10 THINGS TO KNOW
1. Whole Foods wants to locate one of its markets at the corner of Honore Avenue and University Parkway as part of a development that also would bring Wawa convenience store/gas station and some restaurants and retail stores.
2. The proposed site is 8.25 acres, of which 4.5 is a wetland preserve previously protected by a county ordinance and the comprehensive plan.
3. The county Planning Commission and Board of Commissioners both voted to remove that protection at the request of the developers so that they could use the whole property for buildings and parking.
4. County staff had opposed the protection removal. They said the wetland is still viable and serves a purpose.
5. Project developers plan to mitigate the lost wetland by purchasing 41 acres of similarly designated land some six miles away in Manatee County.
6. A group of environmental activists led by ManaSota-88 filed a lawsuit in Sarasota County Circuit Court last month trying to block the development and save the wetland. They claim the county violated the comprehensive code and caved into developers’ demands at the expense of the environment.
7. Project developer, Georgia-based SJ Collins, called the lawsuit “frivolous and unfounded.”
8. It’s unclear if the project will go on as planned or stop until the court hears the case, which could take a year or more. If the project proceeds, and if the court determines the county had erred, it could order a complete demolition of the development.
9. A project spokesman had said last year that, if all went according to plan, the Whole Foods would open sometime in 2017. It would be the national grocery chain’s second store in the county. Its first sits on Lemon Avenue between 1st and 2nd Streets in downtown Sarasota.
10. Whole Foods, which is known for its pro-environmental stance, has not responded to requests for comment.