The Rural Settlement Area Overlay District (RSAOD) was introduced into the Smart Charlotte 2050 Comprehensive Plan as a specialized framework intended to manage growth in the county's rural hinterlands. While framed by officials as a tool for "responsible development" and the preservation of open space through clustering, the overlay remains a point of significant local contention. Critics and long-time residents often point to the RSAOD’s origins—a planning study largely funded and shaped by a small group of influential property investors, consultants, and attorneys—as evidence that the policy was designed to serve private interests over the public good. Consequently, the RSAOD is viewed by many not as a preservation win, but as a strategic "up-zoning" mechanism that prioritizes developer profit and increased density at the expense of the authentic rural character and infrastructure of Charlotte County.
"This Wasn't in the Original Plan" Just two weeks prior to the final adoption of the 2010 Charlotte County Comprehensive Plan, Commissioner Chair Bob Starr questions the inclusion of the RSAOD, noting it contradicted 'common sense.' Furthermore, he explicitly raises concerns that the RSAOD was the product of external negotiations with the Florida Department of Community Affairs involving special interests.
"If It Tastes Like A Duck" Commissioner Adam Cummings called it first. While proponents touted the RSAOD as a new model for development, Cummings warned it was just a "fancy name" to hide urban sprawl—and predicted the state would see right through it.
He was right. On March 5, 2010, the Department of Community Affairs officially concluded the RSAOD met "every indicator of urban sprawl." Watch the moment he called it out.
DCA ORC Report March 5, 2010 ORC Rejection of RSAOD See pages 8 and 9 Objections 10 and 11.pdf"Do not adopt the US-17 Settlement Area Overlay District." — Florida Dept. of Community Affairs, March 5, 2010
Following the December 15, 2009 transmittal hearing, the DCA conducted an exhaustive review of Charlotte County’s proposed 2010 Comprehensive Plan. Their findings, released on March 5, 2010, were clear: the RSAOD failed to meet state standards. The DCA formally recommended the removal of the district twice, citing it as a primary indicator of urban sprawl.
The objections to the RSAOD are shown on pages 8 and 9 (Objections #10 and #11). There was no recommended remedy for the RSAOD, just rejection.
[Click here to read the full DCA Findings]
Recommendended revisions for RSAOD from DCA and changes to proposal by County June 29, 2010 highlighted.pdfJune 29, 2010 Internal Memo from Charlotte County Growth Management Director Jeff Ruggieri
Memorandum: DCA RSAOD Objections and Proposed Resolutions
This memorandum summarizes top-level negotiations between the County and the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) regarding the Rural Settlement Area Overlay District (RSAOD). Dated June 29, 2010—exactly 16 weeks after the DCA’s initial objection on March 5, 2010—the document outlines the specific conditions required to salvage the RSAOD proposal. It further details the County’s point-by-point response, showing how each recommendation was integrated into the final draft of the 2010 Comprehensive Plan. This is the origin of the existing FLU Appendix 1 Special Condition #4 regarding Density Transfer from the areas specified on SPAM Map 12.
Mention of "Mystery Development"
The record includes two embedded emails. Notably, the first email suggests the existence of a planned development within the RSAOD, referencing a specific number of required water connections and ongoing discussions with De Soto County to provide utility services for this project.
[Click here to read the full DCA Findings]
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