Sarasota Bay can’t sustain new housing development

The Sarasota Bay shoreline has a proposal for a new housing development. The proposal, Aqua by the Bay, will be a 2,894-home development spanning 529 acres between El Conquistador Parkway and Sarasota Bay.

This proposal should not be passed. Throughout my 21 years living in the Bradenton-Sarasota area, I have seen countless housing communities built. When I was younger, I remember the area not being congested; these new developments have brought an influx of residents causing many issues. The roads are already too congested, and adding more people will only make it worse. There is also an environmental concern. We have already developed too much of our coastline; if we continue, our pristine land will run out.

I am mainly concerned with the population issue we are facing in the area; however, this development will also hurt our environment. We are running out of mangroves in the area and this development will cause problems for them. Hopefully, the Board of County Commissioners will deny the proposal on May 4.

This story was originally published April 25, 2017 at 12:21 PM with the headline "Sarasota Bay can’t sustain new housing development."