Blindness and Oversight: Manasota 88 and Pat Neal

Parrish will be "the new center of the universe," says pat neal, who apparently has no qualms about putting as many human warehousing units as he can on every blade of grass he can buy. 

Is there a shred of difference between the fecklessness of Manatee County and that of Sarasota?

ManaSota-88, Inc.  a 501.c3 Public Health and Environmental Organization Citizens Growth Oversight Committee ManaSota-88 fully supports the establishment of a Citizens Growth Oversight Committee for Manatee County. The lack of commission support for this clearly indicates growth management will be a low priority under the current county commissions tenure. Only commissioner Misty Servia supports an oversight committee to review new development proposals and provide input to the Board of County Commissioners. No one living in Manatee County will escape the poor decisions that will likely result in reduced standards for environmental protection or the bad legal precedents that will be set. Development interests already have a vast influence on Manatee County’s planning process. The county commission will be lobbied to weaken an already weak comprehensive plan, ensuring growth management plans remain the toothless documents they have been. Although Manatee’s comprehensive plan is inadequate, in that it does not address the fundamental question of how many people can reasonably be expected to live here in comfort, it is at least a step in the right direction. The majority of residents want to slow growth in order to maintain adequate levels of service and to prevent further erosion of the environment and general quality of life. Information concerning the cumulative impacts of traffic, air quality, the relationships of vegetation and wildlife, and wildlife corridors has been deficient in the planning review process. The submittal of sufficient technical and specific information to properly review and identify the anticipated impacts associated with proposed developments in Manatee county is flawed. Regional and local impacts on the environment are not being sufficiently addressed. Manatee County’s planning process does not consider the magnitude of the current problem that exists regarding the safe evacuation of existing residents in case of a catastrophic storm. The use of Interstate 75 , or other roads established as hurricane evacuation routes, should not be impacted by new development . The protection and safety of existing residents during a hurricane storm event must be ensured before initiating any changes in land use designations within Manatee. If roads and  infrastructure are overburdened by the continuous population growth allowed under the comprehensive plan,  then adequate hurricane evacuation cannot possibly occur. The impact of continued growth on air quality will be significant. Steady increases in vehicle miles traveled will erode the controls already achieved by new car emission standards and stationary source controls. Whether there is any way to retain the unique features that make Manatee County a desirable place to live remains to be seen. The results will be determined by the amount of public interest that is displayed in Manatee County's development. Unfortunately, it appears the majority of Manatee County Commissioners do not support the establishment of a Citizens Growth Oversight Committee and would rather not hear the concerns residents have related to growth management. Revisions of Manatee County’s Land Development Code and Comprehensive Plan can be found at mymanatee.org and search for “Pending Land Use Regulation Amendments.” ManaSota-88 Website ManaSota-88 Email Phosphate Risk Website Copyright ©  2017 ManaSota-88, Inc. All rights reserved. Please support our efforts. Tax-deductible contributions should be mailed to:  ManaSota-88, Inc. P.O. Box 1728 Nokomis, Florida 34274 (941)966-6256 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE 1-800-435-7352 WITHIN THE STATE, REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE."WWW.FLORIDACONSUMERHELP.COM  REGISTRATION # CH762