Smart growth in Lakewood Ranch? County OKs more development beyond boundary line
The developers behind Lakewood Ranch will be allowed to apply for an expansion beyond the boundary line that Manatee County uses to prevent urban sprawl.
By a unanimous vote Thursday evening, the Board of County Commissioners paved the way for developers, including Lakewood Ranch’s Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, to submit applications for projects to be built past the Future Development Area Boundary (FDAB) line.
Thursday’s vote did not approve a specific project. In the future, projects will still need to meet certain criteria before they can be approved by the board.
One of those provisions prevents developers from “leapfrogging” over the FDAB line. Any upcoming project needs to be adjacent to the FDAB line, and each parcel under consideration will be required to be under the same ownership of the developer.
“Basically, this is smart growth. This is encouraging smart growth. It’s encouraging that infrastructure is available and we’re doing things that make sense,” said Caleb Grimes, a land use attorney representing Lakewood Ranch Communities, LLC, the development company that led the push for the rule change.
The Comprehensive Plan amendment also forces the developer to pay for any necessary infrastructure beyond the FDAB line. On the east side of the FDAB, Manatee doesn’t provide urban services, such as wastewater and transit.
Manatee’s FDAB runs roughly parallel with the western edge of Lake Manatee. The line is meant to keep urban development to the west, providing protection for the county’s agricultural and conservation land out east.
In April, the board voted to transmit the developer’s request for several state agencies to review. None of those agencies, including the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, provided any objection.
Board members also held a community meeting in Myakka City to receive feedback on the FDAB in September, where they heard from residents who urged them to refrain from shifting the FDAB further east.
At that time, several commissioners said they couldn’t commit to any promise to keep the FDAB in the same place. They said rapid growth in Manatee County would likely force them to shift the line at some point in the future.
Residents speak out
Speaking during public comment on Thursday, a number of residents protested the change and urged board members to vote it down.
Elizabeth Arnold, a Myakka City resident, told commissioners that she had collected 3,000 signatures for a petition against the proposed text amendment.
“It’s not so popular,” she said.
“If you approve this, you will have effectively erased the FDAB,” added Kathleen Strong.
But commissioners pushed back on the idea that the county is making is too easy to develop land in rural areas.
“If you don’t like growth in Manatee County, I’m sorry, but that’s what it is. It’s happening everywhere in Florida,” said Commissioner Vanessa Baugh, who represents Lakewood Ranch and Myakka City.
“What is before us today is not moving the (FDAB) line, but it’s checking all the boxes for all the things we get afraid of if the line moves,” Commissioner Misty Servia added. “We’re going to have facilities. We’re going to be able to have all the infrastructure that’s needed there to properly account for the population, it’s not going to interfere with anything else and it’s not going to burden any of the other taxpayers in Manatee County.”
“This is well-planned, master-planned and doesn’t take away from anyone,” she continued.
Earlier this year, Lakewood Ranch Communities announced it intends to use this rule modification to pursue an addition of up to 7,000 homes in the Lakewood Ranch area.
That project is expected to come before the board at a later date.
This story was originally published November 19, 2021 at 10:30 AM.
