what should go there better than developers and the market.
Purdy told the Observer that he and Dessberg plan to fight the rejection. Coffee Talk wishes them well and divine intervention. Because the city has heartily earned its “anti” reputation.
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