County Staff Seeks Support for Enhanced Regulations to Help Control Development Site Dust

BRADENTON — Manatee County Commissioners approved revisions that will expand county requirements concerning dust control at large development project sites.

The expanded rules come more than a year after commissioners first directed staff to research options for improved oversight at development sites after numerous residents from various locations across the county begged the local government to step in and provide their neighborhoods with relief from the growing problem.

Residents reported ongoing extreme negative impacts from the development site's “dust storms,” including respiratory issues and damage to AC units and swimming pools. Dust from development sites even entered their garages, soffits, and, in some cases, the interior of their homes.

Nearly six months after the board’s directive, county staff returned with proposed regulations, and commissioners unanimously approved staff's recommendations last April.

The new rules included requirements that no more than 100 acres could be cleared in each development phase, that developers submit a dust control plan for approval by the county, and “stop work” penalties and/or fines for development sites that continued to produce uncontained construction dust.

For several months, the tighter requirements appeared to improve the amount of airborne construction dust, but calmer weather likely also helped settle the air.

In recent months, multiple cold fronts have pushed through the area, bringing windy conditions that sometimes last for days at a time. Residents in proximity to some development project sites again began to report negative impacts.

Earlier this month, the SeaFlower development site located at the southwest corner of Cortez Road and 75th Street West in Bradenton was issued a temporary stop work order to shift contractors' focus solely to dust mitigation.

But SeaFlower isn’t the only development project site generating an uptick in resident complaints over recent weeks. The increased dust storms, which were meant to be addressed with the new rules adopted last spring, have left some residents angry and asking why developers didn’t focus more on preparation ahead of forecasted winds.

On Tuesday, county staff returned to address commissioners with additional proposals they hope will further improve the county’s oversight and residents’ quality of life.

Public Works Engineer Scott May presented before commissioners on Tuesday. May acknowledged that since the board’s previous approval for increased regulations to address the dust mitigation problem, many developers had made improvements, including seeding clear-cut acres at their project sites.

However, explained May, some site contractors made minimal efforts toward dust mitigation measures and/or did not perform dust control measures at all on the weekends when local government offices were closed.

To make matters worse, when county code enforcement attempted to enforce the enhanced mitigation rules, some development site contractors simply refused to adhere to stop work orders, said May, alleging developers' directives to continue work because the penalty fines were less expensive than bringing projects to a temporary halt as instructed by the county.

Looking for ways to give previously adopted dust mitigation rules “more teeth,” county staff proposed several potential enhancements to the requirements approved last April. 

Some of the enhancements that will go immediately into effect include increased monitoring of work sites by county staff, installation of live feed cameras so county officials can quickly see site conditions when responding to complaints, and weekly dust control reports stating current site conditions and mitigation measures (including equipment types if utilized) completed by project superintendents to be submitted to the county’s development services department.

In addition, staff sought the commissioners’ directive to research other possible solutions, including researching mitigation measures utilized in other communities, even within communities in other states.

Commissioners readily supported staff recommendations, approving limited enhanced regulations to take effect immediately, with potential additional measures to be considered in the future after staff returns to the commission upon completing additional research.

Click the video below to replay the item's full presentation and discussion from the March 25, 2025, BOCC meeting.