Manatee leaders deny apartments and storage facility planned along Braden River

Manatee County commissioners denied plans for a new housing development on the Braden River, citing concerns about flooding and traffic in the area.

Sarasota developer Palm One Group requested to build a project called The Point on a roughly 9-acre peninsula that juts into the river, immediately north of State Road 70 and about half a mile west of Interstate 75. The plans called for a three-story apartment building with 36 units and parking as well as a four-story, 100,000-square-foot “mini storage facility.”

About half of the peninsula is wetlands, and about 3.5 acres are buildable, according to plans presented by the developer in September.

At that hearing, civil engineer John Cavoli of Cavoli Engineering pitched that the development would use existing utilities, mitigate flooding, manage stormwater on site and “improve...as well as increase the number of wetlands.”

The project would have used 30-foot wetland buffers to “create additional habitat on site,” according to Kari MacNutt, an environmental consultant with Monarch Ecology.

Engineer Alex Anaya said a traffic study showed the project would have an insignificant impact on local traffic, and said the county’s recent progress on the 44th Avenue East extension would help further relieve traffic in the area.

“We are less intense than what the county says we can build on it,” Cavoli said. “The infrastructure is there to handle this development and it is currently zoned for this, so we would ask for your approval.”

Commissioners debate Braden River development

The Planning Commission previously supported the project in a 4-0 vote with three members absent.

But the County Commission, which has final approval over development projects, found multiple concerns with the building plans. Commissioner Bob McCann argued that State Road 70 is already congested, and adding more cars could risk creating a “traffic nightmare.”

Commissioners also pointed to the site’s location in a FEMA-designated high risk flooding area.

Cavoli said that the developer planned to build on the highest part of the peninsula and use fill dirt to raise the development out of the flood plain. But that was not enough to alleviate some commissioners’ concerns.

“This is a very ambitious project,” Commissioner Carol Ann Felts said. “It’s basically in the middle of an area that is a flood zone.”

“This is a property in the middle of a river that flooded last year,” Commissioner George Kruse said. “You couldn’t have picked a worse time to come in here with this.”

“If there was any property that needed to go above and beyond the bare state minimum, it’s properties like this...” Kruse added. “You have the responsibility of the people who are going to be storing stuff in the storage unit. You have the responsibility of people living in here.”

Girl Scouts oppose development

The project also drew opposition from the Girl Scouts of Gulf Coast Florida, which has a 130-acre property near the proposed development. CEO Mary Anne Servian argued that it would infringe on a natural area that has long been used for camping, canoeing and kayaking.

“Everything surrounding this is either open space or single-family,” Girl Scouts of Southwest Florida CEO Mary Anne Servian said at the September meeting. “I don’t believe that this is compatible with the neighborhood, and I hope that you would not approve this.”

Servian said the Girl Scouts’ property draws about 10,000 users a year and expressed concerns about privacy and safety if the development were approved.

What happens next?

At the Sept. 4 Land Use Meeting, the board took a first vote to deny the project that passed 6-0, with Commissioner Amanda Ballard absent.

The denial came back for a final vote at a Land Use Meeting on Thursday, where it passed 6-0, with Commissioner Tal Siddique absent.

However, the developer still owns the property and could propose a different development plan at a future date.

Several commissioners suggested they would be open to approving a lower-density project that further minimizes flooding risks.

“We have such a delicacy in that area there, in terms of the environment. In terms of the flooding,” Felts said. “I would like to see maybe something with a little less density. I hope you do get a chance to go back to the drawing board and think about what would be a compatible use of the area, because I think it could have some outstanding qualities.”

“I think if you just came back with the residential ... and it was done with excess buffers and done in a thoughtful way... then I think I’d be on board with it,” Kruse said.