Staff from Sarasota County Planning Services will conduct two public workshops next week to discuss proposed amendments to the county’s comprehensive plan. The workshops will take place from 6 - 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 11, at the Jacaranda Library, 4143 Woodmere Park Blvd., Venice and Saturday, March 13, in Room 3 at the Sarasota County Operations Center, 1001 Sarasota Center Blvd., Sarasota.

The proposed changes to the comprehensive plan that will be discussed at the two workshops include:

• Amending the future land use chapter to add definitions of intensities for the commercial center and major employment center designations to promote mixed uses and smart growth principles.
• Amending the transportation chapter to add standards to guide future transit services.
• Amending the required and desired levels of service standards established by comprehensive plan policies.

In addition, a site-specific amendment will also be discussed at the March 13 meeting, although staff will be available to discuss the amendment with interested citizens at the March 11 workshop. That amendment would change the future land use designation from government use to rural use for a property owned by the city of Sarasota south of Fruitville Road east of Interstate 75.

A fifth proposed amendment that seeks to encourage job growth in clean technology industries and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from various land uses will be discussed at a March 20 workshop.

The purpose of the workshops is to explain the proposed amendments and gather any comments or suggestions regarding the changes. Each workshop will begin with presentations about the proposed amendments followed by questions and answers. Public hearings before the Sarasota County Planning Commission and the Sarasota County Commission on the proposed amendments will occur in late spring and early summer.

For more information, call the Sarasota County Call Center at 941-861-5000 and ask for Planning Services.