On Siesta Key, an older condominium building that has more units than current zoning allows keeps every one of those units if a hurricane wrecks it. If its owners decide to tear it down first and rebuild to modern storm standards, it loses many of them. One example in county reporting is Sea Club V at 6744 Sarasea Circle. It has 41 units. A voluntary rebuild could replace them with only 18.
This rule matters to anyone pricing a unit in one of the island's older complexes. A county proposal to change it was denied in November 2025. For a building that is out of step with today's density limits, the realistic way forward is to repair, reinforce and assess the owners. That cost comes with the unit.
The Rule That Favors a Storm Over a Plan
Here is how the pieces fit, as described in Your Observer's coverage of the county's decision:
- Many Siesta Key condominiums were built before 1986 at densities that current rules no longer allow.
- Under current FEMA regulations, if a natural disaster damages one of these buildings beyond 50% of its value, it can be rebuilt at its existing density.
- If the owners choose to demolish and rebuild for better storm resilience, the new building has to follow post-1986 density limits.
| Path for an older, nonconforming building | Unit count afterward | Who triggers it |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane damage over 50% of value | Existing density can be rebuilt; 41 units at Sea Club V | The storm |
| Voluntary demolition and rebuild | Post-1986 limits apply; 18 units at Sea Club V | The association |
| Repair and reinforce in place | Existing building and units stay | The association, funded by owners |
The rule goes back decades. The county's 1975 zoning ordinance, Ordinance 75-38, set out its intent toward nonconformities in plain terms. The Sarasota News Leader quoted it during the 2025 debate:
"It is the intent of these zoning regulations to permit these non-conformities to continue until they are voluntarily removed or removed as required by these zoning regulations but not to encourage their survival."
A building that was legal when it went up can stay. Once its owners take it down by choice, the extra units go with it.
Four Years of Trying to Change It
The effort to change this started in January 2022. That month Mark Smith, then an architect and private citizen, asked the County Commission for a Comprehensive Plan amendment that would let Sea Club V's owners demolish and rebuild at their current density. Smith was later elected to the commission. In that role he said the rebuilt structures would still have to meet every building code and zoning rule "just as if the land was a vacant lot," keeping only the number of units. He also said no new structure should exceed the zoning district's 45-foot height limit above two levels of parking.
Height turned out to be the main obstacle. An earlier draft would have allowed a 65-foot building over two parking levels. According to the News Leader, that was the chief reason the county Planning Commission voted unanimously in summer 2024 against recommending the changes. On Sept. 11, 2024, the County Commission took no action. A workshop followed on Feb. 5, 2025. There, Neal Schleifer, vice president of the Siesta Key Condominium Council, estimated that 137 nonconforming properties on the island would be affected. He said the council represents 100 associations and 7,000 households. That figure is a stakeholder estimate, not a county inventory.
The proposal came back on Nov. 12, 2025, this time covering all pre-1986 Siesta Key condominiums that exceed current density. It needed four votes to go to Tallahassee for review. Smith recused himself, and the other four commissioners voted unanimously to deny it, following the recommendations of staff and the Planning Commission. Your Observer reported that seven members of the public spoke against it, including the president of the nonprofit Protect Siesta Key, who raised concerns that developers could buy, demolish and redevelop properties. Commissioners also noted that no representatives of Sea Club V or any other affected condo spoke in support.
Where the State Resiliency Law Fits
Buyers who follow Florida condo news sometimes assume state law has already taken care of this. Florida's Resiliency and Safe Structures Act does limit how local governments can block demolition and redevelopment. It applies to buildings on property that sits at least partly seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line, and only if the building falls below federal base flood elevation requirements, has been found unsafe, or has been ordered demolished.
For buildings that qualify, the law requires local governments to allow replacement structures up to "the maximum height and overall building size authorized by local development regulations for a similarly situated parcel within the same zoning district." The measure is what current zoning allows on a comparable parcel. The text says nothing about keeping a building's existing unit count. Whether a particular Siesta Key complex qualifies at all depends on where its parcel sits relative to the control line and on its flood elevation.
The 2026 legislative session did not change this either. Senate Bill 840 and its House companion, HB 1465, would have changed land-use rules after natural disasters. Both died in subcommittee on March 13, 2026.
So Older Buildings Repair, and Owners Pay
If a planned rebuild costs units, associations are left to keep the existing building standing and make it stronger. Even with a rebuild, Smith acknowledged the cost. He called voluntary reconstruction "an incredibly expensive proposition," noting that owners would be "out of your home for at least two years, at a very high cost," and that units used as rentals would lose income during construction.
Harbor Towers Yacht & Racquet Club, at 5855 Midnight Pass Road, shows what the repair path looks like. The seven-story, 211-residence building received its certificate of occupancy in 1975. Siesta Sand reported that the association hired a structural engineer in 2021 and went on to a roughly $13 million project. The work replaced the glass to updated hurricane specifications, rebuilt exterior walls, reinforced wall studs and added extensive waterproofing. It finished about a month before Hurricane Milton. Association President Pat Palumbo said the renovated envelope came through undamaged despite gusts of about 130 mph measured on the roof. The roof was not part of the project and has since been replaced.
Owners paid for it directly. Assessments ran from the low $40,000s to nearly $100,000 per unit, depending on unit size. Palumbo said some owners sold rather than pay, and after the hurricanes most owners were grateful the work had been done. Siesta Sand also reported that an earlier phased rebuild of the building's marina was paid for from reserves, without a special assessment.
State law now gives associations more ways to pay for this kind of work. The enrolled text of 2025's HB 913 allows structural integrity reserve funding through regular or special assessments, lines of credit or loans. The loan and credit options require approval by a majority of total voting interests.
The 2024 storms showed what happens to buildings that were not reinforced. A March 2025 Siesta Sand report described Siesta Harbor, Palm Bay Club and Jamaica Royale owners dealing with repair and permitting delays. It said special assessments were widespread among damaged complexes, with repair costs ranging from $1 million to $20 million per complex. That report is now more than 18 months old, and research for this post did not find a current status for those associations.
Where This Shows Up in the Price
Countywide figures blend every building age together. In August 2026, the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee reported 281 condo and townhome closings in Sarasota County, up 13.8% from a year earlier. The median price was $310,000 and the median time to contract was 83 days, with 5.2 months of supply.
Recent Siesta Key sales show how far apart the island's buildings can be. Siesta Sand's September roundup of sales from the prior 60 days put the high condo at $9.4 million, unit #402 at Sunset Beach. Sunset Beach is a planned 11-residence Gulf-front development with 175 feet of private shoreline. The low was $240,000 for unit #208 at Sea Winds, a 35-unit complex with a two-week minimum rental period. In October the low condo was Siesta Harbor #107 at $312,450.
Sunset Beach is planned for 11 residences. Sea Winds holds 35 units. At an older complex whose unit count exceeds current zoning, as Sea Club V's does, that extra density lasts only as long as the building stands or until a storm destroys it. A buyer in a building like that is getting a lower entry price along with a share of every future decision about how the building is kept up.
Questions Buyers Put to an Older Association
These come up in transactions involving pre-1986 Siesta Key complexes, and the answers usually sit in association records:
- When was the building constructed, and does its current unit count exceed what its zoning district allows today?
- What structural, envelope or waterproofing work has been completed, and what did each owner pay?
- What does the most recent structural integrity reserve study show, and how is the association funding it?
- Has the association discussed loans or lines of credit under the 2025 rules?
- What storm damage did the building sustain in 2024, and is any repair or permitting still open?
A Few Questions Buyers Raise
Could Sarasota County still change the rule? The Comprehensive Plan amendment was denied in November 2025, after a commission hearing in September 2024 and a workshop in February 2025. Any new attempt would have to go back through the county's Comprehensive Plan process.
Does the state resiliency act protect an older building's unit count? Its text ties replacement buildings to the maximum height and building size allowed under current zoning for a similar parcel. It applies only to qualifying buildings seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line.
Is a large past assessment a warning sign? It depends on what the money bought. At Harbor Towers, assessments of up to nearly $100,000 per unit paid for an envelope that came through Milton undamaged, according to the association's president.
If you're weighing a unit in one of Siesta Key's older complexes, Harriet Stopher can help you read the building's assessment history, reserve plan and storm record alongside the asking price. Request a complimentary market consultation with Harriet before you write an offer.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
