Bradenton officials to challenge Manatee County annexation objections

BRADENTON -- Bradenton officials Wednesday objected to Manatee County's interference with a private landowner's request to have 9.46 acres of undeveloped land on 64th Street Court East annexed into the city.

The land, valued at $385,000, is adjacent to about 50 acres the city annexed in 2008.

The Joint Planning Commission, made up of representatives from the county and cities of Bradenton and Palmetto and the Manatee County School District, voted in September to move the process forward, with Manatee County Commission Chairwoman Betsy Benac adding a stipulation the request be taken up by the county commission.

The commission voted 6-1 a few days later to send a letter of objection to the city.

"The county did not show any concerns at the JPC meeting, and I left that meeting, as I believe others did, that this was a no-brainer," said Bradenton City Councilman Gene Gallo, who chairs the JPC.

In the Oct. 9 letter to Timothy Polk, director of the Department of Planning and Community Development, the county objected to the annexation based on five reasons, the first of which is nearby residents were not given notice about the request. Gallo said the objection is invalid because notice would be required when the city holds a public meeting on the issue.

The county also said the proposed land-use change to suburban commercial corridor from the county's residential-3 would create significant density. However, the intended use of the property has yet to be stated and would require review. Gallo took greater exception to county claims the city could not provide adequate services to the area such as ambulance, fire, police and utilities.

Claude Tankersley, public works director, said the utilities to the property would be served by the city, which installed a lift station and water lines on the adjacent property after it was annexed.

Tankersley also said state regulations require no additional stormwater drainage can occur on the property than what is already there. He said none of the county objections "are an actual issue out there."

Gallo said he confirmed with police, fire and public works that full city services are available for the property. The one exception is ambulance services.

"The city of Bradenton pays taxes to the county and as far as I know, the county provides ambulance services to the entire county," he said. "I find everything that they anticipate as a problem as being a no-brainer."

City attorney Bill Lisch said the county can't stop the city from annexing the property "but the proper thing to do is to respond to their letter. I was at that meeting and none of those issues they are raising came up and procedure should be that they state their objections going into the meeting."

Gallo said the county failed to follow due process by voting to object without city staff or the applicant present to answer questions. Mayor Wayne Poston expressed surprise at the county actions.

"It's the first objection the county has ever done, so I'm really surprised about this," he said. "We have lived up to the accord, but at the same time it's the first time we've dealt with this so we should do what we need to do to make this a smooth transition."

Polk said he would have a letter to the county out "by the end of the day."

Benac said the underlying issue for the county commission is not knowing what the intended use will be for the property given the change in land designation.

"The biggest fear is the unknown," she said. "Nothing has been proposed. We've been clear on what our concerns are, but this is the first time I've participated in the JPC, which has no statutory authority. But I believe the process is working in starting the communication with the city."

Benac discussed the city opposition with Polk late Wednesday and said when she has a copy of the city's letter, she would share it with the commission and begin the "process of working some things through on some of these issues."

Mark Young, Herald urban affairs reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7041 or follow him on Twitter@urbanmark2014.

This story was originally published November 18, 2015 at 8:21 PM with the headline "Bradenton officials to challenge Manatee County annexation objections ."