Large-scale developments threaten to close in on Cortez, Anna Maria Island

Lake Flores. Aqua By The Bay. Peninsula Bay.

        Three developments — with a potential of 11,500 homes, marinas, boat docks, millions of acres in commercial space and miles of roads and other impervious surfaces — are knocking on the door.

        More than 2,100 acres of farmland and shoreline within a five-mile radius of Cortez and Anna Maria Island are proposed for development.

        A growing traffic nightmare as well as concern for hurricane safety and the environment are on the minds of many.

        Developer Whiting Preston of Palmetto, president of Manatee Fruit Co. and member of a family that has farmed West Bradenton properties for generations, controls two of the three developments — Peninsula Bay, with 1,800 proposed homes expected in 10-12 years, and Lake Flores, with 6,500 homes projected over 20 years.

        Also in the county development pipeline is Aqua by the Bay, previously named Long Bar Pointe, with 3,200 proposed homes. While this project remains stalled by developer-initiated litigation, it contains 268 acres of wetlands and submerged land that stretch the length of the development along Sarasota Bay, just east of Tidy Island and Cortez.

        “It’s too much for Cortez Road. It’s too much for the (Cortez) bridge. It’s too much for Anna Maria Island. We’re only a 7-mile island,” former Bradenton Beach Mayor Katie Pierola said.

        According to Preston, Cortez’s traffic problems developed over the years as investors rebuilt much of the island, benefiting from millions of Manatee County tourism dollars used to market Anna Maria Island and bring an influx of new visitors.

        Preston said the Cortez Bridge needs replacing — the 2014 repairs were not enough.

        He’s looking to the state, Manatee County and West Manatee Fire Rescue to require safety and traffic improvements as he proceeds through the development process — just beginning for both projects, according to Preston.

        “It all has to come down to our safety,” said former Holmes Beach Mayor Billie Martini. “I’m very much concerned with the high bridges and developing on the mainland.”

        Anna Maria Island resident Margaret Jenkins said, “I’ve lived here since 1964 — that’s 50 years — and we only had to evacuate two times and it took a long time then.”

        New development and Perico Island residents “now will be going to be ahead of us,” she added.

        According to former Manatee County Commissioner Jane von Hahmann, Peninsula Bay on Palma Sola Bay and Aqua on Sarasota Bay, trigger many of the same issues.

        Both projects are in the coastal high-hazard zone, at risk for storm surges and subject to evacuation in a hurricane.

        Both developments impact mangroves and wetlands “and could impact seagrasses, depending on how waterfront amenities are handled,” said von Hahmann.

        As for the environmental impacts, Preston said, “it’s clear people don’t want mangroves trimmed” or wetland destruction.

         Because Lake Flores is heavily-farmed property with only low-grade wetlands, there’s not that issue, according to Preston.

         With Peninsula Bay, however, there are 3-4 acres of wetlands to be impacted in the proposed development, he said.

        These acres are needed to gain access for the marina but Preston said he won’t be looking for permits to cut mangroves. He plans to remove exotic and unhealthy vegetation and preserve sensitive ecosystems.

        At a recent Bradenton city council meeting, Sandy Ripberger, chair of the Sierra Club-Manatee-Sarasota conservation committee, said the area’s wetlands in Sarasota and Manatee counties contributes more than $8 billion to the local economy.

        Florida Fishing for Freedom president and Cortez commercial fisherman Mark Coarsey views any wetland and mangrove destruction as “manipulating the shoreline” and considers the Cortez shoreline “one of our last fish grounds.”

        Shoreline mangroves provide a nursery for spawning fish, scallops, clams and oyster beds and provide a food source and protection for marine life.

        Coarsey also is concerned about the new developments polluting the waters and scaring off the wildlife.

         “They’re running off everything wild,” he said. Birds, including pelicans and roseate spoonbills, are protected by the mangrove-lined shoreline, Coarsey added.

        “We see eagles out on the shoreline,” and when development destroys wildlife habitat, “it’s not a bay anymore — it’s a tourist trap,” he said.