Manatee County approves town home project near Braden River over opposition from residents

Manatee County officials voted Thursday to approve a land use change and preliminary plan for a controversial new townhome development near the Braden River.

The proposed Linger Lodge Townhomes would bring 99 housing units to what is now a wooded area at 8240 Linger Lodge Road, near the east landing of the Interstate 75 overpass.

Gary Hebert, a resident who lives in the area, started an online petition opposing the project due to environmental, infrastructure and overcrowding concerns. It gained over 2,700 signatures.

During a public Land Use Meeting on Thursday, the Board of County Commissioners heard arguments against the development from Hebert and several other residents. Representatives of D. R. Horton, the Fortune 500 company behind the project, presented in support.

Dozens of written public comments were also submitted opposing the development. There were none in support.

The commission ultimately voted 5-2 in favor of the development, with commissioners George Kruse and Jason Bearden dissenting.

Developer promises to ‘minimize footprint’

Kyle Grimes, an attorney representing D.R. Horton, said the project has been planned to “minimize the development footprint.”

The developer said that all regulations will be followed to protect the environment, including 50-foot wetland buffers around one wetland area on the property as well as between the development and the Braden River at the south end of the site.

However, required wetland buffers could soon be minimized in Manatee County after the commission recently voted to scale back wetland protections to the state minimum.

In addition to land use changes, the developer also requested two exceptions to the county’s land development code. The project plans call for a cul-de-sac longer than the county’s limit of 800 feet, pushing development closer to the Braden River.

The plans would also require cutting down more trees than the land development code allows on part of the property.

The developer said that the loss of trees will be balanced out by clustering all development on the east parcel and leaving green space intact elsewhere.

“It will allow us to have 75% open space projectwide upon build-out,” Grimes said. “It will also allow us to preserve all of the heavily wooded area on the western portion of the site.”

Prior to Thursday, the land was zoned for mixed-use, agricultural and residential uses. There is also an easement in the center parcel of the property, which is occupied by a Florida Power & Light transmission line, and a cellphone tower in the northwest corner of the property.

The developer requested that approximately 17.8 acres of land slated for agricultural and mixed-use be changed to residential use to place a maximum number of homes in the desired area of the property.

However, a county staff report says the project’s proposed 99 homes fall well under the maximum of 144 homes allowed on the project site.

‘Way too intense for the land’

Speaking for himself and residents who signed the petition, Hebert argued Thursday that the project was not the right fit for the 34.5-acre slice of green space near sensitive natural areas.

The site is adjacent to the county’s Johnson Preserve as well as the Braden River, which feeds into Bradenton’s drinking water supply at the Evers Reservoir.

“These may be fine town homes, but they’re not appropriate for this special site,” Hebert said. “A few single-family homes would be acceptable. Better yet, a conservation easement on the whole area would protect the river and the wildlife. Who will guarantee that the Braden River will not be impacted?” he asked.

He also noted that the land is home to gopher tortoises and migratory birds, and there is an eagle’s nest on a nearby piece of property.

“At what point do we have enough homes in Manatee County?” said Lisa Pring. “It seems really that you’re siding many times with the developers instead of listening to all the people who are showing up here, who have signed the petition.”

“You’re going to absolutely take out one of the last great places of old Florida existence,” she added. “Most people are moving here because they love Manatee County the way it is.”

Commissioner Kruse said he felt that developers were misrepresenting the project as a minimal use of land and “playing tricky games” with the land use code.

“They’re asking for a stipulation to basically gut the trees to create whatever little land they can possibly cram a town home onto,” Kruse said.

“There’s a lot of niceties here and making it sound like they’re building less than needed,” he added. “They’re not. It’s literally maximizing. I think this is way too intense for the land you’re trying to build here.”

But those concerns were overruled by the commission’s vote Thursday.

Commissioner Ray Turner, a real estate broker and building industry advocate recently appointed to the board by Gov. Ron DeSantis, argued that much more housing is needed to keep up with population growth.

“We need 1.5 million housing starts to keep up with population growth,” Turner said. “We are behind the eight ball. We need careful growth. We need planned growth. But we need growth.”

A preliminary site plan filed with the county says project completion is expected in late 2025.

This story was originally published September 7, 2023 at 12:00 AM.