Carlos Beruff, as the applicant, has proposed a new development plan that would eliminate wetlands and erect an 8-foot-high wall along their edge. This no-wetland-buffer permit defies the community’s tireless effort to not only protect wetlands but to have wetland buffers. The project plans to mitigate impacts by using a mitigation bank over 50 miles away in another county.
The permit is not finalized and seeks public input. I have submitted comments you can see by clicking here. Beruff, along with his political hack Anthony Pedicini, bragged about getting Manatee Commissioners like Mike Rahn and Amanda Ballard elected. One of their first actions was removing our local wetland policies, a major issue in the 2024 election.
It is hard to describe the damage Rahn and Ballard did, but what is more insulting is how they treated members of the public who testified. Then-commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge, as chair, attacked a child who was giving sincere comments. Rahn and Ballard sat quietly and now claim they will stand up to developers. They had their chance to do that, and now we must once again take our time to defend our environment.
I urge all of you who read this to forward it to your friends and provide comments to the Army Corps of Engineers this week. Furthermore, I would urge that you vote for anyone but those who caused this harm, including commissioners Rahn and Ballard, in next month’s primary. The comments should be sent to:
Mr. Edgar W. Garcia, Senior Project Manager at Edgar.W.Garcia@usace.army.mil. Reference “SAJ-2015-01503” in your comments.
Alternatively, you may submit comments in writing to the Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, Attention: Edgar W. Garcia, Senior Project Manager, Tampa Permits Office at 10117 Princess Palm Avenue, Suite 120, Tampa, Florida 33610. Please refer to the permit application number “SAJ-2015-01503” in your comments.
The image below clearly shows the environmental impact: destroying wetlands and constructing an 8-10-foot wall along the edge of the wetlands, and even through existing wetlands. The application has this exact wording: “To minimize environmental encroachment and protect sensitive historic properties, the project would construct an 8 to 10 foot high gabion wall along the waterward boundary of the development.”
A seawall is prohibited in Sarasota Bay, a National Estuary. Being creative, Beruff calls it a gabion wall in his application and ignores the fact that a gabion wall will cause the most harmful destruction of our environment in the last uninterrupted shoreline/ecosystem of Sarasota Bay. Had this wall been in place during Hurricane Helene, the results would have been disastrous.
The problem with such walls is the reflection of wave energy; a natural shoreline with buffers reduces the energy of those waves. The wall, on the other hand, erodes soil, damages root zones, and prevents the adaptation of mangroves for known rising water levels. A black mangrove has what they call pneumatophores; they are the lungs of the tree, extending outward over 20 feet. Constructing a wall on the edge is like taking half their lung away.
As the image below demonstrates, not only is the gabion wall (seawall) 300 feet within the wetlands, but it would include filling the wetlands our coastal habitat depends on for a nursery for fish and to filter the rain and stormwater going into the bay. All of this was against the county’s wetland policies that were in place before commissioners decided the absolute minimum setbacks required by the state could offer the same protection.
Beruff went to SWFMD (for which he was previously the chair, having resigned after giving Pat Neal a permit to destroy wetlands on Perico), and received a permit for this destruction. Further proof that the state’s rules could never offer the same protection. The permit was challenged, but since citizens only have 20 days after a permit is noticed, the challenge was deemed late. The public notice was advertised in a paper that does not even circulate in this part of town.
Another critical point is the change in historical water flows from this wall, which will alter the sensitive environment along this part of the bay. The wall redirects water to a stormwater collection system and discharges it at a central point into the bay. This changes the historical flow of water needed for an estuarine environment. Nature creates the delicate balance on the inflow of freshwater to the saltwater estuary, creating that so-called brackish water area that almost 80 percent of marine life requires.
This development is reminiscent of the 1960s dredge and fill that destroyed so much of our environment. In this area called the Kitchen of Cortez, this should be the last place to permit a project like this.
It is also so abusive of an individual’s so-called power to go against the community's will. This developer had a clean slate of land to build on and to comply with sensible, science-based policies that protect the public’s interest. Instead, every plan would devastate what so many of us worked hard to protect. Once it is lost it will never be reclaimed.
I do not know why smart people, in my opinion, act so stupid. So much public money has been invested to understand our environment, what we did in the past, what practices are needed in the future. Yet one person can’t understand the value of a simple wetland buffer and has sued the county several times and lost. HIs final act to win was to get developer puppets to control. Yet as I said before, Commissioners Rahn and Ballard believed Beruff’s consultant, now hired with your tax dollars over that of the thousands of people opposing eliminating our local wetland policy. Typically, it is a county employee who would provide the evidence at a hearing. However, to their credit, no staff person could testify honestly that eliminating our local wetland policies was in the best interest of the citizens.
This wall Beruff wants to build without a wetland buffer will cause what is known as the "coastal squeeze". Without a buffer, as the sea level continues to rise, the mangroves have nowhere to go and will not be able to adapt. The result squeezes out the over-2-mile stretch of mangroves until they die off. It will not happen with a 50-foot buffer, the minimum required. Buffers are also needed to protect the habitat within the mangroves from the impacts associated with development. Some species need over 200 feet; we know this, but the compromise was made for 50 feet. Zero buffer is total ignorance!
This part of Longbar Pointe is called Sea Spray. Maybe they picked this name describing the sea spray coming from the water hitting the gabion seawall.
So we as a community can do several things: provide comments to the ACOE, get others to do the same and elect people that don’t change colors at election time. Below is a simple draft of comments you can send to the ACOE. You can also sign the petition at this link.
One thing I know from serving this community as a county commissioner for 22 years. Our environment is not for sale. Regardless of party, we stand beside each other fighting to maintain our quality of life and protect our environment. We also vote out, as we did in 2024, those that fail to fight with us!
SAMPLE OF EMAIL TO ACOE
Send Email to: Edgar.W.Garcia@usace.army.mil
Subject: Comments on USACE Permit SAJ-2015-01503 — Sea Spray/Aqua by the Bay
I oppose approval of this permit as currently proposed.
The project would place nearly 2,500 residential units, commercial development, fill, and an 8- to 10-foot wall next to Sarasota Bay’s mangrove wetlands. The proposal appears to reduce or eliminate a functioning natural wetland buffer and replace it with a hardened wall.
Mangroves need room to migrate inland as water levels rise. NOAA’s nearby Port Manatee station shows a significant long-term rise in relative water level. Over the expected life of this development, the wall and filled uplands could trap the mangroves between rising water and development, causing “coastal squeeze,” loss of mangrove habitat, reduced fish nursery areas, shoreline erosion, and greater flood risk.
The applicant’s wetland-impact calculation appears to consider only a small portion of the connected mangrove shoreline and does not adequately address sea-level rise, future wetland migration, cumulative impacts, or the larger mangrove system previously mapped at Long Bar Pointe.
I request that the Corps:
Permit number: SAJ-2015-01503
Comment deadline: August 7, 2026
Email: Edgar.W.Garcia@usace.army.mil
Joe McClash is the publisher of The Bradenton Times. He is a Marine Corps veteran and served on the Manatee County Commission from 1990 to 2012.
16 comments on this item
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kmskepton
Wow, and ugh. Thank you for this important information. If what my grandfather often said is true, “Pretty is as pretty does,” then it’s safe to say Beruff is one ugly dude.
Saturday, July 25 Report this
kmskepton
Both done. Signed petition and sent email.
Saturday, July 25 Report this
RRICH69176
Beruff and Neal are wealthy, when will their riches be enough? Is destroying the environment and winning special concessions the "new" challenge? Such sad greedy men.
Saturday, July 25 Report this
johnschussler
Did both, thank you for bringing this to our attention. In addition to all of the environment concerns, this proposed Longbar Pointe residential development is near the extended centerline of the primary runway 14-32 at the SRQ airport. The runway has been there since the 1930s. People buying new houses will complain about the low flying aircraft and noise. They will call the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority, where Beruff is a board member. He should know this is a bad location for new residences.
Saturday, July 25 Report this
paita_2000
Thank you for keeping us informed, will do both and I just forwarded this people I know will do the same
Saturday, July 25 Report this
kat.houston
Carlos Beruff cares NOTHING about Manatee county. This is an outrage!!!
Saturday, July 25 Report this
magstarwire
Thank you Joe!
It's amazing how many issues have been snuck by the voters in Manatee County over the years.
Let's shut this one down!
Saturday, July 25 Report this
serenowens
The County is being attacked at both ends by developers. They're destroying our agriculture on the East Side and destroying the Coast on the West Side. These people(?) have no respect for what these areas do for us. In the end their descendants will find money very tasteless. There may not be a world left for their progeny to live. They need to start buying their tickets for Space X.
t
Saturday, July 25 Report this
tammy.dillon
Thank you for sharing this important information with ways that we all can help. I’ve shared it on Facebook. My husband and I emailed comments to Mr. Garcia and signed the petition.
Saturday, July 25 Report this
san.gander
Beruff is now putting personal perogatives and personal gain before the good of the community, nature, and God - if he believes in one! The exception he seeks is foul and unworthy. He does not understand his first duty and responsibility is to unselfishly protect the earth not attempt to reshape it to suit his whims or purse! For public officials to allow this should be an affront to voter of any party, as they have knelt to "kiss the ring" of King Carlos the Developer and Destroyer!
It would be incrediably cringe worthy and damning if the people's representatives allowed this coastline destroying permit!
Saturday, July 25 Report this
Kelly
Thank you Mr. McClash. When will we ever learn? When will Floridians rise-up to stop this destruction?
In the past 6 months alone, the Manatee County Commissioners have voted to destroy over 13 acres of wetland in the county. Those do not include 25 acres of potential wetland destruction pending rezone hearings postponed until after the 2026 primary elections. Those do not include the Mosaic strip mining extensions.
The county should publish how many of the 3000 acres of County wetlands destroyed in the past ten years were in coastal areas. The county administration is probably not even tracking these numbers. Commissioners Kruse and Siddique promised to protect wetlands during their 2024 election campaigns. They also said they will not approve of any developments that did not have the minimum wetland buffers (30 ft or 50 ft) that the County required prior to October 2023. Commissioners Ballard and Rahn are hopelessly ignorant of the importance of our wetlands and cannot be counted on to help. A large group of the local candidates running for office are not being truthful about their positions on wetlands and coastal protections.
WATCH WHAT THEY HAVE DONE AND NOT WHAT THEY SAY.
Saturday, July 25 Report this
Manatee Watch
when will this pig stop? what commissioners NAME NAMES is he and HAS HE BEEN PAYING OFF FOR YEARS? STOP THIS LITTLE HOG NOW! NAME NAMES, HE IS PAYING THEM OFF TO GET ALL HIS APPROVALS AND HAS BEEN FOR YEARS.
Sunday, July 26 Report this
vanderee
Done and done.
We must Save the Wetlands of Manatee and Sarasota Counties because our lives and the lives of the marine ecosystems depend on it. All life on God's Earth is born of the oceans, and the oceans are born of the wetlands.
Sunday, July 26 Report this
BarbieBellBurnett
Yes, stopping Beruff on this issue is crucial, but remember, these are the people you have invited into our world by your vote. Let’s get this permit denied, then, more importantly, clean up our county with our vote! Belonging to a political party does not necessarily require you to vote the party line. Be the one to take a stand!
Sunday, July 26 Report this
BarbieBellBurnett
Yes, stopping Beruff on this issue is crucial, but remember, these are the people you have invited into our world by your vote. Let’s get this permit denied, then, more importantly, clean up our county with our vote! Belonging to a political party does not necessarily require you to vote the party line. Be the one to take a stand!
Sunday, July 26 Report this
GLEN GADFLY GIBELLINA
August 1, 2026
Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Jacksonville District, Tampa Permits Office
ATTN: Edgar W. Garcia, Senior Project Manager
10117 Princess Palm Avenue, Suite 120
Tampa, Florida 33610
PERMIT REF: SAJ-2015-01503 (Sea Spray / Aqua by the Bay)
LOCATION: Long Bar Pointe, Sarasota Bay, Manatee County, FL
SUBJECT: Formal Public Comment & Request for Permit Denial / Full EIS
Dear Mr. Garcia and Members of the Review Team,
Please accept this formal written submission regarding Permit Application SAJ-2015-01503 for the proposed Sea
Spray / Aqua by the Bay residential and commercial development located along Sarasota Bay in Manatee County,
Florida.
As a long-standing resident, community advocate, and public servant in Manatee County, I respectfully urge the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to DENY the permit application as currently submitted. In the
alternative, I request that the Corps require a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and
convene a formal public hearing within Manatee County prior to any final regulatory determination.
The applicant’s proposal to eliminate natural, functioning wetland buffers and erect an 8- to 10-foot hardened
gabion wall directly within and adjacent to coastal wetlands poses severe ecological and hydrodynamic threats to
Sarasota Bay—an Outstanding Florida Water and designated National Estuary. The application fails to comply
with statutory protection standards established under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the
Rivers and Harbors Act for the following critical reasons:
TECHNICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL OBJECTIONS
1. Exacerbation of "Coastal Squeeze" and Mangrove Mortality
Eliminating the natural vegetated upland buffer and replacing it with an 8- to 10-foot vertical gabion wall denies
the estuarine system its essential transition zone. Relative water levels along the Gulf Coast continue to rise. Black
mangroves (Avicennia germinans) rely on extensive lateral pneumatophore networks extending over 20 feet to
feed and oxygenate root structures, and coastal mangrove fringes must migrate landward over time. Erecting a
hardened vertical wall creates a permanent barrier that traps mangroves between rising tides and physical
infrastructure—inducing severe "coastal squeeze" that will progressively destroy over two miles of contiguous
mangrove shoreline.
2. Wave Energy Reflection and Substrate Scouring
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Unlike natural, sloping shorelines that absorb and dissipate wave energy, vertical and hardened gabion structures
reflect hydrodynamic forces directly back into the benthic zone. During severe weather and high-water events,
reflected wave action accelerates substrate scouring, erodes coastal soils, disrupts root zones, and permanently
degrades critical fish nursery habitats upon which regional marine life depends.
3. Disruption of Natural Sheet Flow and Estuarine Salinity Balance
The project site borders the delicate estuarine habitat known locally as the "Kitchen of Cortez." The proposed wall
and associated upland fill interrupt historical diffuse sheet flow patterns, diverting freshwater runoff into
centralized stormwater collection points. Channelized discharge alters the delicate brackish salinity gradients vital
to the reproductive cycles of nearly 80 percent of Gulf Coast marine species.
4. Inadequate Off-Site Mitigation Framework
The applicant proposes to offset localized ecological degradation along Sarasota Bay by purchasing mitigation
credits from an off-site bank located over 50 miles away in a separate basin. Transferring wetland credits to a
distant geographic basin fails to replace the lost biological filtration, flood attenuation, and coastal storm
resilience historically provided by this specific shoreline.
5. Segmented Review of Cumulative Impacts
The Corps must evaluate this proposal within the broader, cumulative context of the entire Long Bar Pointe
footprint rather than isolated, piecemeal sub-phase applications. Segmenting reviews masks the true aggregate
degradation facing Sarasota Bay's last remaining uninterrupted mangrove shoreline.
FORMAL ACTIONS REQUESTED OF THE CORPS
To uphold the mandate of the Clean Water Act and safeguard public coastal resources, I request that the Corps
enforce the following regulatory requirements:
Mandate a Permanent 50-Foot Vegetated Upland Buffer: Reject any construction configuration utilizing a
zero-buffer footprint or placing hardened walls within the historic wetland transition zone.
Prepare a Full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS): Given the ecological sensitivity of Sarasota Bay,
order a full EIS under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Incorporate 50-Year Sea-Level Rise & Migration Modeling: Require updated hydrodynamic modeling
based on NOAA tide gauge projections to assess long-term mangrove migration pathways.
Conduct an In-Person Public Hearing: Hold a formal public hearing in Manatee County to receive oral
testimony from local residents, technical experts, and coastal scientists.
Deny Permit SAJ-2015-01503: Deny the permit application unless and until all unmitigated adverse
ecological impacts are fully resolved.
Thank you for your dedicated service, thorough technical review, and commitment to enforcing federal wetland
protections.
GLEN GADFLY GIBELLINA
https://electglengibellina.com/
Friday, July 31 Report this