The City of Sarasota Planning Board held the first of two hearings Wednesday evening on plans for the redevelopment of Selby Botanical Gardens. The commission chambers was filled with supporters of the plan wearing green shirts and opponents who wore yellow. [Herald-Tribune staff photo / Mike Lang] ▲ Jennifer Rominiecki, CEO of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, sits in the front row during Wednesday night’s Planning Board meeting about the proposed master plan for Selby Gardens. [Herald-Tribune staff photo / Mike Lang] ▲ The City of Sarasota Planning Board held the first of two hearings Wednesday evening on plans for the redevelopment of Selby Botanical Gardens. The commission chambers was filled to capacity with supporters of the plan wearing green shirts and opponents who wore yellow. [Herald-Tribune staff photo / Mike Lang] ▲

The Sarasota hearings on a master site plan for Selby Gardens will continue next Wednesday.

A green wave of Selby Botanical Gardens supporters met a yellow wall of Sarasota neighborhood opposition at a City Planning Board hearing Wednesday night.

Colorful T-shirts showed how divided the standing-room-only crowd was on city approval of a zoning change and master site plan for Selby that includes a five-story parking garage with a rooftop restaurant.

READ MORE: See the latest news about Selby Gardens

Many people prepared statements, scribbling corrections in the margins, only to learn they would have to wait for the public hearing to be continued next Wednesday.

During a break, one opponent of the master plan joked with a Selby supporter about a quick compromise that would send people home early.

"Three-story garage — no restaurant," said Mike Sullivan. "We'd vote on that tonight, but they don't want to get off their master plan."

Teri Hansen, a Selby board member, called the public hearing part of a healthy process.

"I've had the chance to talk with some of the opponents to the plan," she said. "I've been surprised and dismayed at some of the misinformation that's circulating."

For the first few hours of Wednesday's hearing, more than 200 people listened to a Selby presentation, along with questions and answers from board members.

Jennifer Rominiecki, president and CEO of Selby, offered a review of garden's $92 million master plan for a 15-acre site on Sarasota Bay. She said the parking garage — a multi-use "Sky Garden" — is the key to turning 2 1/2 acres of parking lots into more green space for the gardens.

"We thought the best way to do that was to go vertical," Rominiecki said. "That's the way we pick up 50 percent more room for gardens."

Chris Cianfaglione, a project leader for the Kimley-Horne consulting firm, spent half an hour reviewing specifics of the master site plan. He said reducing the height of the parking garage would mean increasing its footprint and taking space away from the gardens, which was one of the most important goals of the master plan.

David Morriss, a member of the Planning Board, asked Cianfaglione about the height of the parking garage without the rooftop restaurant. He also asked about traffic at Mound Avenue and Orange Avenue.

"Wouldn't that back up pretty deeply?" Morriss asked. "Wouldn't that create a mini-gridlock?"

Cianfaglione replied that the new parking garage and turning lanes would actually lessen traffic starts and stops.

"The circulation of this is significantly improved," he said, "compared to what's there today."

Kathy Kelley Ohlrich, another member of the planning board, asked Rominiecki about parking and the proposed garage.

"Most people are concerned about the garage," Ohlrich said. "You call it a Sky Garden; it's a garage. You know, if it looks like a duck, and all that."

Eileen Normile, chair of the Planning Board, asked Rominiecki about the rooftop restaurant, an outdoor patio and worries about drinking and noise in the evening.

"We don't plan for it to become a late-night spot," Rominiecki replied. "We think it would be open to 10 o'clock on weekdays, 11 on weekends. And we would control it. We would able to enforce it."

Peanuts and paperbacks

Most of the seats in the commission chambers were filled an hour before the 6 p.m. public hearing.

Garden supporters wore green T-shirts and "I (Heart) Selby" buttons. Opponents of the master plan wore yellow T-shirts that said "Flowers, Not Towers" and "Selby Gardens, Not Garages."

Many people expected a long evening. Some brought along peanuts, chocolate snacks and bottles of water. Others packed magazines and paperback books.

One woman carried a copy of "Carpe Jugulum" by Terry Pratchett. One man brought along "The Lost Painting" by Jonathan Harr.

Some people who planned to speak on Wednesday welcomed a chance to edit and rewrite their remarks. Others seemed relieved. Many were excited about a chance to finally have their say.

Ricki Lindsay, who lives within 500 feet of the gardens, said she wasn't impressed with the Selby presentation.

"It confirmed some of my worst fears," she said. "Their information is often inconsistent. They refused to disclose 'confidential information' on the restaurant. They waffled on other details."