Residents fed up with construction dust

Imagine homeschooling three children and not being able to have any kind of recess in your backyard because of airborne dust and debris. 

The Alvarez family lives on two acres of land off of County Road 675 in Parrish. But if they want to play outside, they have to drive somewhere else because the air surrounding their home is filled with orange dust from a construction site.

Lennar Homes is clearing more than 1,300 acres of land across the street from the Alvarez home for a development in Rye Ranch. 

While Parrish and west Bradenton developments have brought attention to the issue of construction dust over the past six months, East County resident Mark Van DeRee said the problem started near his home on Waterline Road two years ago. 

Manatee County staff gave a presentation to commissioners on April 23 that included additional requirements for the developers to control the dust blowing off construction sites. 

• Windbreak treatments (natural or constructed barriers) along areas with densities greater than one unit per acre.
• Site clearing of no more than 100 acres at a time without special approval.
• If dust is clearly leaving the site when the average wind speed is more than 15 mph or gusting at more than 25 mph, land clearing activities must be discontinued until the dust is under control.
• If a cleared area will not be accessed regularly for more than 21 days, it should be temporarily seeded or sodded no later than 14 days after the last disturbance.
• Contractor shall submit a Dust Control Plan at the pre-construction meeting or prior to starting any clearing.

Van DeRee is skeptical that the problem will be solved anytime soon.

“I don’t think (the county) has enough inspectors to enforce a lot of the rules on the books for construction,” he said. “They may just not have the will to enforce either because there’s so much pressure by the developers politically.” 

Following the presentation, Commissioner George Kruse pointed out a flaw in the staff’s position that additional requirements will remedy the issue. 

“All areas involved shall be maintained and prevent dust or debris from blowing or spreading onto adjoining properties — that’s in our code now,” Kruse said. “This should have never happened over the past six to 12 months, and it did because we weren’t adhering to our code.”

Kruse first raised the issue during a commission meeting in November 2023, but that action didn’t lead to any meaningful enforcement to relieve those living near the Lennar site. 

Developers respond

Residents have complained to the commission and to the developers themselves. They told commissioners that Lennar Homes and Neal Communities had contrasting responses to the complaints.

Myakka City resident Elizabeth Arnold said she called the county three times to report dust coming off Neal’s Palm Grove site on State Road 64. 

“Finally, I got frustrated and I called Neal’s construction office,” Arnold said. “I went by there again and saw that they put straw out over the dust, and it seems like they’re doing quite a bit to try to mitigate some of this."

She said Lennar didn't seem to be reacting to complaints.

Photo by Lesley Dwyer 

Marcos Alvarez reached out to Lennar in February. He requested the builder do more to control the dust and provide compensation for cleaning expenses.

He received a letter from Vice President of Land Development Scott Edwards dated Feb. 23, 2024. 

“While I can appreciate your concerns of any dust or debris from all of the construction activities along C.R. 675 that may have an affect on your house, Lennar will continue to take the necessary steps in order to maintain our site and follow the regulations that are in place, but will take no further action on any of the requests for compensation or maintenance on your home,” Edwards wrote.

The Observer reached out to both home builders. Lennar did not respond, but the vice president of land development for Neal, John Lydon did. 

“We understand the importance of being good neighbors during the construction process and make it a priority to address dust and other land development concerns in a responsive and respectful manner,” Lydon said.

The toll

Residents say it’s hard to put a dollar amount on the damages because it’s not just a matter of replacing pool filters and hiring pressure washers. It’s a time consuming effort to keep up with the amount of dust and debris that’s blowing onto their homes.

The orange dust that consumes the air settles into a black soot that covers every surface. Van DeRee said when construction started on the Hillwood Preserve development, he was hosing down his house, barn and everything else once per week for weeks on end. 

Alvarez hired a company to clean his pool. It took three hours and cost $250. The dust has even taken over his attic because it blows up through the soffits. 

Courtesy images

Residents say it’s a losing battle every time the wind blows, but the more concerning issues are the possible health risks. 

Residents near the Lennar site are complaining of increased asthma attacks and COPD flare-ups. Foxwood resident Carol Dukes has a lung condition called bronchiectasis.

“It is not curable. When I have a flare-up, I cough a lot, sometimes including a lot of mucus,” Dukes said. “This condition makes me more susceptible to infections. The latest culture showed I have Mycobacterium abscessus. Mycobacteria are bacteria in dust, soil and water that can cause infections, so you can see my concern."

Commissioner Ray Turner said limiting clearing to 100 acres at a time should stop the problem. 

“In my opinion, there’s no way to mitigate the dust and dirt when those large pieces are cleared,” Turner said. “What I saw, they had sprinklers going, trucks with water and everything else that didn’t put a dent in it.” 

Turner said clearing 1,100 acres at a time creates a scene from the movie “Dune.” Kruse agreed that clearing limits could help but maintained his stance that the solution comes down to enforcement. 

“If we were actually enforcing it, (developers) would have voluntarily started clearing 100 acres or 50 acres because they wouldn’t want the fines and the red tags,” Kruse said. “They would’ve been doing this on their own accord.”

A red tag is a stop work order. When Lake Flores in west Bradenton was red-tagged three times, the developer complained to Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge that the equipment rentals cost $75,000 a day. 

“That’s really the punitive measure that can be taken,” Van Ostenbridge said. “If we put in a fine of $5,000 a day, that’s really nothing in the grand scheme of things.”

Van DeRee said when the county issued violations on developments near his home, the responses were short-lived. 

“The contractors would fix it in a few days,” he said, “And then a couple of weeks later, they go back to the same old way.” 

Lennar has put straw over 55 acres of its 1,300-acre site, but residents say it is not enough.

“It is so bad that you can not see traffic coming toward you,” Foxbrook resident Brenda Smith said. “We have additional expenses put on us. We have health issues, safety issues. We have dirty homes, and I don’t live in a dirty home. I don’t appreciate not being able to invite people into my home because I’m embarrassed because of it. Fine them, stop them, do whatever you have to do. We have to be able to live.”