Proposed Comprehensive Plan Chapter Updates
Chapter 163 of the Florida Statutes requires each local government in the State of Florida to adopt a Comprehensive Plan in order to plan for future development and growth. The formal name of the City’s Comprehensive Plan is the Sarasota City Plan. A Comprehensive Plan contains both required and optional elements, called Chapters in Sarasota’s Comprehensive Plan.
A Comprehensive Plan Chapter consists of two components. The Plan Section contains Goals, Objectives, and Action Strategies (i.e., Policies) which are adopted by ordinance. There are also adopted maps in the Comprehensive Plan including a Future Land Use Map or Map Series regulating the distribution, extent, and location of various land uses and a Transportation Map or Map Series showing the general location of the existing and proposed transportation system features. The Support Document Section contains data and analysis which supports the adopted Plan Section. The data and analysis are not required to be adopted into the Comprehensive Plan by ordinance per State Statute and the City does not adopt the Support Document Section.
In 2023, the State of Florida began requiring at least two planning periods for comprehensive plans, with one covering at least the first 10-year period occurring after the plan’s adoption and one covering at least a 20-year period. The planning time horizon for the current edition of the Sarasota City Plan is 2030. In order to meet the State of Florida requirement for two planning periods, the City is currently in the process of updating the Sarasota City Plan to a new time horizon of 2055.
Updates to the Comprehensive Plan Chapters will be processed in small batches in order to allow for a more concentrated and precise review of each chapter. These updates will occur over the next several years and drafts will be provided on this webpage.
The draft documents located on this page identify City Staff’s suggested revisions to the various comprehensive plan chapters. City staff will present drafts of the suggested Chapter revisions at public Open Houses and Community Meetings in order to inform the public of the contents and to garner public input on the draft documents. Additionally, drafts of the suggested Chapter revisions will be presented to appropriate Advisory Boards for review and comment. Drafts of the suggested Chapter revisions will be presented to the Planning Board and City Commission at public hearings where the public is invited to attend and provide input for the proposed Chapter revisions to the Comprehensive Plan. The Planning Board will first hold a public hearing to provide a recommendation to the City Commission on transmitting proposed Chapter revisions to State review agencies and also on adopting proposed Chapter revisions. Second, the City Commission will hold a public hearing to consider transmitting proposed Chapter revisions to State review agencies. Upon receipt of State review comments, the City Commission will consider adopting proposed Chapter revisions at a third public hearing. The public is invited to attend each of the public hearings and is welcome to provide input into the updates of the Comprehensive Plan.
Proposed updates to the City Comprehensive Plan chapters are ordered below chronologically by the anticipated processing date.
Proposed Comprehensive Plan Updates
Comprehensive Plan Chapters Going to Public Hearing
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Document Link |
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Transportation Chapter - The purpose of the Transportation Chapter is to provide direction for the City’s transportation system in a way that sustains the City’s natural, aesthetic, social and economic resources.
Upcoming meeting: Planning Board Public Hearing on May 13, 2026
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26-PA-02 Staff Report - Update to the Transportation Chapter(PDF, 25MB) |
Comprehensive Plan Chapters Going to Public Meetings
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Document Link |
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Recreation and Open Space Chapter - The purpose of the Recreation and Open Space Chapter is to provide and maintain a high quality and environmentally sensitive system of open spaces and recreation facilities which meet the needs of the community.
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TBD |
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Historic Preservation Chapter - The purpose of the Historic Preservation Chapter is to provide the comprehensive plan foundation for the protection and enhancement of the City of Sarasota’s historic resources including buildings, structures, sites, districts, objects, and archaeological sites.
Previous meeting: Historic Preservation Board on May 12, 2026 at 3:00pm in City Commission Chambers
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TBD |
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Governmental Coordination Chapter - The purpose of Governmental Coordination Chapter is to provide direction for efficient and effective coordination between Sarasota City government and other governmental entities whose actions have mutual impacts. The Chapter provides coordination with the plans of the Sarasota County School Board, Southwest Florida Water Management District, and other units of local government such as Sarasota County.
Upcoming meeting: Open House/Community Meeting on June 15, 2026 at 5:30pm in SRQ Media Studio
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TBD |