Neighbors and developers clash over new Manatee County housing development
After a contentious public debate that lasted more than nine hours, Manatee County officially voted to deny a plan for a new housing community in East Bradenton.
A housing developer requested a rezone of 56 acres of agricultural land near Zipperer Road, north of State Road 64 East. While commissioners stopped this project, they also delayed a decision on a nearby project that could bring 99 homes.
Among commissioners’ main concerns were drainage, traffic safety on Zipperer Road and an existing cell phone tower that would be taller than allowed in a residential neighborhood. Residents also showed up in large numbers with concerns about traffic safety and the fear of losing Zipperer Road’s canopy trees.
Most commissioners, however, supported the adjacent project dubbed “Bus Barn.” That project is affiliated with SimplyDwell Homes, which builds housing near schools and shopping centers to create “thoughtfully designed communities that embody unity and pride,” according to the company’s website. The SimplyDwell Homes project is also backed by Neal Communities.
After denying the M/I Homes “Zipperer Road” project, commissioners voted 6-2 to grant a continuance to the Bus Barn project, which could return to the commission in a scaled-down version in the future. Commissioners Carol Ann Felts and Bob McCann opposed the continuance.
Neighboring projects propose nearly 300 homes
The Zipperer Road project that commissioners denied featured 167 single-family homes on about 56 acres, which are also home to a 250-foot cell phone tower. The applicant asked to keep the tower at that height, even though it would be 100 feet taller than the maximum allowed height in a residential zone.
Neal Communities partnered with that project to build an adjacent development called “Bus Barn” with 122 homes. As part of the partnership, the developments would share certain utilities, but the main drive was sharing access points. With two access points, Neal Communities could build 122 homes, whereas they would be limited to 99 homes with only one access point.
According to Ed Vogler, an attorney representing Neal Communities, the Bus Barn site was previously planned to be a “very intensive” bus maintenance facility for the School District of Manatee County.
Though the Bus Barn project didn’t pertain to Zipperer Road’s canopy trees, Vogler tried to get ahead of the concerns by saying Neal Communities wants to preserve the trees.
“I think I can categorically say that everyone in this room is intent on the preservation of any canopy tree elements that are impacted by this project,” Vogler said in his opening statement. “By use of an articulated road design, we will plan around any impacts to the canopy trees.”
Neighbors at odds over development proposal
The meeting featured hours of public comment, mainly from residents opposed to the developments.
Resident Pamela Laplante, a 27-year resident of Zipperer Road, said she also had a petition signed by 29 of the 37 homeowners along Zipperer Road opposing the projects. She said they were concerned with a large development creeping into the road’s rural way of life.
“Please don’t destroy our way of life and everything we have worked hard for for all these years just to maximize the profit of a couple families and developers,” Laplante said.
Alyssa Campbell, another nearby resident, said the project would come at the “devastating cost” of removing the “historic” oak canopy trees. Also among her concerns was safety, saying that funneling more cars on Zipperer Road would make safety issues inevitable.
“Anyone who has driven down Zipperer Road can plainly see that forcing this level of density and traffic onto a narrow, rural roadway is not appropriate,” Campbell said. “Pushing these plans forward despite clear physical limitations, incompatibility with the surrounding area and strong community opposition raises serious concerns about whether this is being done in good faith.”
However, public comment also included some in favor of the rezone. Those in support of the rezone were the landowners, the Moran family, who said the land has become unusable and unsustainable for their agricultural needs.
William Moran said his family has owned land on Zipperer Road for over 100 years, and criticized the comments made by others against the development. He encouraged the board to vote yes on the development for the best use of the land.
“The hogwash and the hyperbole we’ve heard today has been ridiculous,” William Moran said. “You folks that say you stand with the family farmer, stand with us…decide today if you are a public servant or a politician.”
One of the family members, Marilyn Moran, claimed that the commissioners would be violating the family’s property rights if they denied the rezone. She said the family continues to bear the expenses of the “unusable” land.
“Your decision today needs to be based on the evidence and the legal principles at issue, not unsupported, emotional pleas or the screeching of anti-development activists,” Marilyn Moran said.
Commissioners deny one project, delay another
Commissioner George Kruse said he was in favor of bringing SimplyDwell homes to the area, saying he sees a need for more mixed-income homes, especially with new schools coming nearby.
However, because of the agreement between M/I Homes and Neal Developers, commissioners could not approve the SimplyDwell homes without the project being revised to 99 homes and going back through the process.
“Right now, if there was a way of voting ‘yes’ on Bus Barn, I would, but there is not today,” Kruse said.
Kruse said if the SimplyDwell project could have two access points, or be reduced to 99 homes, he would vote in favor.
“We’re listening to the citizens. We’ve listened to all of your testimony,” Kruse said. “Virtually all of your concerns are resolved by Bus Barn going through and Zipperer Road not going through.”
Commissioner Tal Siddique shared the same idea as Kruse.
“I feel like this is just packaged wrong,” Siddique said. “I support Bus Barn, I think it’s a good project with the appropriate goal.”
Felts’s motion to deny the Zipperer Road rezone passed unanimously, requiring the developer to wait at least a year before bringing the project back to the commission. Felts also motioned to deny the Bus Barn rezone with SimplyDwell homes, but failed with only McCann in support of denial.
Commissioners then voted 6-2 to continue the SimplyDwell project to no date certain. If the project moves forward on its own with only one access point, it could have up to 99 homes.
