There is no question that Manatee County has done a very poor job of managing its growth. Even with a new and much-improved board, implementing sustainable growth strategies will remain a challenge that requires hard work, long-term focus, and visionary leadership.
While I applaud the vigor that some new and existing commissioners have demonstrated in terms of putting the brakes on years of mismanaged development, I disagree that being stubbornly obstinate in the face of the growth that has already been approved is a viable, let alone effective strategy. Recently, three commissioners on the board have been attempting to use the approval of final plats as a means to this end. This will not pass legal muster and could have other negative consequences I’ll get to in a moment.
A final plat vote is procedural at the very end of the process for developments that have long been approved and, in many cases, already have infrastructure laid and contracts for home sales signed. Attempting to delay an inevitable outcome might create a temporary annoyance for a developer at the cost of real pain for consumers, who are, by definition, members of the very community the board oversees.
In Manatee County, developers hold, by best estimates, between 40-50,000 entitlements for homes that have already been approved by previous boards. I use the term best estimate because no one seems to actually be tracking such an important dynamic. Herein lies the real problem that I believe commissioners can and should work to solve.
Manatee County’s comprehensive land use plan requires growth (i.e., development) to pay for the additional infrastructure it requires. Yet, for the most part, no actual plan for how to do that is in place, and no tracking of how well we are or are not doing so is being performed. There is no stormwater management plan. We are chasing our collective tail in terms of addressing the need for new and/or improved roads long after developments are built and the impact occurs. New development is not being required to pay for the needed capital investments in water delivery and wastewater collection.
The previous board made an enormous error when it locked the county into a plan that will grossly short the impact fee funding over several years to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. As a result, the county government cannot demonstrate to its citizens that the necessary infrastructure to support any future growth exists. The board can and should insist that adequate plans to address these essential needs are in place before approving new development plans.
That is the kind of obstinance that will motivate developers and developer-friendly administrators to come to the table with adequate planning tools that ensure we can grow only at a pace that can be met with adequate infrastructure upfront, paid for by development. This would not be a moratorium, per se—because, again, there is little that can be done about all of those existing entitlements—but it could grossly improve our ability to create sustainable growth strategies that benefit the community as a whole.
What has begun to concern me most is that if a let’s just break things mentality persists, a pro-growth governor who has shown a penchant for aiding and abetting Big Development could use his authority to remove a commissioner or two from office and swing the board back in Big Development's favor through the replacement appointments. There may be a short-term high to be gained from the adulation of the mob of populists who will cheer on a just-say-no-to-everything approach even if it is destined to fail. However, visionary leadership involves the ability to see past winning an inconsequential battle here and there at the expense of the overall war.
Dennis "Mitch" Maley is an editor and columnist for The Bradenton Times and the host of our weekly podcast. With over two decades of experience as a journalist, he has covered Manatee County government since 2010. He is a graduate of Shippensburg University and later served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. Click here for his bio. Mitch is also the author of three novels and a short story collection available here.
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David Daniels
I found Commissioner Bearden's angry-man theatrics during the Plat discussion to be a shameful embarrassment - he was loud and disrespectful. He was also dishonest because at no point did Mr. Bearden acknowledge that, when the board actually had the power to vote against development, Bearden consistently failed to do so - including one of the very same plats he was pretending to be angry about. Bearden spent his first 2 years being a rubber stamp for development because he thought that was his ticket to stay on the public payroll. After last year's election, he comes out in a complete 180 for the same reason - to stay on the public payroll. I understand that. But his antics last Tuesday went over the line, IMO.
Saturday, February 1 Report this
WTF
Let’s just take a step back and look at the safety factor in all of this. I understand that the final plan is the last Turtle for developers. I also understand that if the infrastructure and the roads are not safe for the citizens of Manatee County, that should be part of the equation, currently it is not. Do you really think that emergency vehicle such as the fire department EMS and the sheriffs office could possibly get to this development on a single lane highway in the middle of rush-hour, hence my concern. My my thought would be OK. Do you have your permit build the thousands of homes, however, you will not get a CO aka certificate of occupancy until all the safety standards are met for the citizens of our county, including the roads.
As far as getting developer puppets in a few years, that will never happen again in Manatee County that Kool-Aid stand has been closed. For the record.
Sunday, February 2 Report this
slevin
An excellent piece, but the preservation of green space and history have been relegated to a back seat. Another culprit in this discussion should be the Manatee County Historical Society which in the last 11 years, has done nothing to preserve and protect the very community it is supposed to serve. With an opportunity to lead in these areas, the organization has relinquished its proactive cabilities and is be operated as a do nothing fiefdom. What a sad commentary. There are those of us who believe in protection and preservation. This organization has failed in its leadership capacity. SHAMEFUL
Sunday, February 2 Report this
serenowens
An industry that does not build according to the environment they are in is begging for trouble. I don't see any developments building homes suitable for Florida. Florida homes should be off the ground on short pilings so that floodwaters can pass under the houses. What we have now is a huge dam spreading over the whole County forcing the water to speed around each little dam! The pioneers new better but today no real thought is put into anything but for profit.
Thursday, February 6 Report this