SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A developer hopes to rezone a piece of property off Raymond Road in Sarasota County from rural to residential.

If that happens, a nearly 50 acre farm property could transform into a neighborhood filled with 170 single-family homes. The petition to rezone will go before the planning commission later this week.

The farmland sits directly across the street from a Sarasota County Park called the “Celery Fields”. The park is a top destination in the state for birdwatching and is also Sarasota County’s primary flood mitigation zone.

The Sarasota Audubon Society fears if the rezoning petition is approved and development moves forward, the serene park that draws in 100,000 visitors a year will be drastically impacted for the worse.

“We have birdwatchers from all 50 states and around the world that come to visit here and this is really the premier birding location. When you have a lot of noise in the area from construction or just 1700 more cars a day, the birds can’t hear each other, so they will retreat from this area and really, this is the last bastion of nature that is left over here with all the other construction that has gone on around Celery Fields,” said Audubon Sarasota President Sara Reisinger.

Flooding in the area is also a big concern among locals, like the Martin family who live next to the existing farm. They tell News Channel 8, after Hurricane Debby, the entire property that is part of the rezoning petition was underwater. They said the flooding creeped up into their backyard, which was something that had never happened before.

“We don’t have to have flood insurance because we are not in a flood zone. We are about 25 to 27 feet above sea level, but this was an unusual event and we can’t predict unusual events, so why complicate things by saying, well we are going to build 170 units here on a 49 acre tract and create more space for more people to want to move to Sarasota. There are lots of other properties around that might make a good spot for development like that, this one though, we feel should really be left open and undeveloped. It is hard to define what the benefit would be to anybody but the developer,” said Jim Martin.

He hopes county decision makers will consider what the change could mean to all residents in the area.

“If this is developed, now the developer makes a bundle of money. I don’t begrudge anybody making money, but you have to think about the consequences of what you are doing. The consequences here could be dire,” said Martin.

The petition to rezone will go before the planning commission on November 21 at 5 p.m. at the south county commission chambers in Venice.

The public will have a chance to weigh in.

The final decision will be up to the Board of County Commissioners at a later date.