- October 7, 2026
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Sarasota County officials have denied multiple attempts by a national homebuilder to develop a more than 50-acre site near the Celery Fields. Now the county, instead of rejecting more development proposals, is looking into its options to buy the land outright — which could cost at least $3 million.
Meanwhile, at 126 single-family units, the builder, D.R. Horton, says it is actually proposing a significantly smaller project on the site than what it is legally allowed to build — which, under Florida's Live Local Act, is 864 multifamily units. That's 85% smaller than what it could potentially legally build there.
The difference between the scope of the projects, and the potential for Sarasota to buy the land itself, came up during an Oct. 6 commission meeting. Through its attorney, D.R. Horton told Sarasota County commissioners that based on the law, the developer is "overwhelmingly confident" that its 864-unit project will be able to proceed after a lawsuit it filed against the county over its interpretation of the Live Local Act works its way through the courts.
The unusual dispute is one case among at least six involving developers and landowners pursuing legal relief against Sarasota County commissioners for prohibiting their projects from being built through the Live Local Act.
The Live Local Act allows developers to bypass ordinary development review procedures in areas zoned for commercial, industrial and mixed-use, to encourage affordable housing projects.
Sarasota County commissioners in April decided that properties zoned Residential Estate (RE) and Open Use Estate (OUE) did not qualify for development under the Live Local Act, which resulted in a flurry of lawsuits in the months since.
The property D.R. Horton seeks to develop along Raymond Road is known as the Smith farm and has been used for agriculture, according to Sarasota County property records. It is zoned Open Use Rural (OUR).
In 2025, commissioners denied D.R. Horton’s request to rezone the site to allow for a 170-unit and then a 126-unit residential development. OUR zoning allows for one unit per 10 acres. Following the rejection, D.R. Horton turned to mediation through the Florida Land Use and Environmental Dispute Resolution Act (FLUEDRA).
“It was brought up during FLUEDRA — us purchasing it — and D.R. Horton rejected it at that time,” Sarasota County Attorney Joshua Moye told the board at its Oct. 6 meeting. “[It] doesn't mean we can't go back. That was about a year ago.”
This May, D.R. Horton requested a pre-application conference with Sarasota County to discuss a new proposal for the Raymond Road property — a Live Local development calling for the 864-unit multifamily project.
When Sarasota County said it would not process D.R. Horton’s application since the property was zoned OUR, the company filed a lawsuit, in June.
A settlement offer presented to commissioners at the Oct. 6 board meeting said D.R. Horton would resolve its pending litigation if it could develop the property as originally planned: a 126-lot single-family subdivision.
Sarasota attorney Charlie Bailey III, representing D.R. Horton, wrote in a letter to the county: “We wanted to make sure this ‘off-ramp’ is, for the time being, available” to commissioners before litigation is concluded.
“Given the clarity of the Live Local Act, [D.R. Horton Inc.] is overwhelmingly confident that it will prevail” in its lawsuit, Bailey wrote, and would proceed with building an 864-unit project with 65-foot buildings there. But before litigation is concluded, he wrote, the developer “would, alternatively, still be open to developing the property with the modest 126-lot single-family subdivision.”
Bailey didn't respond Wednesday to a request for comment from the Business Observer on the proposed acquisition.
Commissioner Teresa Mast said that she wanted the county attorney to see “if there is an opportunity for this to be purchased by the county for not only what I consider to be critical stormwater infrastructure” but also as a wildlife habitat.
The property where the development is proposed is located south and east of the Celery Fields, a county-owned site that serves as a stormwater management facility, passive public recreational open space and wildlife habitat. It attracts hundreds of types of birds and thousands of visitors each year. The Sarasota Audubon Society built a nearly 6,000-square-foot nature center there that opened in 2016. The organization has also been involved with the county and conservation organization Big Waters Land Trust in re-wilding three parcels near the Celery Fields.
Mast suggested the Sarasota Audubon Society may be interested in a public-private partnership regarding the proposed acquisition of the Raymond Road property.
“Sarasota Audubon wholeheartedly supports acquisition of this land for public purposes such as a park or stormwater facility, or a conservation easement that restricts use of the land in a manner that adequately protects and preserves the Celery Fields," the Sarasota Audubon Society said in a statement in April following the FLUEDRA process. (Sarasota Audubon Society officials didn't respond to a request for further comment.)
Mast made a motion for the county attorney to "negotiate with D.R. Horton and the property owners at Smith properties, and perhaps the Audubon Society, to come up with a reasonable, fair market price to obtain that parcel."
The vote to pursue acquiring the Smith farm property was unanimous.
According to Sarasota County property records, the properties owned by the Cindy L Smith Revocable Living Trust involved in the proposed Smith farm development are appraised for a combined total of nearly $3.52 million.
