Last October, the Planning Commission unanimously told the County Commission to reject a proposed expansion of Buchan’s Bayside. In that vote, they denied a plan to add eight more residential villas and bump the maximum building height from 35 to 45 feet throughout the business district. The primary complication was planning commissioners worried that bigger, taller buildings would erase the character of Old Englewood Village. The developer pushed for the added height, insisting it’s needed for better storm resilience.

At the May 21 meeting, the developer is back with four new requests for the mixed-use project. The commission will weigh in on the following petitions: a rezoning to bring new parcels into the Commercial General/Main Street Overlay District; a special exception to allow single-family villas and platted lots in that zone; another exception for structures and boat slips in Marine Park; and, again, a request to expand by eight additional villas and raise the height cap to 45 feet, still citing storm resilience.If you want to attend, the meeting takes place at 4000 S. Tamiami Trail, next to the Venice Courthouse, in the R.L. Anderson Administration Center. The meeting runs from 5 to 8:30 p.m. For more information, check the Sarasota County Planning and Development Services calendar, or call 941-861-5000.

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