Rapid population growth caught Manatee County off guard. It isn’t stopping anytime soon
A major influx of new residents to Manatee County may have caught officials off guard, but they’ve since adjusted and are planning for that trend to continue.
The topic of this month’s Manatee Tiger Bay Club meeting was whether county growth is “inevitable,” and County Administrator Cheri Coryea began her presentation to a room full of members on Thursday with a bit of a history lesson.
From 2000 to 2010 is when the county’s population “really got heated up,” she explained. An average of 6,000 people per year moved to Manatee in that time period.
“When we got to 2018, all the statistics said that we were at 385,000 people, but in fact, based on new census figures, we’re right up to 400,000 people in Manatee County,” said Coryea. “It was a surprise to us in the last three or four years, but we’re planning for it.”
Extra residents in the area means an even higher strain on resources, such as sidewalks, roads and beaches. On the county level, there are plans in the works to accommodate all the people here now and all the ones who are still coming.
“The population has grown so rapidly that we need to take care of everyone,” Coryea said.
“Growth has been impacted by providing operations and services. This is the first year, as well, for the fact that we are able to add on some capacity to help serve the growth,” she continued. “We’ve been in a stagnant position the last five years anticipating a revenue loss due to the additional homestead exemption request that failed.”
Rapid growth will continue to impact Manatee, said George Kruse, an affordable housing investor. The Board of County Commissioners approved the development of nearly 3,000 single-family homes in the past year alone and continues to collect 90 percent of the impact fee rate from developers as payment for the strain that they place on county resources.
Kruse pointed out that Manatee County isn’t alone in figuring out how to handle growth. Florida overall is experiencing exponential growth. A recent population study revealed that Manatee County is on track to host more than 550,000 residents by 2045.
“We need to be focused on how to manage growth going forward,” Kruse told the crowd. “We can either prepare for it today or prepare for it in a way you won’t like tomorrow.”
Using other municipalities like Minneapolis and New York that have begun using policies that encourage more multi-family development, Kruse argued that Manatee leaders need to keep a focus on the future. While unpopular with some, Kruse said those ideas could make a considerable difference.
“The No. 1 reason why we’re not prepared for (growth) is because we don’t always do what’s best for Manatee County. We’re doing what’s necessary for the few people who are more vocal in the community,” he said. “We need to stop letting the voices of the few dictate the needs of the many.”
The home building industry is a big part of the reason why Manatee County continues to thrive, argued Michael Neal, land development manager for Neal Communities. He noted that the 60,000 different pieces that go into building a home are a boon for the local economy.
“As far as the spectrum of growth problems, we have the best growth problem — which is that more people want to live here,” said Neal.
As more and more people move to Manatee, Commissioner Misty Servia said she’d like to incentivize developers to build mixed-use projects that foster walkable communities, which would help keep cars off of congested county roads. Her other ideas rely on businesses to think outside the box.
“I think there’s a real opportunity for our largest employers to do something different when it comes to getting to work,” Servia said. “How about encouraging those who can to work from home? How about off-peak hours? So that not everyone is going to work at 8 (a.m.) and coming home at 5 (p.m.)”
During the Q&A session, one member asked why the county doesn’t require that infrastructure be constructed before development is approved. Servia said state law is to blame.
“There are state laws that govern how we build our roadways, and how we build infrastructure in general,” she said. “So take schools for example. We don’t build schools and hope the kids will come. We build schools in response to overcrowded schools — the same with roadways.”
This story was originally published June 27, 2019 at 4:40 PM.
