BRADENTON — A rezone and General Development Plan approval request heard by Manatee County Planning Commissioners on Thursday has been granted a continuance. The applicant seeks to rezone roughly 217 acres along CR 765 (Rutland Road) in Parrish from its General Agricultural/Coastal Evacuation and Planning designation to Planned Development Residental.
The applicant, Simply Dwell Homes, is an independent subsidiary of Neal Communities. Simply Dwell provides new construction residential homes at “attainable” prices.
The General Development Plan presented to the planning commission proposed the construction of 440 single-family units in a region of the county that experienced significant flooding during the last hurricane season.
If approved, the development plan would impact 5.60 acres of wetlands within the Gamble Creek Watershed. The county staff report noted the location as a designated Coastal High Hazard Area in the FEMA FIRM 100-year floodplain and floodway.
The proposed density is less than the maximum allowable for the site. However, residents of the area who provided public comment—and some planning commissioners—expressed reservations about the timing and location of the proposed “Pope Ranch” development.
Central to the discussion around approval was local stormwater infrastructure and maintenance. County staff proposed several possible stipulations to the application relating to the final site plan approval, environmental considerations, and stormwater engineering.
Following the presentation and discussion of the item, representatives for Neal Communities agreed to a continuance to allow more time for information gathering and consideration of any stipulations. The item was rescheduled to be heard during the next planning commission meeting on March 13.
The continuance will also allow members of the public and planning commission to hear a stormwater presentation scheduled for the BOCC work session on Wednesday, Feb. 19. The presentation will include information from a third-party analysis and report of Hurricane Debby flooding, as well as a staff presentation regarding the county’s stormwater program.
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WTF
I watched the presentation also the leading question by the county attorney to push for continuance. Her job is not to give advice to developers. This property is out in the country, surrounded by million dollar homes and farmland, and they have the audacity to call it an infield project, once again the roads are not ready, not all the infrastructure it is there on a 55 mile an hour single lane highway. Future Land Use doesn’t mean today it means future and that could mean a month a year a decade let’s get it right this time after the miserable failure of the last four years and rubber stamping every development that comes along. Slow the roll….
Sunday, February 16 Report this
David Daniels
As Mr T would say, I pity the fool commissioner that votes for another urban sprawl re-zone.
Sunday, February 16 Report this