Rosemary Residential Overlay District (RROD) = Success! - Spring 2018

The tremendously successful RROD, an overlay district instituted by the city that allows residential development up to 75 residential units per acre (as compared to 25 units per acre in city code) is scheduled to sunset either on Dec. 31 of this year or when 1,775 units have been approved within the district. To date, 1,554 units have been approved or are in process, bringing new residents, new life and new economic opportunity to an area of the city that languished for years. As a result, the RROD has unquestionably been the most successful economic development effort I have witnessed in more than three decades of doing business in Sarasota. Establishing the RROD cost the City “$0” and the triple density provision incentivized development and enabled property owners to deliver rental apartments that otherwise would not have occurred, while maintaining existing height restrictions. Today, new residents are supporting existing businesses, encouraging new businesses to take root and generating new taxes for Sarasota. It is our hope that city and Sarasota County leaders will recognize and appreciate the success of the RROD when considering future incentives and public policy. Sarasota needs more of these types of successes.