Sarasota County will pursue negotiations to buy the Smith Farm property beside the Celery Fields after county commissioners unanimously rejected a settlement proposal that would have allowed D.R. Horton to develop a 126-home subdivision on the property.

In a second unanimous vote Oct. 6, commissioners directed the county attorney’s office and county administration to negotiate with the developer and Smith Farm property owners over a possible purchase. Sarasota Audubon Society offered to help raise money if additional funding were needed to reach an agreement.

The votes open a path toward public ownership of roughly 51 acres along Raymond Road at the center of a prolonged development dispute. They don’t authorize a purchase, establish a price or resolve the litigation.

The land sits beside the Celery Fields, where stormwater infrastructure doubles as wildlife habitat and a destination for birders and walkers. Commissioners pointed to both flood protection and conservation as reasons to pursue an acquisition.

Commissioner Teresa Mast proposed exploring a purchase, describing the property as potentially valuable stormwater infrastructure and welcoming Audubon’s willingness to participate in a public-private partnership. Commissioner Mark Smith supported the idea but cautioned that the price should reflect a realistic appraisal.

The settlement would have revived the 126-home single-family plan commissioners rejected in February 2025. D.R. Horton initially proposed about 170 homes before reducing the project to 126. The developer and property owners subsequently challenged the county’s rezoning denial in court. 

They also pursued a substantially denser proposal under Florida’s Live Local Act: 864 apartments in buildings up to 65 feet tall. Whether the property’s Open Use Rural zoning qualifies for that development is part of the legal dispute.

County Attorney Joshua Moye told commissioners that D.R. Horton’s latest offer would resolve the pending litigation by allowing the 126-home subdivision. He also said a county purchase had been raised during an earlier dispute-resolution process, but Horton rejected it at the time. No new acquisition negotiations had taken place in response to the latest offer.

Commissioner Joe Neunder moved to reject the settlement. After that motion passed unanimously, Mast made a separate motion directing staff to negotiate a reasonable fair-market purchase price. 

During the opening public-comment period, Sarasota Audubon Society president Sara Reisinger urged commissioners to acquire the property and incorporate it into the Celery Fields’ stormwater system.

Reisinger said the organization had spent nearly $20,000 helping defend the county’s position in the rezoning and Live Local disputes. Separately, she offered to mobilize fundraising to help bridge a potential gap in acquisition funding.

She argued that incorporating the land could protect wildlife and increase stormwater capacity. Commissioners echoed those concerns, although the discussion didn’t establish how much additional flood protection a purchase would provide.

No purchase price, funding source or timetable was announced. Any agreement will depend on whether the developer, property owners and county can reach acceptable terms.