Residents are SHUT OUT from Manatee County

Having just celebrated 250 years of “government for the people, by the people,” unfavorable comparisons to our Manatee County officials are unavoidable. Those early Americans —who resisted governance without representation and unchecked authority—would join in rebelling against Manatee County, where residents are SHUT OUT of the planning and fiscal process, but developers are welcomed in.

CFO Ingoglia’s recently completed DOGE audit of Manatee County assessed the situation perfectly: Manatee County must improve their planning process and fiscal accountability. Requests for transparency and public involvement are met with dismissive responses from County staff, which are then echoed by our elected County Commissioners.

One of the most compelling examples is Legacy Village 2 (LV2), a development approved without public input and with profound consequences for Braden Avenue. This short, one‑third‑mile road is home to the largest concentration of treatment and rehabilitation services in Manatee County, serving severely disabled infants, children, and brain‑injured adults, as well as other protected populations. Since 1958, these medically fragile residents have safely used the street for wheelchair access, therapeutic walks, and group stroller outings. Approving LV2 will create insurmountable safety hazards, flooding this tiny street with hundreds and hundreds of cars per day. Where are the reasonable protections and reasonable accommodation for the disabled people who rely on this street as part of their daily care, and why isn’t Manatee County protecting them, instead of a developer?

Equally alarming is the financial arrangement behind LV2. More than $2.3 million in taxpayer dollars have been handed to the developers with no personal guarantee required, and without notifying the public in a non-agenda vote. If these low-interest loans are not repaid in twenty years, there is no legal recourse. Instead, Manatee County taxpayers will be saddled with a two‑decade‑old low‑income housing complex with land use restrictions against any future use, as well as maintenance and upkeep of an aging multistory building, complete with liability for a playground along US‑41. In the banking world, this Catalytic Loan would have violated every safeguard in the loan approval process. Any examiner would flag it immediately. Yet the Manatee County Commission approved it unanimously.

Isn’t a permanent land‑use decision of this magnitude outside the purview of non‑experts? Shouldn’t this Catalytic Loan have been advertised to the public on the BCC Agenda, and shouldn’t the principles of good government have compelled even ONE county commissioner to postpone this item until the public had received proper notice? In the video recording of the November 12, 2024 BCC meeting where this loan was approved, one commissioner can actually be heard acknowledging, “this item wasn’t on the agenda,” followed by the Acting BCC Chair asking for public comment on a loan that wasn’t even advertised to the public!

How can taxpayer money be allocated this way—an unmistakable echo of taxation without representation? The LV2 Catalytic Loan and LURA (land use restriction agreement) should be revoked immediately and returned to a BCC meeting where the public has a chance to speak. And by the way, the public should view LV2 $2.3 million as merely a starting point, because the developers surely do. In May, the BCC increased the LV1 Catalytic Loan to developers from $2.2 million to $3.97 million, leaving the public liable for every penny. Our founders would not recognize this government.

When individuals with limited expertise are given unchecked authority—and when the governed are shut out of the process—government breaks down. That is precisely what residents on Braden Avenue and in the Whitfield Ballentine neighborhood have experienced. And remember, if it happens to one neighborhood, it can happen to yours. When we’ve asked for answers from the County, their answers don’t align or they are dismissive. At a homeowner meeting in May, our county commissioner—who sponsored the LV2 $2.3 Catalytic Loan, and spoke at length in support of LV2 during the 2024 hearing—claimed he “wasn’t prepared” to talk about the project.” That is an insult to the voters of Manatee County.

The lack of communication has become a philosophy, not an oversight. This developer has been repeatedly favored despite residents’ clear warnings that LV2 will destroy an area of respite for Manatee County’s medically fragile population. Braden Avenue is not just a street—it is a lifeline.

Government can excel when it practices thoughtful planning, responsible spending, and transparent communication. But in Manatee County, those values have eroded. Our coalition is simply asking for a voice in the neighborhood where we live—something our county’s leadership has not been willing to provide.

This breakdown is not unique to Manatee County. Across Florida, local commissions increasingly behave as though they possess absolute authority over the people they serve. What we need from elected officials is vision: a vision for growth that honors Manatee County’s identity as a cherished home for families; a vision that nurtures a robust economy through innovation; and a vision where every single penny of taxpayer money is rigorously protected.

Manatee County deserves better. Reject LV2.

Steve Vigar is a Whitfield Ballentine resident and a member of the Navy Seal Foundation. Through The Honor Foundation (THF), which serves transitioning elite military Special Operations Personnel, Vigar works as a mentor and coach for disabled-service-member owners of small businesses.

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