Lido, Siesta to square off on Big Pass dredging this week
SARASOTA — The plan to dredge sand from Big Pass to rebuild eroded portions of south Lido Beach will land in court today.
Lido Key residents have clashed with Siesta Key groups for years over the potential environmental impacts of the plan to pull sand from the channel between the two keys. Their fight boiled over into several legal actions earlier this year after the state announced it intended to issue a final permit for the work.
Now, the central arguments about the science behind the plan will finally come before state administrative law Judge Bram D.E. Canter at a week-long hearing on the Siesta groups’ formal appeal of the state permit.
The hearing starts at 9 a.m. today in Courtroom 2 on the sixth floor of the Sarasota County Justice Center, 2071 Ringling Blvd. in downtown Sarasota. The proceedings are open to the public and are expected to take the full six days scheduled for the hearings.