Battle underway over potential development near beloved birding site

Sarasota County commissioners could decide on the 170-home proposal near Celery Fields early next year.

By Jim DeLa
| 5:00 a.m. December 9, 2024
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The Celery Fields is a more than 300-acre property that doubles as Sarasota County's primary stormwater collection zone as well as a public park and bird estuary.

Manatee-Sarasota

A disagreement between supporters of an internationally recognized bird sanctuary and a landowner's property rights is taking flight in east Sarasota County.

One side is people and groups in support of the Celery Fields, a popular hilly hiking and bird-watching spot in Sarasota, just east of Interstate 75. The other side are the owners of a 50-acre parcel, known as the Smith farm, nestled next to the bird sanctuary.

Smith Properties is asking the county to change its zoning for the site from “open use rural,” which allows for one unit every 10 acres, to “residential single family,” which would allow 3.5 homes per acre.