Manatee County officials OK developer changes to wetland conservation area. Here’s why

The Manatee County Commission approved a developer’s request to release conservation easements for about 10 acres of wetland buffers around Cooper Creek in the University Park area.

Cooper Creek is a 4-mile stream that is part of the Manatee River and Sarasota Bay watersheds, according to the Sarasota County Water Atlas. The wetland buffers around the creek are meant to shield water quality from pollution from surrounding development.

But Benderson Development, the company that owns the site and holds the conservation easements, says the area is prone to flooding. The company blames “heavy vegetation” in the wetland buffer areas for blocking the flow of water.

Unlike a previous proposal in October, the company said it had no plans to develop in the buffer zones if the easements are lifted. Benderson proposed “straightening” the creek and making other changes to the natural area to mitigate flooding.

“They’re not wetlands. They’re wetland buffers. We’re requesting the release of conservation easements on wetland buffers that we have already improved,” said Clint Cuffle with WRA Engineering, who spoke on behalf of the developer at Thursday’s Land Use Meeting.

Conservation easements are natural areas that a landowner agrees not to develop in exchange for tax and other benefits. They are meant to protect land permanently and remain in place even if land changes ownership.

“There’s not going to be development on the bank of Cooper Creek,” said Todd Mathes, Benderson’s Director of Development. “It’s possible we will straighten Cooper Creek. We will make modifications to it to allow the floodway to work.”

But opponents of the proposal, including water quality advocates and Commissioners Jason Bearden and George Kruse, said lifting the conservation easements is not the right way to address the flooding issue.

“Removing trees, straightening a creek and creating so-called engineered solutions is not the way that we need to go,” Suncoast Waterkeeper Executive Director Abbey Tyrna said.

“My impression was that the next step in good faith was going…to find a mutual way to be able to do the work that you would like to do, and we would like you to do, in the confines of the conservation easements in place,” Kruse said.

The clash between development and protecting wetlands has been a frequent source of debate for the board, which made controversial cuts to local wetland protections in 2023. But after several commissioners lost their seats in the August primary election, the board has reversed course and shown support for restoring the protections.

Developer says lifting conservation areas would prevent flooding

After flooding during Hurricane Ian, Benderson Development got an emergency authorization from the Southwest Florida Water Management District and cleared some vegetation and downed trees in the area to improve water flow, Cuffle said.

Cuffle said that the area saw less flooding during Hurricane Debby thanks to these changes.

Cuffle said they are now asking for the conservation easements to be released so they can apply for permits to continue regular landscape management in those areas.

“We’re going to be paying for wetland mitigation credits off-site in a mitigation bank so we can continue to maintain this Cooper Creek area so we don’t have the flooding that we had during Ian,” Cuffle said. “It’s not to put development on these conservation easements.”

The developer has also approached Sarasota County about releasing conservation easements to address similar flooding issues at Nathan Benderson Park, Cuffle said.

Waterkeepers, residents oppose developer plans

In October, Benderson Development proposed a much larger release of 14 conservation easements totaling 54 acres. It included the easements directly adjacent to Cooper Creek and a 43-acre easement adjacent to University Park Center, a retail center off University Parkway.

The company said that “limited development” could be a future possibility in the area, but promised to pay millions toward wetland conservation in other areas of Manatee County.

Commissioners denied that request in a 4-2 vote during a Land Use Meeting on Oct. 17.

Despite the smaller size of Thursday’s request and the company’s promise not to develop in the area, water quality advocates and more than a dozen residents voiced opposition.

Tyrna with Suncoast Waterkeeper said there are options to address flooding that will not sacrifice conservation areas.

“In the ecological world…there’s never a case in which you want to straighten a creek or a stream in order to create more opportunities for flood control,” Tyrna said. “Straightening Cooper Creek won’t solve the problem. The problem is because of impervious surfaces. All of the acreage of concrete could be removed, and instead there could be innovative solutions that would help to curb the flooding.”

Tyrna argued that the county would set a bad precedent by releasing conservation easements.

“Conservation easements are a contract between you and the public,” Tyrna said. “By voting yes on this, you’re saying yes, conservation is negotiable.”

In public comments submitted before Thursday’s meeting, some residents asked the board to hold off on a decision until the newly-elected board is seated.

“I implore the board not to allow this removal of the conservation easements,” said East Manatee County resident Mark Van De Ree during Thursday’s meeting. “It should be explored further in more depth before you go ahead and just flippantly set a precedent of removing conservation land for a quick fix.”

But commissioners pushed ahead with the approval.

Commissioners debate removing wetland buffer conservation area

Commissioners Bearden and Kruse agreed that other options should be explored to mitigate flooding in the area.

“I’m not going to be in favor of releasing any type of conservation easement,” Commissioner Jason Bearden said. “I think that’s land that we need to conserve. I understand what the individuals want to do … but I’m just going to be a no on that.”

“Admittedly, this is substantially better than the last request because it doesn’t have that huge developable portion on it,” Kruse said. “But I still don’t get it. I don’t get ... why there’s not some other solution that we can work with SWFMD to allow for this (flood mitigation).”

But the developer’s slimmed-down request found support from the rest of the commission.

“This is a materially different request than we received three weeks ago,” Commissioner Amanda Ballard said. “The release of the 43 acres was my pain point three weeks ago. The release of these small easements, in my mind, allows you to continue the work that needs to be done to mitigate flooding in this area.”

Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge, who also supported the developer’s request in October, put the issue to a vote without comment.

The measure passed 4 to 2 with Commissioners Ballard, Van Ostenbridge, Mike Rahn and Raymond Turner voting yes and Commissioners Bearden and Kruse voting no.