BOCC Approves Map Changes to Extend FDAB to 30-Acre Parcel in Watershed

BRADENTON – At Thursday’s land use meeting, Manatee County Commissioners voted 5-2 in favor of a staff-initiated text amendment to the Comprehensive Land-Use Plan that was said to correct a "mapping inconsistency" regarding the Future Development Area Boundary. The decision will provide for utility services to be extended to a 30-acre parcel next to Lake Manatee.

Previous boards had twice voted for comp plan amendments that changed the zoning from agricultural with a maximum density of 1 unit per 5 acres to residential with a maximum of three units per acre.

In 2005, the board voted in a county initiated plan amendment to change the site's future land use category from AG/R to RES-1. This decision placed land classified as Urban/Residential east of the FDAB and staff told commissioners on Tuesday that, "Ideally, the utility services map should have been updated with this amendment. However, an amendment to update the map was never processed."

In 2009, the board then approved a privately-initiated plan amendment that changed the site from RES-1 to MU-C/R (Mixed-Use - Community/Residential) with up to three units per acre, resulting in a 66-dwelling unit increase on property east of the FDAB, while the utility service map once again remained unchanged.

According to the staff report for that second change, a positive aspect of the proposal was that "the wastewater and water service area were extended to match the FDAB so the plan amendment area is now entirely within the FDAB and county utilities service area." This was used to suggest that the intent had always been to update the maps.

Members of the public, and at least one board member, felt that it seemed more likely that the FDAB line deliberately excluded that area for the sake of protecting the watershed. The debate then shifted to why such density changes would have been approved both beyond the FDAB and in the watershed, near the county drinking water supply at the reservoir.

"You're saying it's an error," Commissioner George Kruse told staff, "but ... I don't think it's an error. I think that the FDAB line was put there for a very, very, very specific reason. It's almost inconceivable that that FDAB line runs right along that watershed to protect what should be probably the thing we protect more than anything in this entire county because not only is that one of our most pristine parks that we should be expanding on, but that's our water, our drinking water."

Kruse said he didn't believe it could have been unintentional.

"I don't think this was a coincidence," said Kruse. "This wasn't somebody drawing a straight line and then their hand shook at some point in time. I mean, somebody intentionally put this line here at some point. My question is, if this is an error and our intention is to line these up, why aren't we having a discussion on moving the utility service boundary to where the FDAB line is instead of vice versa."

"Your outcome is still gonna be the same," staff responded. "You still have the potential for three dwelling units per acre. I'm not sure, in the watershed, if we wanna have septic if it makes sense to have this 30-acre site be a part of the overall site.

In total, there were 90 potential units that could be built, all of which would need to be on well water and septic tanks. The property, which is owned by LWR developer Schroeder Manatee Ranch, is currently under contract for sale to Neal Communities, according to Neal's attorney, Ed Vogler, who spoke in favor of the motion Thursday.

The consensus that was ultimately arrived at was that the matter was not one of FDAB policy, but an administrative effort to correct an internal inconsistency of the county maps. The motion to approve the ordinance passed 5-2 with commissioners Kruse and James Satcher dissenting.