BRADENTON — Manatee County’s years-long effort to rewrite its Comprehensive Plan moved one step closer to state review last week, though not without concerns from residents and some planning commissioners who argued the public has not had enough time to review the sweeping draft document.
After a lengthy discussion during its May 14 meeting, the Manatee County Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend transmittal of the Comprehensive Plan rewrite to the state for review. However, the board attached an additional recommendation urging county commissioners to delay the transmittal hearing long enough for the public to have had at least 90 days to review the proposed revisions before the document is transmitted for state review and comment.
The county’s draft rewrite was first published on the county government’s website on April 17. The Board of County Commissioners is currently scheduled to hold the transmittal hearing on June 4—less than 50 days after the document became publicly available. The final adoption hearing is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 6.
Planning Commissioner Scott Ziegler clarified during the advisory board discussion that the recommendation to delay transmittal carries no binding authority over county commissioners.
“There’s zero teeth in this,” Ziegler said. “It’s only saying we’re going to transmit it and that we’re hoping you’re going to give them (the public) 90 days.”
The county’s Comprehensive Plan is a long-term planning document that establishes the community’s future vision and the goals, objectives, and policies intended to guide growth and development. The document serves as the foundation for Manatee County’s land development code and addresses issues ranging from land use and transportation to environmental conservation, infrastructure, parks, utilities, and historic preservation.
Florida law requires counties to maintain a comprehensive plan under Florida Statute 163.3167(2). Manatee County adopted its current comprehensive plan in 1989.
In May 2023, Manatee County contracted with engineering, planning, and design consultant Kimley-Horn to lead the rewrite initiative. The project officially launched in July 2023, with county staff working alongside consultants throughout the process.
Since then, county commissioners have received multiple presentations and progress updates from Kimley-Horn representatives and county planning staff. Public outreach workshops were also held in 2023 and 2024 to gather community feedback about the county’s future growth and development priorities.
During the May 14 Planning Commission hearing, several residents voiced concerns that the current draft—which is several hundred pages long—was not available publicly long enough to allow meaningful review and public input before transmittal to the state.
At least two planning commissioners strongly echoed those concerns.
Planning Commissioner Rob Brown questioned the timing and whether delaying transmittal might allow additional policy changes to eventually be incorporated into the rewrite, particularly if current state restrictions tied to Senate Bill 180 expire in 2027 as presently written.
Rachel Layton, Manatee County’s Comprehensive Plan Division Manager and Impact Fee Administrator, explained that some resiliency and sustainability-related policy concepts were intentionally excluded from the current draft because of concerns surrounding the state legislation.
“I wish we had been able to do more, but the constraints of Senate Bill 180 really frustrated staff and the consultant team very much,” said Layton. “We really would have liked to have more resiliency and sustainability items, especially after having been through the 2024 hurricane season.”
Layton described the current draft as “a good clean-up effort and a good starting place for us as a community,” adding that some desired policy concepts have been preserved internally for possible future consideration should state restrictions change.
She explained that many proposed revisions are administrative or organizational in nature, including updating departmental names, improving formatting, modernizing language, and making elements of the document more user-friendly without substantially altering existing policies.
When Planning Commission Chair Matt Bower pressed staff as to whether any aspect of the rewrite weakened existing development regulations or reduced current protections tied to transportation planning or land development standards, as some citizens were concerned about, Senior Planner Elizabeth Shulman offered that the rewrite does not loosen existing policies.
“There is nothing in this rewrite that is loosening our current requirements for regulation,” Shulman said. “There is nothing that is taking away any of our current prohibitions.”
“This is not rewriting the plan to be more pro-development,” she added.
Despite those assurances, concerns surrounding the timing of the public hearings and whether there had been ample opportunity for public review dominated much of the discussion.
Commissioner Bruce Stamm ultimately made a motion recommending against transmittal entirely, specifically to place concerns regarding the limited public review window into the official record before county commissioners consider the matter. Brown seconded the motion.
The motion failed 4-2, with only Stamm and Brown voting in support.
Planning Commissioner Anthony Sciullo proposed that the advisory board consider whether a recommendation of a longer review period might improve transparency and public access—though Sciullo also expressed his personal confidence in staff testimony and the draft product.
After receiving direction from the county attorney on how the planning commission could offer such a recommendation, the board voted unanimously to recommend transmittal while also encouraging county commissioners to delay the public hearing long enough to provide approximately 90 days of public access to the draft before transmittal consideration.
If county commissioners follow that recommendation, the actual “transmittal”—the action of sending the draft comp plan for state review—would likely move closer to mid-July.
The Manatee County Commission will vote on whether to approve the transmittal of the Comprehensive Plan rewrite during a scheduled public hearing, which will take place during a June 4 BOCC land use meeting.
Click here to view a summary of changes to the county's Comprehensive Plan as prepared by Kimley-Horn.
Click the video below to replay the Manatee County Comprehensive Plan Rewrite Ordinance presentation, advisory board discussion, and public comment from the May 14, 2026, Manatee County Planning Commission Meeting.
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David Daniels
What kind of changes are in the document? Did the planning commission simply ask the staff whether it was pro development and take their word for it? If the new plan considers SB180 as permanent, then it is definitely pro development. The BoCC should provide the 90 day delay for public consumption that the advisory board recommends. Why would they not allow that transparency?
Sunday, May 24 Report this
GLEN GADFLY GIBELLINA
Board of County Commissioners:
I am writing to urge this Board, in the strongest possible terms, to vote NO on the transmittal of the Comprehensive Plan rewrite at this time, and to honor the unanimous recommendation of your own Planning Commission to delay this critical step.
The Comprehensive Plan is the most consequential document our county maintains. It dictates our future growth, environmental conservation, infrastructure, and utilities for decades to come. Rushing a sweeping, hundreds-of-pages-long rewrite through the transmittal process under the current circumstances is an affront to transparency, due process, and good governance.
There are three fatal flaws with proceeding with transmittal on June 4:
Severe Lack of Public Review Time: The draft rewrite was first published on April 17. Holding a transmittal hearing on June 4 allows for fewer than 50 days of public access. To expect everyday citizens to thoroughly analyze, comprehend, and meaningfully comment on a massive, highly technical document of this scale in under seven weeks is unreasonable. The Planning Commission recognized this by unanimously urging a delay to ensure at least a 90-day public review window. Moving forward anyway signals that public input is viewed merely as a bureaucratic hurdle rather than a vital part of the planning process.
An Incomplete Board (The Vacant Seat): A decision of this magnitude—one that shapes the blueprint of our entire community—should not be voted on while a commission seat sits vacant. Every resident of Manatee County deserves full representation on a matter that alters the foundational rules of our land development code. Forcing this vote now effectively disenfranchises a portion of our community on the most critical vote of the decade.
Lame-Duck Overreach and the November Election: We are just months away from the November election, where new commissioners will be chosen by the voters to lead this county. The incoming board will be the ones responsible for implementing, defending, and living with this plan. It is only right that the new commissioners coming in November have the opportunity to weigh in on a document that will define their terms and the county’s trajectory. Pushing this through right before a major electoral shift deprives the future board—and the voters who elect them—of their rightful say.
Furthermore, county staff have openly admitted that vital policies regarding resiliency and sustainability were intentionally left out due to temporary state legislative constraints. Slowing this process down is not just a matter of public fairness; it is a matter of administrative prudence.
Do not rubber-stamp a rushed timeline. Please listen to the community, respect the unanimous recommendation of your Planning Commission, and vote NO on transmittal until the public has had 90 days to review it, our vacant seat is filled, and the incoming commission has the opportunity to seat themselves and weigh in.
For the Record
Glen GADFLY Gibellina
Candidate for County Commissioner District 4
Sunday, May 24 Report this
nellmcphillips
Rachel Layton’s comments about resiliency and sustainability are important but it’s lame to use SB170 as an excuse especially with a 2027 sunset on SB 180. The County needs to do the right thing in light of the hurricanes that have impacted our area. If Ms Layton and county staff think these kinds of changes are important then they need to be put in now. Many comments from the workshops were not even considered or incorporated. And yes there are weakening parts of this draft. Like calling out undeveloped areas of Terra Ceia, Myakka, One an and Parrish for more opportunities to develop not less. The historic, cultural and natural values of these areas calls for more protection not less. Especially when considering the need these areas have for allowing more sustainability and resiliency. People need to speak out June 4.
Friday, May 29 Report this
sandy
nellmcphillips. "If Ms Layton and county staff think these kinds of changes are important then they need to be put in now."
If they put in the wetland buffers back in and correct the policy that allowed for building beyond the Future Development Area Boundary, before SB 180 expires in October 2027, the state will reject the revisions outright as burdensome and more restrictive. They cannot be proactive inserting them.
Saturday, May 30 Report this