Sarasota County commissioners voted 4-0 Wednesday, Sept. 23, to rezone 893 acres for the final two phases of Lakewood Ranch Southeast. The decision allows up to 1,088 new homes on rural land north of Fruitville Road.

The vote came despite a unanimous recommendation against the rezonings from the county's own Planning Commission, which voted 8-0 Aug. 20 to deny both petitions. Commission Chair Ron Cutsinger and Commissioners Teresa Mast, Tom Knight and Mark Smith voted in favor. District 4 Commissioner Joe Neunder was absent.

The decision completes the zoning approvals for Lakewood Ranch Southeast, a 5,000-home planned community on roughly 4,120 acres owned by Schroeder-Manatee Ranch. The county designated the land a "Village Transition Zone" in 2022, and commissioners had already rezoned earlier project areas covering about 3,800 units in January and May 2025.

The two newly approved areas sit on either side of future Bourneside Boulevard. Area 4 covers 147 acres east of the road and allows up to 299 homes. Area 5 spans 746 acres to the west and allows up to 789 homes. The commission adopted Ordinance Nos. 2026-020 and 2026-021 to rezone both parcels to RSF-2/PUD, a residential single-family designation, according to the county's action agenda.

Residents cite traffic and water concerns

Old Miakka residents, who live on 5- and 10-acre parcels near the development footprint, packed the hearing to object. One of them, Jane Grandbouche, presented photos of traffic backups on Fruitville Road.

"This is an everyday occurrence. This is a death trap ... Who's going to be responsible for this?" Grandbouche said.

County staff confirmed that a 4.6-mile stretch of Fruitville Road east of Lorraine Road has no money allocated for construction, WSLR News reported. The developer said a new four-lane Bourneside Boulevard would direct 75% of peak traffic to University Parkway instead. Opponents noted the developer's traffic study used counts taken in June, when schools are out.

Becky Ayech, a farmer speaking for the Miakka Community Club, argued commissioners had the legal authority to deny the rezonings. She also raised concerns about treated wastewater from unlined retention ponds affecting neighboring properties.

Commissioners question whether the outcome was settled

Kyle Grimes, attorney for Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, told commissioners the question of whether the property should be developed had already been settled by prior county approvals.

Knight pushed back on that framing, asking County Attorney Joshua Moye, "Help me and the citizens to understand: If it's done, why are we here?" Moye said the proceeding was not a rubber stamp but a check on whether the developer was following rules set by earlier boards.

Smith, who supported the rezonings, called the plan's affordable housing component "pretty much a joke," noting the 93 designated affordable units only remain affordable for the first sale or first year of a rental. Smith said he was "disappointed at previous boards" for putting commissioners in this position.

Cutsinger said he would vote for the project "thankfully," not grudgingly.

Zoning designation survived court challenges

The 2022 Village Transition Zone designation that enabled the entire development survived legal challenges from residents who appealed to the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings and the 2nd District Court of Appeal. Both upheld the designation.

No construction start date or next public hearing has been announced for the approved phases.