Manatee County-initiated change for Tara advances

Manatee County officials on Aug. 1 will talk about whether to allow development of residential and residential support-uses at the southwest corner of Tara Boulevard and State Road 70.

The Manatee County Planning Commission endorsed the change at its July 11 meeting.

Manatee County initiated the change, following the direction of Manatee County commissioners on April 4 when the board voted 4-3 to reject a settlement agreement between Manatee County and Tara’s developer, Lake Lincoln. The original settlement would have allowed for Lake Lincoln to build up to 19,500 square feet of commercial on the 3.3-acre section of the larger 10-acre property.

However, after Tara residents interceded in the settlement case, Manatee County 12th Judicial District Judge Lon Arend sent the settlement back to the board for reconsideration. 

Tara’s developer, Lake Lincoln, sued Manatee County in 2012, following a 2010 decision to allow development on other parts of Tara’s Development of Regional Impact but to limit that particular parcel “for open space and wetlands.” It had been zoned for residential and residential support uses, not the commercial zoning Lake Lincoln requested. Lake Lincoln alleged Manatee County had stripped the developer of its development rights for the land and the decision has been in litigation since.