Six residents challenging New College of Florida's campus master plan face a pre-hearing conference Thursday, Oct. 29, unless mediation with the college produces an agreement.

An administrative law judge at the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings narrowed the roughly 25 allegations in the residents' six petitions in late June, dismissing some complaints and limiting how much evidence petitioners could request. The remaining claims focus on whether New College complied with specific state requirements and whether the plan was based on appropriate data and analysis, Suncoast Searchlight reported.

Judy Burns, president of the Uplands Association Inc., filed on behalf of the association. Karen Stack, Ruth Folit, Peter Schelhorn, Lilianne Raud and Jono Miller filed individual petitions with the division in January challenging the updated plan. New College trustees approved the plan in December 2025 after six community input sessions that drew nearly 100 comments, many from Uplands residents.

The six are representing themselves without attorneys.

What the surviving claims target

The surviving claims target several specific provisions: proposed athletic fields near Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, development of 9 acres where New College plans to build its Education Freedom Institute, removal of about 138 mature trees in the Uplands Preserve for a temporary athletic field, and a proposed vehicle-access connection through Uplands Boulevard.

Burns said her petition does not seek to throw out the entire campus plan. She is targeting provisions she believes violate Florida law and Board of Governors regulations. She said the process illustrates how difficult it is for residents to participate in decisions about public institutions.

"Everyone should care about that. Not just our neighborhood," Burns told Suncoast Searchlight.

Jono Miller's petition alleges the Education Freedom Institute site conflicts with Manatee County's comprehensive plan and that a county planning official flagged the discrepancy in comments on the draft. Folit's complaint focuses on air quality near the airport runways and the potential health impact on student-athletes. Stack, an Uplands resident since about 2018, raised concerns about what traffic analysis, if any, was done for the proposed Uplands Boulevard access.

Schelhorn alleges that at the December 2025 trustees meeting, two versions of the final plan were presented: a redlined version posted publicly and a clean version given to trustees. He contends the two did not fully align and that the plan's adoption was procedurally defective.

College and state agencies' response

New College spokesperson Jamie Miller told Suncoast Searchlight the university does not comment on pending litigation as a matter of policy.

Neither the Florida Department of Environmental Protection nor the Southwest Florida Water Management District raised objections to the campus plan. The city of Sarasota found the plan consistent with its own, though it raised several issues New College addressed in a December 2025 presentation.

Burns described worsened flooding and early-morning noise from coaches' whistles after the 138 trees were removed. The Uplands, a 110-home subdivision along Sarasota Bay off U.S. 41, has neighbored New College for decades.

If the parties cannot reach an agreement, the pre-hearing conference is set for Thursday, Oct. 29.