Aqua by the Bay opponents consider their next move

The approval of Aqua by the Bay, a giant development planned for West Bradenton along Sarasota Bay, left a sour taste in some local environmentalists’ mouths.

“Bitterly disappointed,” said Andy Mele, who represents Suncoast Waterkeeper.

The plan to reinvent a 529-acre plot of land between El Conquistador Parkway and Sarasota Bay with 2,384 multi-family and 510 single-family homes and 78,000 square feet of commercial space by developer Carlos Beruff was approved in a unanimous vote Tuesday.

“The whole entire community character ... is going to be completely changed in the blink of 20 years,” Mele said.

This version of the development plan, after years and years of transformation, came with a sea wall to keep in the fill and a plan to dredge a 20-foot-wide, 8-foot-deep “estuary enhancement area” between the 2.5 miles of mangrove shoreline and the property, which environmentalists were adamantly against. Both were removed in the final draft.

An unofficial coalition of environmental groups — including Suncoast Waterkeeper, the local chapter of the Sierra Club, the Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage and Manasota-88 — that has honed in on land-use issues plans to gather later this month to plot out their next move. They believe the Manatee Board of County Commissioners did not follow the Land Development Code or the Comprehensive Plan, in reaching its decision.

“The question becomes what to do about that,” Mele said.

At best, the discussion could mean asking for work sessions with commissioners to discuss certain issues, like the coastal high hazard area, eagles’ nests on the property and the location of historical sites, said Joe McClash, a former county commissioner who is outspoken on environmental issues.

At worst, they indicated a lawsuit could be in the county’s future.

McClash is also the petitioner in an administrative hearing against Long Bar Pointe LLLP, the company that owns Aqua by the Bay, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for the state agency’s intent to issue a mitigation bank permit related to Aqua by the Bay.

A mitigation bank is a piece of disturbed wetlands bought by a landowner, cleaned up, valued for credits and then sold for credits to other developers for their unavoidable wetland impacts. These credits can sell for $125,000 each and up, depending on the land type.

Long Bar Pointe intended to make the mangroves and seabeds adjacent to Aqua a mitigation bank. McClash argues that the wetlands aren’t as distressed as what the permit call for and the application indicated there would be mangrove trimming, which serves no purpose for the preservation and health. The Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees the federal version of the permit, twice denied their application.

After a project is approved by the county commission, a 30-day appeal period immediately follows, said county building and development services director John Barnott.

County Attorney Mickey Palmer said they will “aggressively defend any such claims,” should they come.

“I have great confidence in (assistant county attorney Sarah Schenk’s) ability to appropriately assist and guide the board through these kinds of difficult issues,” Palmer said. Schenk was the attorney for the county during the Aqua by the Bay hearings.

McClash said he would “really prefer not” to go to court over this issue.

“We’re really hoping that the county listens to our concerns ... and works proactively with the environmental community and its citizens,” he said.

This story was originally published October 6, 2017 at 4:23 PM with the headline "Aqua by the Bay opponents consider their next move."