Neal Communities Approved to Develop 310 Acres Next to Lake Manatee State Park

BRADENTON – Neal Communities’ request to rezone 310 acres of agricultural land alongside Lake Manatee State Park was approved by the Manatee Commission in a land-use meeting Thursday. The east county development site is located along the north side of State Road 64, between Uihlein Road and Bournside Boulevard.

Neal Communities of Southwest Florida requested the rezoning of its property from general agricultural to planned development residential, preserving the existing Lake Manatee watershed protection overlay. The rezoning request also included the approval of a preliminary site plan for 706 future residences. The plan was for single-family detached and semi-detached units and 17,750-square-foot commercial medical space. The homes would include townhomes, villas, and detached single units.

The rezoning was approved in a 6-1 vote of the commission, with Commissioner George Kruse being the lone "nay" vote.

The future development’s proximity to Lake Manatee State Park–the county’s drinking water reservoir–as well as its relation to the county's urban boundary line has drawn some opposition from area residents. Some of those residents attended Thursday’s meeting to speak against the approval. Several requested that the commission consider adding stipulations to include more than a 15-foot buffer along the site's boundaries in order to protect Lake Manatee from water runoff.

In February, the same property was impacted by corrections approved by the board to the Future Development Area Boundary (FDAB) related to "mapping inconsistencies" the county said were existing from changes to the county's comp plan in 2005 and 2009–a "scrivener's error." That decision, which provided for utility services to be extended to an approximately 30-acres parcel of the site beside Lake Manatee, was approved by the commission in a 5-2 vote with Commissioners James Satcher and George Kruse dissenting.

In Thursday’s meeting, citizen Mark Vanderee addressed the commission, speaking in opposition to the rezone and site plan on behalf of himself and the Borderline Road Preservation Group.Vanderee asked the commissioners to use their votes to send a message to developers, "That without adequate consideration for green-spaces, buffers, conservation area, etc., the beauty of Manatee County will simply be bulldozed, raised, and reduced to stretches of buildings and roadways that are built simply because the land is owned."

Vanderee also expressed disappointment with what he called an "ineffective" community workshop hosted by the developer with residents. He described a meeting that consisted of a 35-minute virtual meeting with 10 minutes of questions and answers.

Katie Labarr, a certified planner speaking on behalf of Neal Communities, responded to criticisms of the community workshop by stating the workshop was appropriately noticed, and that 13 individuals attended the virtual meeting, which was hosted through Microsoft Teams.

Labarr told the board that meeting participants were invited to submit written questions during the meeting, following a presentation about the future development. Labarr stated that a record of attendees, representatives of Neal, and all questions and answers were provided to county staff.

Ivory Matthews, the director of community and government affairs for Neal Communities, added, "I was in communication with Mark Vanderee and his group. He knew we were planning the meeting and that his group would be able to participate." Matthews called it "discouraging" that only 13 residents attended.

After the meeting, in a phone call, Mark Vanderee shared with TBTthat it was of his and his neighbors' opinions that the virtual platform utilized for the meeting "was not inclusive or accessible to all residents in the area that might have otherwise participated in an in-person meeting."Vanderee said the meeting did not rise to residents’ opinion of what a "good neighborhood workshop" should consist of.

A citizen organization seeking to ensure the preservation of east county’s rural lifestyle, POWER (Preserve Our Wildlife Environment & Resources), also provided a written statement requesting the county reject the rezoning referring to buffer footage included in the site plan as "woefully inadequate."

Myakka resident Liz Arnold expressed her concerns during public comment.

"Having a 15-foot buffer between the subdivision and the state park is a travesty," Arnold said. "I want to point out that the park is actually separated from the subject property by a barbed-wire fence,“ she added before listing species of wildlife that may inhabit the site. Arnold alleged area residents have noted wildlife including gopher tortoises, eagles, and wood storks in and around the surrounding areas.

Joel Christian, a Senior Environmental Scientist with Ardurra who has been contracted by Neal Communities, addressed some of the public’s environmental concerns of the future development’s site. Christian said that the site is considered "surface water" under a pending application with Southwest Florida Water Management District and has been field verified.

Wetland rules do not apply to the property, however. Because it is "a water of the US," the site is regulated by FDEP. Christian explained that permits and reviews will be required from the Water Management District, FDEP, and Florida Fish and Wildlife for the development to move forward.

"We will be forced to deal with these agencies and any listed species that are regulated by those agencies," Christian told the board.

Christian added that preliminary evaluations have been undertaken and that–at a minimum–gopher tortoises are likely present on the site. A full survey in accordance with Fish and Wildlife regulations will be conducted 90 days prior to the beginning of construction at the location.

"This site does not have any golden eagles that we are aware of," Christian offered, "but we realize there is potential for listed species out here, so we do what is appropriate by the state and federal agencies."

Labarr included in her presentation to the board that the site plan included the preservation of six acres of wetlands as well as the preservation of mature canopy trees at the site.

District 1 Commissioner James Satcher–who represents the district where Neal’s future proposed development will reside–said that he was comfortable with the density of two units per acre, but expressed some uncertainties about runoff into Lake Manatee.

Robert Engel, a civil engineer with Stantec who testified for Neal, stated that while some of the site does have watershed acreage, he estimated it was only about 15 percent of the northeastern portion nearest the lake basin. Engel also told the commission that 100 percent of the stormwater discharge from the site would be routed to Sand Branch River, not to Lake Manatee, and not into the drinking water reservoir.

Engel's assurances satisfied Commissioner Satcher's concerns.

Commissioner Misty Servia praised Neal’s efforts in their site design, particularly noting the design’s consideration of entrance ways. Servia also pointed out the plan’s compatibility with the county’s comp plan and state laws which protect property owners’ rights.

"I appreciate the complex nature of this project, which both sides did an excellent job in presenting to us," said Servia. "We've heard from the community that this is not an adequate transition, but I disagree," she continued, "We hear you," Servia said directing her comments to members of the public in attendance, "but please understand we are bound by the laws."

But Commissioner George Kruse had a different perspective.

"Sometimes it feels like we are forced to go on to a title of ownership of previously poor planning," Kruse said. "Last month we were tasked with moving an FDAB line, that none of us agreed to move in the first place. Somebody else agreed to move it and due to an error, we’re all now on a chain of title of effectively agreeing to move that FDAB line."

Kruse expressed his frustration with the future land use map and its design which focused more on western portions of the county while leaving areas east of I-75 to "unlimited utilization."

Developers are seeking a comprehensive plan amendment to allow for more density under UF-3, allowing for three units per acre. If the increased density is approved, the project could become 930 units instead of the 706 proposed in Thursday's meeting.

"They’re coming back to turn the whole thing into one unit per acre into UF3," Kruse said in Thursday’s meeting. "If we are doing this legitimately someone should have just come here and proposed the 930 units in the first place."

Commissioner Kruse completed his comments by saying he would not support the rezoning request because it included a site plan which he disapproved of due to its design and proximity to the state park and Lake Manatee.

Commissioner Kruse's comments can be replayed in the video clip below.

Commissioners Servia, Satcher, and Bellamy were the only commissioners to ask questions about the proposed site plan or process during the quasi-judicial proceeding. Aside from Commissioner Kruse and Servia, no other commissioners spoke during deliberation or offered comments prior to the board’s vote to approve the requested rezone and site plan proposal.

The video below will begin at the start of the quasi-judicial proceeding from Thursday's land-use meeting including presentations, public comments, and commission deliberations related to the rezoning request and site plan proposal.