Post-Disaster Plan Pushed Forward

 Commissioners quickly handed a political hot potato back to a senior staffer Dec. 7 when he was given the go-ahead to continue writing a post-catastrophic natural disaster rebuilding plan.

“There is inherent anxiety over a decision like this, a retrospective land-use decision,” Commissioner Jon Thaxton said.

“The only common theme I’m hearing is, ‘Thank goodness Laird Wreford is working the issue,’” Thaxton said. “Glad you’re there, Laird.” 

Wreford, the county’s coastal resources manager, has worked on the Post-Disaster Redevelopment Plan for years.

“The horrible ‘04-‘05 storm season provided the incentive,” he said. 

Since then he’s worked internally, used a consultant and convened large public meetings to not only get the word out but solicit feedback for the effort. The result was draft chapters of the plan.

“The key to success is communication, listening to and involving the community,” Wreford said. “That’s the No. 1 goal of the process.” 

The stakes for the plan couldn’t be higher. Should a tropical weather system – Hurricane Brillo, perhaps – scour the coastline, hundreds or thousands of homes and businesses could be destroyed. Could they, should they, be rebuilt?

“There are a number of areas where the underlying zoning has changed,” Commission Chairwoman Nora Patterson said. “Can a condominium be reconstructed with the old density? Or could it be even bigger?”

“That’s one of the difficulties,” Wreford said. “How much can be built back, where, how far back?”

The problem is not unique to the barrier islands. Much of southern Sarasota County is very low-lying. A huge rain event might produce more flooding damage than a hurricane.

“We’ll start with the barrier islands, but ultimately we want to expand to the mainland, especially those areas with issues,” Wreford said.