The City of Sarasota is governed by a Commission - Manager form of government. There are five City Commissioners, two are elected at-large (city wide) and one is elected from each of the 3 single-member districts. All elections are nonpartisan. Commissioners serve a 4 year term. In April of each year the Commissioners select a Mayor and Vice Mayor from among their members. The City Commission appoints a City Manager, a City Auditor, Clerk, and a City Attorney, who are known as Charter Officials . The City Commission meets at least twice a month. Salary is $50,309.
My name is Erik Arroyo and I’m a business, wills, and trust lawyer in Sarasota. I met my wife in high school at Riverview here locally. She is now a history teacher at Sarasota High School. I was raised by a single mother who brought me to Sarasota from the Dominican Republic to achieve the American Dream. I have represented small shops and clients in front of the Sarasota City Commission, and I have a comprehensive understanding of our fiscal, policy, and social issues in Sarasota, which I will use to protect our quality of life. We will continue our efforts to prioritize public safety, keep crime at its record lows, and fund infrastructure improvements while lowering the under on taxpayers.
The Florida legislature prevents local governments from requiring affordable housing from already entitled land, meaning that we can only provide incentives on density bonuses. The historic affordable housing initiatives that our commission passed allow developers to take a density bonus as long as they provide 15% of those bonus units as affordable. We have tried asking for 20% in the past, and it has yielded virtually no results. This present incentive has already yielded over affordable 500 units underway.
Public housing is managed by the Sarasota Housing Authority and its board and does not fall under the purview of the city commission. Whether that is a good idea depends on a number of factors, namely: where there is the greatest need, where the land to be purchased is available, the financial condition of the organizations, and internal company policies.
Development should pay for itself, and growth should not require taxpayers to subsidize it. While I suppose the use of our funds to pay for old infrastructure liabilities, new growth should pay its own way.
After our commissiion visited Tallahassee to meet with legislators and our Governor's office to inform them of our plans and infrastructure needs; our city was awarded over $10 Million dollars for infrastructure improvements in 2022.
I'm running for City Commission in District 3 because we deserve a commissioner who cares, listens, and puts our needs first.
I will protect our parks and prevent their commercialization for private gain. I will tackle affordable housing to accommodate everyone who needs it, from the young skilled workforce to those on fixed and low income, to those getting priced out of their homes. I will investigate expanding the missing middle program in areas where small multifamily dwellings already exist.
This should be called the corridor revitalization initiative rather than the affordable housing initiative. It certainly will revitalize corridors but in and of itself it is likely to exacerbate our housing crisis rather than be the solution. The City is giving away too much density and getting too little affordable housing.
The best approach is to have a variety of housing stocks mixed together to foster economic diversity instead of lumping all public housing together. We're heading in that direction with affordable housing.
I believe a Comprehensive Plan provides direction for how we want our city to grow over time. After a very public input process, that plan should be valued and upheld.
I support the use of impact fees to ensure our growing community has the infrastructure it needs.
Before moving to Sarasota I worked diligently to update the Ohio licensing law for speech-language pathologists and audiologists. I provided testimony at state-level house and senate hearings to help that cause.
Also in Ohio, after completing my tenure as an elected councilperson, I chaired the committee that wrote the comprehensive plan for my community.
In Sarasota I have been president of my homeowners association, two-term chair of the Coalition of City Neighborhoods Associations, and I sat on Sarasota's Planning Board for six years, serving as member and chair. Finally, Conserve Bobby Jones Now, of which I am a founding member, received the Conservation Partner of the Year award from the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast.
