Developers plan Myakka City country store. Manatee officials say the timing isn’t right
Developers stuck with one final piece of property in Myakka City say it’d be a great place for a small country store, but residents and county officials say the timing isn’t right.
Manatee Ranches Inc. petitioned the Manatee Board of County Commissioners to rezone a triangle-shaped, 1.5-acre parcel at the intersection of State Road 70 and County Road 675. After debating the issue at length in November, commissioners heard further arguments at a special Land Use Meeting on Friday.
“This is the last piece of land that Manatee Ranches owns. Our vision for the last 20 years has always been a neighborhood country store,” Tony Veldkamp, a Manatee Ranches representative, said at the previous meeting.
Neighbors and board members agreed that traffic and the inclusion of gas pumps outside the store were huge concerns, and commissioners gave Manatee Ranches time to tweak the project.
Developers revealed some of those changes Friday, but they weren’t enough to win the approval of the board.
Manatee Ranches had agreed to cut the gas pumps from the project and reconfigured the parcel to only include an entrance on the west side, along County Road 675. A concept plan showed how designed a 12,000-square-foot store — about the size of a Dollar General or Walgreens — to fit on the site, along with a parking lot and a stormwater pond.
“We think we have responded well to the concerns we have received and this meets the neighborhood commercial intent for this area,” said Scott Rudacille, an attorney representing the applicant. “You’re most likely looking at a country store.”
Part of the reason for the site changes was an update from a Florida Department of Transportation official, who pointed out that the state is looking to install a roundabout at that intersection, which would also eliminate the State Road 70 exit ramp on the east side of the site.
“This would become a more efficient two-lane road design, and would resolve issues brought forward in November,” said Rachel Layton, a planner representing Manatee Ranches.
While commissioners largely saw the roundabout construction as a traffic improvement, they said they were concerned about when that improvement would take place. County staff pointed out that the project hasn’t been funded by the state, and is still years away from breaking ground.
“As I understand it, there’s still a plan to build a roundabout here, but not within the next five to six years,” said Clarke Davis, deputy director of traffic management.
Commissioners argued that the project doesn’t meet commercial node criteria required by the Manatee County Comprehensive Plan and that traffic upgrades need to be completed first.
“The timing is not ideal,” said Commissioner Misty Servia. “Surely, this would be better if it was coming to us after the FDOT improvements.”
“I cannot support this at this time — maybe down the road, after FDOT does their thing,” Commissioner Vanessa Baugh added.
Commissioners voted unanimously to continue the hearing to a March 5 meeting in order to give the County Attorney’s Office time to prepare a written evidence for the board’s decision to deny the rezone request.
This story was originally published January 25, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
