Sarasota commissioners discuss future of former golf course property in Gulf Gate Estates

SARASOTA, Fla. - The future of 49 acres in a Sarasota County neighborhood could be up for discussion.

The land used to be a golf course in Gulf Gate Estates.

Neighbors in the area are pushing for the county to buy the land and use it for stormwater mitigation and water quality improvement. They also want to see it preserved as greenspace after a lot of development in the area.

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At Tuesday’s county commission meeting, Commissioner Joe Neunder said he plans to discuss potential options with other commissioners.

"It’s a catch up game," Cass Smith, a neighbor said. "The developments have been incremental, but now we’ve reached a perfect storm."

Smith says they’ve experienced ongoing issues with flooding, water quality issues exacerbating red tide, and greenspace being developed.

Neunder says this land could be key to helping solve these several growing issues.

"You’re not going to really find 49 acres of very pristine property, in my opinion, very close to the intercoastal that has the ability to service a larger part of the community, including our barrier islands," Neunder said.

After Hurricane Ian, Neunder says the federal government awarded the county millions of dollars in funding under the Resilient RSQ.

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He says the proposed ideas for this land could be a good candidate for some of that funding.

"I think this is one of those rare opportunities where we have the option or, perhaps the ability, to go ahead and increase some of our open greenspace here in Sarasota County," Neunder said.

Neighbors say this land could be key in protecting the future of Gulf Gate Estates and other neighborhoods in Sarasota County in more ways than one.

"Allows that greenspace to be perpetual for generations," Kathy Goff, a neighbor said. "It’s not just the current, but it’s future generations to prevent flooding."

Neighbors say failing to address these problems could pose even bigger issues down the road.

"Property damage is a catastrophe, but the quality of life and the trauma it brings is really overwhelming, and people hardly get over that quickly," Smith said. "We don’t want that to happen to any of our citizens."

Neunder says they’ll discuss these ideas and the possibility of trying to buy this land on Tuesday.

No formal plans have been made yet.