The Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage board of directors voted April 3 to speak out against Aqua By The Bay at Manatee County public hearings.
FISH directors chose vice president and former county board member Jane von Hahmann to articulate the nonprofit’s concerns about a 529-acre mixed-use development proposed by Long Bar Pointe LLLP and Cargor Partners VIII and their principals, Larry Lieberman and Carlos Beruff.
The developers are seeking approval for a 191-acre rezone and mixed-use development, including 78,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, 2,894 homes, recreational amenities and boat docks.
Manatee County planners issued a staff report April 7 recommending the developer plan for stipulations, including a requirement that future site plan submittals contain an “overall layout of the entire project.”
Stu Smith asked for FISH’s support during a board meeting in Cortez. Smith represents two environmentally concerned nonprofits, the Manatee-Sarasota Group of the Sierra Club and Suncoast Waterkeepers Inc.
FISH is dedicated to preserving the commercial fishing culture of Cortez and seeks to protect its surrounding environment from encroaching development.
Smith said the real estate developers intend to construct at least two high-rises — one 13-story and another five-story building — dredge a 2.5 mile lagoon, build seawalls along the shore and profit from an 18-credit mitigation bank, including some $700,000 for signs to warn boaters of seagrass.
More than a third of the development site, which lies east and south of Cortez, are submerged lands proposed to be part of a mitigation bank. Developers need state and federal wetlands permits to operate what will be the smallest bank in the state, Smith said.
Smith said 12 seagrass signs are proposed in the mitigation bank, which may attract boaters rather than protect the seagrass.
FISH directors Herman Krugele and Linda Molto asked about the 40-56 docks — one for every 100 feet on Sarasota Bay — the developers say they’ll build if they are denied Aqua By The Bay.
Smith responded, “There are problems with that,” adding state and federal regulatory agencies require a certain water level and depth that doesn’t exist in the low-lying tidal areas.
The Beruff/Lieberman partnership made similar threats in 2013.
“It’s a scare tactic,” von Hahmann said. In August 2013, when the county turned down a marina-hotel complex, the developers talked about their rights to build docks. They also called for 300,000 square feet of commercial space, von Hahmann recalled.
Beruff-Lieberman sued the county after it refused to change comprehensive plan policies to suit their development needs, but, in February, they lost a two-year court challenge seeking to declare the county coastal rules unconstitutional.
Other issues Smith highlighted included the developers’ proposed mangrove trimming to 12 feet. While opposed to the mangrove trimming, which he called “unprecedented” for a mitigation bank, Smith said it’s not the worst part of the proposal.
“Honestly, I think the problem to focus on is the lagoon,” Smith said, “this is something the commissioners will pick up and go on, multiple LDC and comp plan violations in the lagoon.”
Von Hahmann said county commissioners may not hear the full story from Beruff and asked for a board direction to send out materials and a “call for action” to the FISH membership. Plum Taylor made the motion, Mark Coarsey seconded and the directors unanimously approved the campaign.
Smith suggested FISH members send letters to Manatee County Board Chair Betsy Benac. Von Hahmann recommended letters include a note to distribute to the planning commissioners as well.
Manatee County planning commissioners will hear public comment on the proposal at 9 a.m. Thursday, April 13, in the Manatee County Commission Chambers, 1112 Manatee Ave., Bradenton.
The planners will send their recommendation to the county board for its Thursday, May 4, land-use meeting.