MANATEE COUNTY – The afternoon portion of today's Manatee County Commission Land Use meeting will decide the fate of the controversial Longbar Pointe development on Sarasota Bay in southwest Manatee County. It will be held at the Bradenton Area Convention Center in Palmetto, in order to accommodate what is expected to be a large crowd. The meeting will begin at 1:30 p.m. Because of the volume of public comment that is anticipated, the meeting may go well into the evening, allowing those who cannot make the afternoon start time an opportunity to attend at least the later portion of the meeting. 

The meeting will also be televised online and on TV by MGA-TV (Bright House channel 622, Verizon channel 30 and Comcast channel 20). The county commission will vote on both a countywide text amendment regarding coastal development throughout the county, as well as a Future Use map amendment for the Long Bar Pointe project that would allow for a major expansion of the approved development in southwest Manatee County.  

The Long Bar Pointe project has drawn broad opposition from a wide range of citizens and groups because of the extensive impact it would have on coastal waterways including the destruction of mangroves and sea grass. The afternoon meeting will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Convention Center, 1 Haben Blvd., Palmetto. A morning land-use meeting will begin as usual at 9 a.m. in the first-floor County Commission Chambers of Manatee County Administrative Center, 1112 Manatee Ave. in Bradenton.

related:

County Commission Needs to be Very Careful on Longbar Pointe

Largest remaining coastal area is a one-shot deal

Check out TBT's special full coverage section on the issue and share it with friends.

What you can you do?

Email your county commissioners (click here if you have integrated email, or copy and paste the following addresses into your email's "to:" line: larry.bustle@mymanatee.org, michael.gallen@mymanatee.org, john.chappie@mymanatee.org, robin.disabatino@mymanatee.org, vanessa.baugh@mymanatee.org, carol.whitmore@mymanatee.org, betsy.benac@mymanatee.org)

Request a meeting with your county commissioner

Support a petition (click here for second petition)

Watch the video