Although the Obsidian condominium tower planned for the 1200 block of Palm Avenue has received administrative approval from the city, the project still faces a lengthy path to the start of construction.
Residents of the adjacent Bay Plaza as a collective have filed an appeal with the Sarasota Planning Board on the basis of three adjustments that were granted to developer Matt Kihnke by Director of Development Services Lucia Panica. That hearing is currently slated for the Dec. 11 meeting, dependent on whether Bay Plaza residents are granted aggrieved party status.
That is an area of multiple shades of gray, largely subjective and open to appeal. Under Florida statute, an aggrieved party can be “any person or local government that will suffer an adverse effect to an interest protected or furthered by the local government comprehensive plan. … The alleged adverse interest may be shared in common with other members of the community at-large but must exceed in degree the general interest in community good shared by all persons.”
How that legalese can be applied requires some amount of guesswork, but attorney Morgan Bentley, who represents Bay Plaza, said his client is the proverbial poster child for aggrieved party status…