PORT CHARLOTTE — Residents near Burnt Store Road claim Charlotte County leaders and staff need to reach out more as development continues.
Burnt Store Corridor Coalition chairman John Fleming said after the meeting Tuesday that most meetings have largely resulted in official updates and public comment without real collaboration.
"We're not talking together," Fleming told members of the media. "We are at the same point we were seven months ago."
The Burnt Store Corridor itself, running between Punta Gorda to the north and Lee County to the south, is anticipated to see 7,000 new residents by 2030.
The Board of County Commissioners previously partnered with the coalition in 2005 to create a master plan for regulating and facilitating development, aiming to protect property rights for existing and new residents and businesses.
The county commissioners are attempting to revise the plan with updated figures and policies.
At the commission's regular meeting Tuesday, several residents with the coalition used public comment to address what they felt was a lack of communication.
During his own public comment, Fleming acknowledged the past partnership of the county and the coalition.
At the same time, he stressed the lack of direct communication and the fact that some studies were only recently moved along.
"We are still talking process when we should be talking logistics," he said.
Another coalition member, Mary Ellen Kiss, urged the commissioners to hold meetings that included planned and ad-hoc communities in and around the corridor — including in neighboring Lee County.
"The coalition has devoted considerable time and effort to develop communication networks with elected officials and staff at all levels of government, as well as resident members of the communities," she said.
Later in the meeting, Planning and Zoning Official Shaun Cullinan presented current data on Burnt Store Road residential and commercial development.
During that presentation, county commissioners stressed they would like to have more meetings with residents and involved parties about the area's development.
Commissioner Joe Tiseo called for a new stakeholder meeting tobring all interested parties together in one place.
"Otherwise, it'll be like herding cats," he said.
Tiseo previously attended a public meeting in February regarding resident concerns along Burnt Store Road.
Vice Chair Christopher Constance agreed, saying that county leaders and staff should be available together to comply with the Government in the Sunshine law and address constituent concerns.
"It's not a stakeholder meeting for developers and (then) a stakeholder meeting for residents, and a stakeholder's meeting for commercial...everybody comes at the same time," he said.
County commissioners ultimately gave direction to Cullinan that they would plan future meetings after reviewing the master plan at a workshop session next month.
Several coalition members said they were disappointed that a stakeholder meeting was not planned for during the meeting itself.
"There was no formal motion made," Kiss said.
Fleming noted that the Burnt Store area already has thousands of existing residents, who are concerned about the impact of road-widening projects, plans for wildlife protection on roads, and the possible result of increased wear and tear on existing roads from new development.
Current figures estimate that the Burnt Store Road Corridor will have approximately 1 million square feet of commercial development, half of which is already approved via general planned development concept plans.
Cullinan previously told county commissioners that full buildout of nearly 2.4 million square feet would be highly unlikely due to local and state regulations requiring open space and wetlands preservation.
County staff are also currently in the process of seeking new studies for traffic impact and water impact, as well as installing safe crossings for local wildlife.
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