A new Manatee County development board? Officials eye major changes

Manatee County leaders are considering a major overhaul of the county’s Planning Commission, citing a list of complaints about how the board operates.

The Planning Commission is a seven-member advisory board that reviews local development requests and rule changes before they come to the Board of County Commissioners. The Planning Commission can vote to recommend or not recommend an item. Then the Board of County Commissioners has the final say.

Members of the Planning Commission are appointed to four-year terms by the Board of County Commissioners. While the positions are unpaid, the board has been used as a political launch point for residents interested in seeking elected office. Recent examples include County Commissioner Mike Rahn, former County Commissioner Ray Turner and previous Planning Commissioner Bill Conerly, who was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in November.

But at a recent meeting, county commissioners said they think that the board could be greatly improved.

They cited planning commissioners’ low attendance at meetings, ideological differences with the Board of County Commissioners and a lack of representation for some of the county’s five districts as reasons why the board should get a reset.

On March 13, for example, an entire Planning Commission agenda had to be delayed for over a week due to a lack of board attendance, potentially delaying when items came to the Board of County Commissioners.

Can Manatee County officials remove Planning Commission members?

Commissioner George Kruse, who brought up the topic for discussion, said he thinks the answer is to remove all members from the Planning Commission and start with a clean slate. He said each commissioner should get to pick a member from their own district for the Planning Commission, arguing that it would ensure all parts of the county are represented.

“We have whole districts that don’t even have a representative on the Planning Commission,” Kruse said. “In my opinion (it would be) a better system. Once you rip the Band-Aid off and do it once, then it’s clean going forward as new people get elected.”

He also argued that the Planning Commission should be more ideologically aligned with the county commission.

“In a lot of other counties, each commissioner basically picks who they want on the Planning Commission,” Kruse said. “Because then you’re putting someone on there who thinks similar to you (and) is going to ask similar questions. Plus, now they’re beholden to someone who put them on the board.”

Commissioners Carol Ann Felts, Bob McCann and Jason Bearden agreed with the concept of overhauling the Planning Commission. Bearden claimed that the board is used as a “recruitment tool” by developers to identify builder-friendly political candidates.

But Kruse’s idea still may not have enough support to become reality.

Removing Planning Commission members requires a supermajority vote of the county commission — at least five votes in favor. But only four commissioners showed support for the idea during an initial vote.

Commissioners voted 4-3 to have staff bring back a plan to remove and replace existing Planning Commission members, with Commissioners Tal Siddique, Amanda Ballard and Mike Rahn in opposition.

“I don’t necessarily want to blow up our planning commission,” Ballard said.

Instead, Ballard said that she would like the board to gradually move toward representation of all the county’s districts on the Planning Commission as seats become available.

Siddique and Rahn agreed, arguing that the board should look at other options to reform the Planning Commission.

“I just think we have to attack this a little differently than just vacating the seats,” Siddique said.

Commissioners discuss Planning Commission changes

Commissioners discussed other ways that they could change the Planning Commission, including:

• Setting attendance requirements for Planning Commission members.

• Several commissioners were also in favor of making Planning Commission seats paid positions. “Statue does allow us to compensate some of those folks, whether it’s a minimal stipend or something to help attract better candidates,” Siddique said. “There is a cost associated with being on that position that I think we’re not quite recognizing.”
  
  
• Commissioner Rahn said he would like to see the county’s guidelines for who should be on the Planning Commission tightened. “Should they be a citizen or industry-specific to the development industry, land use, land use attorneys?” Rahn asked. Kruse pushed back on that idea, arguing that the board should reflect the voice of “regular citizens.”

What happens next?

A plan to remove current Planning Commission members and make new appointments by district will come back for a vote at a future meeting. It will have to gain the support of at least one more commissioner to have a chance of passing.

For now, commissioners are following the usual process of appointing new members to the Planning Commission as seats become available. At another recent meeting, they voted to select Scott Ziegler, a District 2 resident and CEO of a cement plant technology company, to fill a vacancy on the board. District 4, which includes parts of Bradenton and South Manatee County, is now the only area not represented on the commission.

Two seats on the Planning Commission have terms that expire in October.

Under the county’s Land Development Code, the School Board of Manatee County also has the ability to appoint a school board member to a non-voting, eighth position on the Planning Commission. Michael Pendley is appointed to that seat, but has not been in attendance at recent meetings. School Board Member Charlie Kennedy has expressed interest in being on the board.

Commissioners did not take any immediate action on the other items they discussed, including the creation of a stipend for Planning Commission members.