- November 5, 2024
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Twenty months after starting a legal push to overturn the Manatee County commissioners’ decision to allow a car lot on State Road 64 adjacent to Lakewood Ranch, members of the Save Gates Creek and Its Neighborhoods organization are optimistic 12th Judicial Circuit Judge Edward Nicholas will send the matter back to the commissioners for another vote.
The case is headed to a July 13 videoconference hearing that could potentially end the legal wrangling.
The commissioners at the time voted 4-3 on Oct. 22, 2020, to allow Cox Chevrolet to build a new dealership on an 18-acre parcel at the northwest corner of S.R. 64 and 117th Street East, near the Gates Creek neighborhood. Commissioners Reggie Bellamy, Stephen Jonsson, Misty Servia and Carol Whitmore voted in favor of the project while Commissioners Priscilla Trace, Vanessa Baugh and Betsy Benac voted against. Bellamy, Servia, Whitmore and Baugh are still commissioners.
Servia said at the time: “I have seen some extraordinary efforts in this presentation. This project we’ve heard today is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. It’s consistent with the land development code. It meets the specific standards for any uses that have those standards, like a vehicle sales business. It meets all the criteria.”
A group of residents near the site formed the nonprofit Save Gates Creek and Its Neighborhoods and filed an appeal in November 2020 with the county. Those residents claimed the commissioners didn’t properly consider the incompatibility with the neighborhoods due to the activity and noise it would create. Other claims were that such development would cause flooding issues and that the road situation, as defined by county’s own requirements, at the time didn’t support such a business. The road in question was 117th Street East.
Jay O’Sullivan, the president and attorney of the organization, said the Manatee County Inspector General’s March report that found a culture of favoritism and misconduct within the county’s staff might also provide fodder for getting the 2020 vote overturned. O’Sullivan said emails obtained by Save Gates Creek and Its Neighborhoods will show inappropriate actions by county staff members during the rezoning process of that site.
Manatee County, meanwhile, filed a motion to dismiss the Save Gates Creek and Its Neighborhoods’ suit.
“Plaintiff has not alleged it owns the property, let alone property near or adjacent to the subject property,” read the summary of the county’s motion. “Without any allegations that Plaintiff (not its members) owns property near or adjacent to the subject Property, Plaintiff cannot show it has a legal interest which will be affected, nor any special injury different from Manatee County as a whole, with Intervenor’s development of the property.”
Whittni Hodges, an attorney representing the county, declined to comment on the case, citing the ongoing nature of the legal dispute.
Walter Wulczak, the vice president of Save Gates Creek and a resident of GreyHawk Landing, said he wanted to keep the legal battle out of the public eye until he found there might be issues of misconduct concerning Manatee County staff members.
“There are some flagrant things going on,” Wulczak said.
An example of a concerning email obtained by Save Gates Creek was sent Oct. 22, 2018, by Jeb Mulock, an engineer for Cox Chevrolet, to John Barnott, who then was Building and Development Services director before retiring.
“The Cox family has assured me that they want to develop this site and that they are all in, but they are still questioning the county’s will to help us get it through the rezone process,” the email read.
On June 23, Cox Chevrolet submitted a response to the Motion for Summary Judgment by Save Gates Creek, concluding the Save Gates Creek motion must be denied and that it “fails as a matter of law.”
The response, attributed to Fred Moore, attorney for Cox Properties, repeated language from the motion to dismiss that labeled Save Gates Creek a third party in the dispute with “no fundamental property right at stake.” The document also denied any lack of compliance with county policy regarding the processing of the rezone request.
“Cox admits that it worked with Manatee County staff to determine what was required of it to rezone the property and submit a general development plan),” the text read. “Cox disputes that there were any back-room deals. Manatee County complied with all disclosure and Sunshine requirements in conducting its meeting to approve the ordinance.”
The document also challenged the idea that the property was a flood zone or was unsuited to development. It stated, “Cox disputes that the (Planned Development Commercial) zoning designation is incompatible or inconsistent with the surrounding areas or that the property is subject to extensive flooding.”
Many of those who live near the site still oppose the possibility of a car lot being built there.
“When I built here, I was looking for a nice neighborhood, a nice community,” GreyHawk Landing resident Randy Clark said. “To have something commercial right on my back door is not what this property is meant for. We need to find the right business for this parcel. The auto dealership isn’t it.”
“It’s definitely not appropriate for this area,” said Brittany Lush, whose home borders the property. “We should not have a car dealership right here in the middle of a residential area.”
She said it would have negative impacts on flooding, traffic flow and property values. She also said developments at nearby Copper Leaf and Osprey Landing had already created noticeable impacts to the community.
