Bower Getting Bounced from Planning Commission Raises More Red Flags

Matt Bower was recently voted off of the Manatee County Planning Commission, when county commissioners chose not to reappoint him at the end of his first four-year term. Bower’s only offense seems to have been representing the interests of the people of this community rather than that of the special interests who control the board.

The planning commission is a volunteer board that hears land use related applications before they go to the BOCC. It’s an advisory board, so its votes are non-binding in the form of a recommendation to commissioners on which way to vote. For many years, the board has sported a decidedly pro-development ethos and was seen as little more than a rubber stamp for a likewise pro-development county commission.

Bower's appointment in 2013 provided a breath of fresh air for the good government crowd. The Manatee County native and Bayshore alum, who also served seven years in the United States Army, brought a studious approach to the job, routinely asking a slate of thoughtful and germane questions on issues that had too often escaped scrutiny prior to his tenure.

Bower didn’t always sway the board, but he gave voice to important concerns and made it nearly impossible for other members to ignore some of the most egregious elements of requests that did not comply with the county’s rules. In short, he changed the conversation, and that’s enough to draw the ire of local developers who spend good money making sure that such applications get approved with a minimum amount of noise.

After making a name for himself as a citizen activist during the Long Bar Pointe hearings, Bower, 43, ran for the Manatee County Commission district 3 seat with no party affiliation in 2014. Had there not been two independents running against one Republican in the general election, he would have had a good shot at winning the seat. More recently, Bower provided the intellectual argument as to why the board simply couldn’t recommend politically-connected developer Carlos Beruff’s Aqua by the Bay General Development Plan for approval, pointing out the various ways it failed to comply with the county’s rules on height and coastal development restrictions.

Bower, who’d also voted against the recommendation when it came before the board prior, made the motion to recommend against, which passed 3-1. Without the recommendation of the planning commission, it made it much more difficult for the BOCC to vote in favor of the application, which ultimately passed, though with several painful concessions from Beruff, who one could only imagine was not sad to see Bower unceremoniously dismissed.

It must be stressed that Bower was in no way anti-development and voted to recommend approval for many more applications than he voted against. He just provided a much-needed dose of common sense, often encouraging applicants who sought to develop in ways that were not compatible with the comprehensive land use plan and/or the surrounding neighborhoods to make the necessary changes before going to the BOCC. Simply put, he was for smart growth, which allowed for at least some balance in a county that has far too many of the all-growth-is-good voices at or near the top of the public policy pyramid.

That, however, is more than enough to get you on Santa’s naughty list in Manatee County. Bower’s thankless farewell is unfortunate, but the real losers are the everyday citizens who rely not only on their elected officials but well-meaning volunteer representatives like Bower to look after their interests against that of those who are intent to squeeze every last nickel out of every development undertaken, no matter the cost to the community.

The fact that only commissioners Robin DiSabatino and Charles Smith voted to keep Bower on is telling, as they are the two board members least tethered to developer interests and most willing to buck their wishes. It seems to indicate a strong likelihood that certain developers exerted influence over some of the more-tethered commissioners in order to remove Bower, who otherwise represents the exact sort of person you want on such a board, particularly because he brings another element that our local government is at a near total loss for at all levels: youth.

I’m not sure whether Bower has aspirations to run for county commission again in 2018, but I hope he gives it some serious thought. Young, intelligent, well-intentioned public servants are in short supply these days, and one needs to look no further than the BOCC’s failure to retain him in his planning commission role for evidence that the people of this county stand to benefit from having him elected to one of its seats.