Manatee County officials are in the move to place more guardrails on local developments.
The new batch of commissioners, elected in 2024, campaigned on the governance of growth that some residents feel is happening too quickly, especially in East Manatee County.
Now, new leaders are looking for ways to provide residents with more input on their development projects and demand more from developers to support their infrastructure. They also started the process of rolling back some of the promotional changes made by the previous board.
A series of recent actions approved by the majority of commissioners include:
* Move to restore local wetland buffers to protect environmentally sensitive areas from development.
*We are looking to get the best possible impact fees from developers. Developers pay impact fees to cover the costs of roads, sewerage, emergency services and other needs arising from new developments. The previous board voted to raise the fees by 50% over the next four years, but the new board ordered a study that would allow the county to raise the fees and collect more millions.
*Moves to cancel the comprehensive planning amendments for 2021 that will allow some development to be carried out east of the county’s future development area boundaries.
*Move to request a neighborhood workshop for all proposed development projects.
However, other ideas, including the recently proposed potential moratorium on developments, recently proposed by Commissioner Bob McCann, know how far the new board wants to be away from limiting growth. There remains a debate.
The committee discusses the best ways to address development concerns
The new board is moving forward on some development issues, but the first few months are not without conflict. The commissioners clashed over how much they dial back growth. They also discuss appropriate legal procedures for updating development rules.
Some commissioners have expressed dissatisfaction with the time it takes to reverse the policies set by former commissioners. But the County Attorney’s Office says these reversals will require a lengthy hearing process.
At a recent public meeting, the commissioners spent hours debating whether some already approved East Manatee County Development Projects could be last-minute halted. At a Final Platt hearing to determine whether a pre-approved development meets the county requirements before construction begins, Commissioner Carolfelt, Jason Bearden and McCann opposed approval of several projects. .
Commissioner George Kruze and Tar Siddik argued that it was the wrong approach to curbing development and could waste taxpayer money on legal challenges the county would likely lose. .
Can Manatee County go through a suspension on development?
McCann repeatedly raised the possibility of a one-year development moratorium in District 5, which includes Lakewood Ranch and parts of East Bradenton.
Follow Tampa Bay’s top headlines
Subscribe to our free Daystarter newsletter
We provide you with the latest news and information you need to know every morning.
You’re all signed up!
Want more free weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.
Check out all options
In a presentation to fellow commissioners on Jan. 28, McCann argued that the county needs time to catch up with the influx of new residents with upgrades to infrastructure to prevent flooding and traffic congestion.
“We are building and building in Manatee County to undermine the people who live here,” McCann said. “The builders want to build a house. They want to put them in before the river is cleaned, before the storm drain takes care of it, before we have the roads. Masu.”
McCann said he “started a conversation” with a well-known developer to find a solution. Moratorium could be a last resort, he said.
“I… I want to actually bring the builders to the table so that they can start the discussion, so we can actually work together,” McCann said. “We can then avoid this moratorium. If not, we’ll do the move.”
This idea was supported by Bearden and Felts.
“Can we do that? We can try it. We’re not playing anymore,” Feld said.
“If we had done things the right way, we wouldn’t have had this discussion about moratorium,” Bareden said. “If we had done things the right way, our roads would have been built.”
Other Florida communities are considering suspending development
Other Florida municipalities are considering similar measures to address flood and infrastructure concerns.
City officials in Edgewater, Volsia County, recently passed a one-year moratorium on certain types of developments, including new single-family homes in flood-prone areas.
“During a temporary moratorium, the city will repair, maintain and improve ditches, canals and other stormwater systems, but the city is waiting for the completion of its stormwater plans to make new improvements,” city officials updated. I’ve said that.
Volcia County officials considered similar countywide measures, but instead decided to pursue other options to deal with local flooding, including strengthening wetland protection and canal cleaning. .
However, some Manatee County Commissioners argued that the moratorium may not be the right answer.
“The reality is that we all have infrastructure issues,” Siddiq said. “Every county in Florida feels that… because we are lagging behind infrastructure and growth. This moratorium is a fundamental problem that is truly underinvested in your infrastructure. I don’t think they’re actually dealing with it.”
Siddique argued that by updating the county’s comprehensive planning and land development code, the board could better address development-related issues.
“I think there are certainly other issues we can fight for the residents,” Siddiq said.
“There’s a lot we can talk about. That’s not as absolute as a pause,” Commissioner Kruze said. “We can put people in a position where it makes people more difficult to build, and if they build it, it costs them more and we can cover the costs of their development. And they will be more encouraged to do it in a sensible way based on the policies we put in.”
McCann did not make any moves related to the moratorium, but said he would take the issue back at a future meeting.
Residents can get more input about growth
In another move, the committee recently successfully changed the way the county informs residents about proposed developments in the neighborhood.
Felt asked county staff to prepare revisions to the land development code that would require neighborhood workshops for all projects. Felt calls it a “small step” to give it to residents more input.
“We all know that there is a problem with the amount of notifications we get (and),” Feldt said. “What we’re trying to do is adopt some steps that will help us with greater transparency, and our citizens will be able to be fair to everyone. Be informed, educated and involved in that process.”
Commissioner Mike Lahn questioned whether changes to the rules would overregulate developments that have not affected residential areas. Commissioner Siddique argued that by requesting meetings on all projects, it could “unfairly target” affordable housing and redevelopment projects the board wants to support.
“I think it’s just a jump to another extreme, and it’s over-adjusting the issue,” Siddiq said.
However, other commissioners were supportive, and the measure passed 5-2 with opposition from Siddique and Raan.
“I think it’s good to have a neighborhood meeting in every case,” Commissioner Amanda Ballard said.
Several residents called to support the movement.
“We don’t know when something is going on in our area until it’s too late,” said Paula Loomis, East Manatee County resident. “It’s so overdeveloped.”
Leaders move to cancel East Manatee County development-friendly rules
Commissioners recently voted to cancel changes to the comprehensive plan made in 2021 that would allow for new home construction east of the county’s future development area boundaries. The rules change has approved thousands of new homes that have been approved across boundaries.
In recent years, commissioners have debated whether the FDAB should move east, and former District 5 commissioner Raymond Turner has even come to mind the idea of removing the boundary completely.
But today’s board of directors shows that they will strengthen the line and prevent new developments on the other side.
The board recently voted unanimously to begin the process of repealing the 2021 comprehensive planning amendment.
