Bass Pro Shops moves to amend Sarasota plans

SARASOTA -- Bass Pro Shops is making a change to its plans for a Sarasota store.

On Tuesday, the Sarasota County Commission reviewed a request from Bass Pro Outdoor World LLC, represented by John Patterson with Shutts and Bowen, LLP, to file a comprehensive plan amendment outside of the county's usual schedule.

"It's a bureaucratic step in that we have one annual opportunity to apply for comprehensive plan amendments in a cycle," said Allen Parsons, planning division manager for Sarasota County. "Individuals can request to be processed outside of the cycle; it's fairly common."

The company has not filed the comprehensive plan amendment yet, Parsons said, but they've now received approval to file it.

The company is now expected to file the comprehensive plan amendment with the county, which requests a change in allowance for freestanding commerical buildings. Bass Pro Outdoor World LLC wants a larger free-standing commercial building.

"The intent of the amendment is to clarify provisions of the Comprehensive Plan to allow a mix of uses in the Fruitville Initiative that include commercial uses within mixed use projects that may be a mix of free stand

ing buildings with exclusive or predominant commercial use." The amendment also wants "buildings where the commercial use is accessory to other uses as long as the total commercial square footage does not exceed 35 percent of the total nonresidential building square footage."

The company has not yet approached the county for approval to build a Bass Pro Shops building, Parsons said, but if they do so, he believes the building will be large enough to require public hearings.

"They likely will be going through public hearing processes to seek approval of the development they're proposing," Parsons said.

Though the outdoor gear store was ready to set up camp near The Mall at University Town Center originally, they were enticed to an area often referred to as Fruitville Commons. In 2014, Bass Pro Shops committed to a piece of the 41-acre parcel there owned by the Walters Trust and Harry E. Robbins Commercial Associates.

Janelle O'Dea, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7095. Follow her on Twitter @jayohday.

This story was originally published January 27, 2016 at 12:10 AM with the headline "Bass Pro Shops moves to amend Sarasota plans ."