Appeal of Neal's Swiftmud Permit for Perico Wetland Destruction to be Livestreamed Thursday
Posted
Dennis Maley
BRADENTON – On Thursday, the 5th District Court of Appeals in Daytona Beach will hear oral arguments on a consortium of local environmentalists' appeal of a permit that would allow the destruction of wetlands in order to facilitate the development desires of a politically-connected builder. The hearing will be livestreamed over the DCA's website.
The Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage, Suncoast Waterkeeper, Manasota 88, Sierra Club and TBTPublisher Joe McClash are asking the four-judge panel to reverse a Southwest Florida Water Management District order that awarded developer Pat Neal a controversial permit to destroy mangroves and build on the coastal wetlands of Perico Island.
In 2015, the Swiftmud board rejected an administrative law judge's recommended order before approving the permit. The appeal claims the board improperly changed findings of fact made by the administrative law judge when granting the permit.
The decision was made even more controversial because it was led by then
Swiftmud board member Carlos Beruff, a fellow developer and sometimes business
partner of Neal's. Neal wants to build a four-home compound on three and a half waterfront acres of a 40-acre parcel he owns on Anna Maria Sound that does not comply with City of Bradenton development rules or state guidelines on wetlands.
Perhaps more troubling, work has begun on the area in question (see pictures below), despite not only the Swiftmud appeal, but a pending suit by Suncoast Waterkeeper against the City of Bradenton for not following its own rules in approving the project. Additionally, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who must also issue a permit, has not yet weighed in.
The hearing begins at 9 a.m. Click here to view the 5th DCA's livestream page.
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