Residents offer opinions on shaping Manatee development plan

When looking at a map of the Linger Lodge Road area of Manatee County where he lives, David Lynch said he was looking for rationality. 

He laughed and said he didn't find it.

Lynch isn't happy about a D.R. Horton proposal to build 99 townhomes — Linger Lodge Townhomes — near where he lives.

He joined about 20 other citizens with concerns about development at the Braden River Library Aug. 23 for a community workshop to discuss upcoming amendments to the county’s Comprehensive Plan. Another 12 residents attended virtually. 

Before residents shared their thoughts with county staff members, Kelley Klepper, representing the engineering firm Kimley-Horn, explained what a comprehensive plan is — a community’s vision that guides development over a 10-20 year period. 

Manatee’s Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 1989 and has been amended over time. With about 1,500 components, the plan includes goals and objectives that cover 12 categories from transportation to property rights. 

Tara resident Sally Shuford has lived in Manatee County for 75 years and is familiar with the Comprehensive Plan as a former principal and assistant superintendent. Public school facilities are one of the 12 categories. 

Shuford remembered back to the 1960s when building the dam at Lake Manatee was a controversial issue. Now, she worries overdevelopment is causing unsafe roads. Shuford said she’s fearful every time she crosses the intersection of State Road 70 and Tara Boulevard. 

“What we’re facing in Tara is that they want to build apartment buildings," Shuford said. "We currently have a story limit. We can only be three stories, and (the developer) wants to make it four. More people will be using that intersection, which I understand is one of the most dangerous. It’s a safety concern.”

After the presentation, instead of a typical Q&A, residents were given stickers and asked to circulate through three stations. 

Photo by Lesley Dwyer

One station asked residents to describe the county in one word, followed by another word that would encapsulate the vision. 

Two words stood out on the board when describing Manatee County now — congested and overdeveloped. As for the vision, residents expressed a need for planned growth, preservation and transparency. 

On the other side of the room, maps of different parts of the county were displayed. Residents were asked to place stickers where they wanted things like a sidewalk or a park. 

Robert Giarraputo lives near Honore Avenue and Lockwood Ridge Road. He was one of the few in attendance who was pro-development, but he said he wants to see the growth done right in his neighborhood. 

He said business along Lockwood Ridge Road is sporadic and he would like to see a business and entertainment hub such as Lakewood Ranch Main Street so it creates "a vibrant downtown."

“I’d like to see that, and then see housing go up around those job locations,” he said. 

He also thought widening U.S. 301 from University to S.R. 70 would be a “home run” because it currently takes him 20 minutes to get from one light to the next in traffic. 

At the final station, citizens were asked to use their stickers to rank their priorities. Land use and housing ranked the highest. 

“In theory, developers developing this land is great. These communities are great. They’re wonderful to live in,” Eagle Trace resident Deborah George said. “But the whole basis of how they function, you’ve got to wonder, do they function well? Are they functioning the way the county dreamed they would?”

The workshop was one of five held in August at libraries across the county. The staff’s goal was to collect data from citizens to guide the amendments. 

While Braden River Library was the last stop, Urban Planner Monet Moore said this was only the first round of public engagement. The county will be sharing their findings in a second round. According to the timeline, the plan's “rollout” will be sometime next summer.  

In between, citizens can take an online survey starting Sept. 19, the same day a progress presentation will be given to commissioners at the commission meeting. Public workshops are just the kickoff in a long process. Adoption of the amendments aren’t anticipated until Dec. 2024.