Manatee County is not at the cutting edge of liberalism. But when the county commissioners are there (all seven Republicans) discuss how they govern in development, they say something about Florida’s tortured approach to growth. Manatees are not outliers, but they are the latest county struggle with most of their own problems. It may help you experience in nearby Hillsboro.
County officials are taking a series of steps to address the headaches of growing population providing roads, drainage and other important services. Several commissioners elected in 2024 have been running on the platform to better manage growth, and recently the board has restored wetland protection, restricted development areas and louder voice in the development approval process I moved to give it. One commissioner has brought the idea of a limited moratorium to come up with the idea of a limited moratorium, in order to buy time to build more infrastructure.
Manatee and Hillsboro are very different places with their own unique characteristics and problems. However, when it comes to development pressures, we share a common thread. It is called Interstate 75, and it cuts through the eastern parts of both counties, bringing thousands of new homes to miles of rural land, and an insatiable desire for new public services. In fact, Manatees have experienced something Hillsboro had about 30 years ago. Here are some observations as it unfolds directly.
It’s not unplanned growth. You can plan whether to plan growth or not, but do nothing is also a policy decision, so officials should not be surprised by playing a political game. Residents move to Florida for many reasons: no warm climate, beaches or state income tax. County commissioners can’t do much about them. Still, they shape land use, design standards, environmental policies, build well-located communities, protect natural resources, maximize spending on roads, public safety, flood management and other important public services. It can be transformed.
You will never catch up. Time is not by your side. For the trust of the manatee, the committee is exploring a variety of options. This is always a good strategy. Hillsboro did the opposite as committee members made growth a partisan issue and distributors to developers pretended to pay over time. This delayed infrastructure improvements and made the work even more expensive. The sooner the manatee acknowledges reality, the better. It also sets reasonable expectations. Moratorium may sound good, but it is a dull tool and a cold sign that the leader has exhausted his ideas.
Building consensus. Democrats and Republicans are gathering more and more locally to meet their infrastructure needs. This is the result of many things, from the fierce growth and extreme weather growth in Florida to the lack of services in many counties. But don’t discount the value of the dialogue. The toxic debate on Hillsboro’s growth has cost the county of reasonable solutions that could improve the quality of life for residents. Homeowners and businesses are more likely to buy when they are sitting at the table and feel confident in the government and a significant sense of burden being shared. Calling an attorney won’t win.
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Let’s see where this conversation goes. But what’s going on with manatees will at least focus the public on the costs of sprawl and what it takes to create a livable community. This is a valuable movement in the county, with population growth of 24% over the past 30 years and growing even more since 2020.
Manatee residents will have ample opportunity to shape these decisions this year as the county holds a series of meetings to update its comprehensive plan. However, the report presented to the commissioners on Wednesday in floods from Hurricane Debbie last year was taken with one image from 1998 and two images from 2024. This is the explosive urbanization of manatees that has driven the county’s growth pain into a first-class problem. It’s so unstable that I hope I don’t repeat Hillsboro’s mistakes.
