Casey Key

County, not a town

Casey Key is unincorporated Sarasota County, reached through Nokomis or the south bridge. Permits file with the County. Flood maps, tree permits, and coastal setback sit in that same government. There is no island building department to sweet-talk.

FEMA maps issued March 27, 2024 changed zones and base flood elevations on a lot of Gulf parcels. Two houses with the same view can have different first-floor elevations and different insurance. We pull the current FIRM before we talk plan.

The Gulf Beach Setback Line is not a suggestion

Sarasota County established the Gulf Beach Setback Line in 1979. A large share of Casey Key Gulf lots sit partly or mostly seaward of it. New houses and accessory structures in that band often need a Coastal Setback Variance. That is a County Commission hearing, not a counter visit. Staff memos on recent Casey Key cases have spelled out how far seaward of the line the house, the deck, and the garage would sit — and whether a prior petition on the same road was denied.

FDEP's Coastal Construction Control Line can stack on top of the County line. Shore protection, dunes, revetments, and seawalls pick up still more review. We will not pretend a mainland setback drawing belongs here.

How the job has to be run

Narrow road, low density, Gulf and bay lots, houses that cannot pretend they are inland. A loud, sloppy jobsite is obvious for a long way. The principal's California practice was salt, humidity, and ground that moved. Florida adds flood, wind, and a setback line the Commission still argues about. Same posture: read the site, define the line, do not improvise the envelope.