Green all the way.
Manatee County Planning Commissioners weren’t swayed by concerns over density, traffic, mangroves, transient housing or even the possibility of the development plan being upended by the plans for a new Cortez Bridge.
The commission voted unanimously Dec. 14 to recommend Hunters Point Resort & Marina onto its next step in the development process — finding it consistent with the Manatee County Comprehensive Plan.
The Manatee Board of County Commissioners is expected to vote on the Hunters Point plan Jan. 11, 2018.
Cortez Road Investments and Finance Inc. will be seeking approvals from the BOCC for a preliminary site plan and to rezone 6.31 acres of the 18.73-acre site at the northeast base of the bridge in the 12400 block of Cortez Road.
The rezoning would alter 5.01 acres of submerged canals, now zoned as residential duplex, and 1.3 acres currently general commercial to a “mixed-use” designation, according to the county staff report.
As presented to the planning commission, the staff report included walkability and green transportation solutions as positive aspects. Negative, according to staff, is the location in the coastal evacuation and high-hazard zones.
At the hearing, developer Marshall Gobuty, who also heads up Mirabella Homes in Bradenton, attorney Caleb Grimes, of Grimes Goebel Grimes Hawkins Gladfelter & Galvano, as well as the project’s traffic engineer, senior planner and the architect introduced a “net-zero” design.
The plan calls for 86 cottages, 62 lodging rooms in five buildings, 11,100 square feet of commercial space, including the five lodges, a clubhouse, restaurant and a marina with 48 boat slips in canals that horseshoe the property.
Each home and building will produce as much if not more energy than it consumes, according to Gobuty.
The property owners’ association, according to the developer’s plans, would likely own the canals.
Planner Darenda Marvin highlighted walking trails and a water-taxi dock to help keep lodgers off Cortez Road.
No changes are proposed to the canals or mangroves, she said.
“The neighbors will have the exact same view as they do today,” Marvin added.
The 484 square-foot one-story residences will be prefabricated and built to code. The lodging units will feature 800 interior square feet.
Beth McDougal of McDougal Architects in Boston introduced herself as a Florida native and described the solar panels, airflow and built-in features, including a dining table, desk and beds.
To be marketed as Pearl Homes, the developer will pursue green and sustainable certifications, including the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, the U.S. Environment Protection Agency’s Energy Star, Indoor airPlus, WaterSense and the Living Future Institute net-zero energy programs.
Cortez Road Investments and Finance Inc. will collaborate with Tesla, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Florida Solar Energy Center on the LEED-certified homes.
“What the world doesn’t need — this county and this state — is another vertical developer,” Gobuty said, adding he’s built 104 LEED-certified platinum homes, reducing homeowners’ monthly power bills from $175 to $35-$60.
“What’s amazing about this opportunity is that these homes will require no power at all,” Gobuty said.
Cortez resident and former Manatee County Commissioner Jane von Hahmann applauded the green design but warned that the residences could become vacation rentals without restrictions.
Prior plans were focused on a vacation rental community with restrictions on permanent residency.
Caleb told the planning board Dec. 15, however, the cottages will be sold in fee simple, which allows for permanent residents and overnight rentals.
The county’s lead planner, Margaret Tusing, said she’d like to meet with the developer to clarify the rental issue.
Von Hahmann also wondered about the precedent set if the county reduces setbacks on the waterfront, sidewalks and roadway and approves what she considers “very small lots.”
The former commissioner also questioned giving vested rights to the developer, considering how a new Cortez Bridge could impact the development. She showed commissioners the proposed frontage road on the site if the 65-foot bridge plans are implemented by the Florida Department of Transportation.
Jonathan Graham of Cortez criticized the plan for encouraging boat traffic, putting in 86 homes for transients and non-residents and disturbing the quiet canals.
“Elbow to elbow” was Rex Taylor’s description of how people would live in the proposed development.
Karen Osterby questioned how new boat slips could be constructed without interfering with the mangroves that line the canal.
Asked about the bridge before the hearing, Gobuty said he believes whatever bridge the DOT chooses won’t stop his development, and even in what he called “the worse-case scenario, a 65-foot bridge … we will still be able to build a community.”
According to Gobuty, he hasn’t begun to work with the DOT.
After the meeting and with the planning commission’s approval, Gobuty said, “I’m ecstatic.”
Hunters Point is set for a BOCC hearing and possibly a vote at 9 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018, at the Manatee County Administrative Building, 1112 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.