New perspectives for Manatee County Planning Commission

Manatee County Planning Commission Chairman Bill Conerly is an engineer by trade. Also on the board are two commercial real estate agents and a mortgage loan originator.

The mix, he said, brings alternative perspectives to the board, which advises Manatee County commissioners on development applications and other land-use issues. The board’s thinking broadened again Dec. 13 as it welcomed two new commissioners and one returning commissioner to the dais.

Manatee County commissioners on Dec. 6 appointed Bradenton’s Jedd Heap and East County resident Bill Smock to the seven-person board. John DeLesline, of Bradenton, was reappointed.

Smock is a plumber, while Heap is an architect, and DeLesline is a contractor.

“Everybody’s bringing a different approach and different biases,” Conerly said.

Conerly said having two new board members benefits the public because of the education process involved as each application comes forward. As they learn  about the county’s development codes, standards and processes, the public will, too.

Smock, an East County resident, owns Gator Plumbing Inc. He served on Manatee County’s affordable housing advisory board about a decade ago and is ready to serve in a different role.

“I was born here, and I love this community,” Smock said after his first Planning Commission meeting. “I love what the community is growing into. I thought this was the best place for me to help affect positive changes for what I see for the future of the community.”

Smock said he believes growth is good, but should be done smartly.

“You have to feed it with the right plans that are respectful to the community,” he said.

Heap, who lives in west Bradenton, is an architect with Leader Design Studio and is familiar with sustainability, density and urban design.

“We’re involved in projects similar to what would be proposed and [I] can look at it objectively,” he said.

Heap said a pro-growth and pro-business attitude is good for his business professionally, but when it comes to recommending new developments, he plans to look at each application objectively.

“I would be pro-common sense,” Heap said. “What’s best for everybody? You have to look at everything you’re affecting. I think having some input into what’s happening in the community is good.”

He said generally, county zoning and land-use regulations are fair and he and his fellow board members will look to staff to help ensure land is being developed in a mindful way.

“They want to see good projects move forward and prevent bad projects from being built,” he said. “That’s kind of the point, to make sure everyone is playing by the same rule book.”

DeLesline, who has served on the Planning Commission since December 2010, is a contractor. He said the board is tasked with comparing development applications against the county’s development standards.

“We’re supposed to vote not by our feelings, but by the code,” DeLesline said. “Unless there’s just something we can’t live with, we vote for whether it meets the requirements or not.”

He said having various perspectives on the board help it make better informed decisions.

“It’s always good to have business owners and people doing a lot of construction, or who are seeing a lot of construction and what projects work better (involved),” he said.