Rye Ranch development wins approval, paving the way for 3,500 new homes in Parrish
Parrish will soon be home to another master-planned community after the Manatee County Commission voted to approve a rezone and general development plan for the Rye Ranch project.
Commissioners said they believe the 1,369-acre property is the perfect opportunity to continue building homes along the very edge of the county’s Future Development Area Boundary — the line that marks the end of county-provided infrastructure. Rye Ranch joins a number of other Parrish projects that are set to boost Manatee’s housing stock by the thousands.
The Rye Ranch project was first submitted for county review in April 2020. Its approval continues the record-setting trend of development in East Manatee, where other large-scale projects, such as the 5,800-home North River Ranch project, are also underway.
According to Scott Rudacille, a land use attorney representing the developer, Rye Ranch will bring 3,500 new homes and up to 300,000 square feet of commercial space to a large piece of property that runs parallel to the east of Rye Road and south of County Road 675.
“This is a large mixed-use master plan community,” he said. “As we’ve seen in other projects of this type, there are a lot of benefits to these types of developments.”
Over the past year, Rye Ranch planners have worked closely with Manatee County on putting together the massive development, which will involve “significant investment” in infrastructure on the developer’s part. Rye Ranch will pay for new roads and water and sewer lines.
The development also sets aside enough land to build a second fire station for the Parrish Fire District, which wrote a letter to the Manatee Board of County Commissioners in support of the project.
“We believe the Rye Ranch project will be an asset for the County and are excited to be a part of it,” Fire Chief Stacey S. Bailey said in the letter.
In a presentation to the board, Rachel Layton, a planner with ZNS Engineering, described Rye Ranch as a “walkable, work, live and play community.” She noted that the current plans call for several amenities, such as trails, clubhouses and other forms of passive recreation.
There are also five “activity nodes” that will exist at the intersections of some of the thoroughfare roads that run through and along the project boundaries. Those activity nodes will consist of a variety of commercial uses, such as retail shops and grocery stores.
A handful of local residents spoke out against the Rye Ranch developing, arguing that the planned activity nodes are too close to their existing homes and could promote traffic and noise problems.
“We moved to East Parrish for open space and quiet. We do not object to development of the area, as we know it’s surely coming. This is a wonderful area to live in. What we have in mind is development that would synchronize with the area,” said Mike Bryant, who read a petition signed by six nearby residents.
Others objected to the inclusion of four-story apartment buildings being built in what is now a rural setting. Despite those issues, commissioners and staff said the developer had taken the proper steps to mitigate those issues with building setbacks, landscape buffers and other design considerations.
“I don’t think we could ask for anything better in this circumstance,” said Commissioner James Satcher, who thanked the developers for offering to widen roads in the area.
“When I look at this project, this project is a strong community,” said Commissioner Misty Servia added. “I think this is the appropriate time for this project. I think this is the appropriate place for this project, and I will be supporting it.”
While the board voted unanimously to approve the requested rezone and general development plan, Rudacille said a firm timeline for construction has not been established yet.
