Another mega development is advancing in Manatee County, this one proposing 7,200 homes in a rural area near Parrish outside the urban service boundary, presenting another test of whether a line meant to constrain growth – which Lakewood Ranch also wants moved – will stand.
The Manatee County Planning Commission this month recommended forging ahead with a proposed amendment to the county’s long-range growth plan that would allow L3 Partnership LLC to proceed with the company’s Gamble Creek Village development on 5,000 acres. The land is owned by the Lindsay family and is just south of State Road 62, about two miles east of an urban service boundary meant to rein in urban sprawl.
Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge told a story at the county’s April 15 land use meeting to add some perspective to a land amendment that would allow development beyond the county’s Future Development Area Boundary line under limited circumstances.
“The camel puts his nose under the tent,” Van Ostenbridge said. “And then the camel gets his head under the tent if you don t do anything about it. Next thing you know, the camel is in the tent. … If this property is allowed east of the line, then the camel’s nose is under the tent, right? And then how much further is it going to continue to go?”
In a highly contested vote on Thursday night, Manatee County commissioners advanced a proposal to modify the county’s growth plan, potentially opening the door for the developer of Lakewood Ranch to build 7,000 homes directly east of the master-planned community, across a county boundary meant to constrain urban sprawl.
The commission voted 4-3 to allow the development proposal to proceed by transmitting the growth plan change to the state. The vote is not a final approval of the project but allows it to keep advancing in the face of community opposition.
Commission Chair Vanessa Baugh and Commissioners George Kruse and James Satcher voted against the motion to send the proposal to the state. They cited concerns about letting the development gather momentum before the commission has a chance to fully evaluate the larger question at play – whether they should honor the existing urban service boundary line, known as the Future Development Area Boundary, or mod