Scattered Site Home Building Challenges in Sarasota, Florida

This is some information that may be helpful to someone considering buying a lot or a tear down and building the home of their dreams. I am speaking from my own experience, being in the construction business for over 35 years.

I was recently searching for a building site for a customer looking to build their dream home “West of Trail” in Sarasota, Florida. Seems simple enough right?

When I made the zoning inquiry regarding county building setbacks I was initially told one thing and upon re-verification with a different representative I was told something different. So, nothing has changed over the past 35 years, building has its challenges. First, make sure you are talking to the correct person and that this person is willing to look beyond the obvious to get you a correct answer, and then verify once again. It turned out that this subdivision had special zoning requirements for that particular home site.

When it comes to zoning classifications, non-conformities, utilities, drainage requirements, minimum finish floor heights, buffers, wetlands, subdivision restrictions and flood zones, information is not always found in one place. Also, there are differences between county and city governments. Use your due diligence time to extensively research and establish your building parameters. This is the first thing you need to do before purchasing a property or designing a home. Speaking from experience it’s time well spent.