What to know in Manatee: Money for preserves, homes in Lakewood Ranch, food truck reform

Faced with the steep price of purchasing land such as Rattlesnake Key, Manatee County commissioners are mulling a new ballot initiative to raise more funds for environmental land purchases.

Manatee County commissioners discussed the proposal during a public land use meeting on Thursday, where they also approved plans for more homes in Lakewood Ranch, inked a new food truck ordinance, and accommodated a new car wash on University Parkway.

Manatee County to consider a new environmental lands ballot measure

Manatee County commissioners are exploring a potential ballot initiative to bring more funds into efforts to purchase environmentally valuable land for conservation purposes.

Manatee County residents approved a new tax in 2020 to fund property purchases aimed at protecting environmentally valuable lands from development. The measure limited the board's bonding ability at $50 million, Commissioner George Kruse said.

More: An island in Manatee County once planned to be a state park now for sale for $75 million

Commissioners have agreed to purchase two tracts of land so far, the Crooked River Ranch and land adjacent to the Emmerson Point preserve.

They are also faced with questions after the state of Florida pulled back on plans to purchase Rattlesnake Key. The state had allocated $23 million toward the purchase of the island, with a $2.3 million match by Manatee County, but has since scrapped those plans. Legislators are instead appropriating $8 million towards the effort in this year's state budget, leaving Manatee County scrapping to fill the gap in funding for the purchase.

"We are seeing a lot of great opportunities, but they are large opportunities," Kruse said.

More conservation: Crooked River Ranch on Manatee River in Parrish receives conservation protection

Also: Manatee County to spend $16 million to protect 98 acres of waterfront from development

"These are Crooked River, these are Emerson Point, and now we are dealing with a situation with Rattlesnake Key," he said. "We are stuck because we can't even bond enough if we decided to go outside of the state, based on other commitments, and we've already bonded $35 million out of our theoretical $50 million. We're capped."

The board voted to ask staff to research and prepare a resolution to put a referendum on the ballot to raise the cap on bonding above the current $50 million cap. It would be brought to the board for consideration at a future meeting, with enough time to add a measure to the ballot during the upcoming local elections. Commissioner Jason Bearden was absent during Thursday's meeting.

More multifamily and single-family homes slated for Lakewood Ranch

Commissioners voted 5 to 0 in favor of a request by SMR Northeast LLC to rezone 84.5 acres of land from agriculture to planned development residential to accommodate 759 residential units on the northeast side of Lakewood Ranch. Those plans include 600 multifamily units, 62 single-family attached homes, and 97 single-family detached homes.

More Lakewood Ranch: Lakewood Ranch will expand in 2024 and beyond. Here's what to expect.

The property is located at the southeast corner of the Uihlein Road and SR64 intersection. There will be five access points, including one on Uihlein Road, three on Academic Avenue, and one on Lighterwood Trail. The property includes 21.25 acres of open space.

Manatee County moves to facilitate food trucks and food truck parks

County commissioners voted 5 to 0 in favor of a land development code change that facilitates food trucks and food truck parks.

The county did not previously recognize food trucks on the land development code, but the new ordinance establishes such locations where food is allowed, striping and setback requirements, utility requirements, and overnight parking limits.

New car wash slated for University Parkway

County commissioners approved preliminary site plans for a new University Carwash facility on less than an acre of land in south Manatee County off of University Parkway, at 8490 Shade Avenue. Owned by BW University Shade, LLC, the site will feature a 3,825-square-foot car wash equipped with a continuous belt, vacuums, and a drying area.

Zoning change for 5-acre property in Parrish approved

Commissioners approved a change in zoning from general agriculture to agricultural suburban for 5 acres of land at 3012 Phillips Road in Parrish. The new zoning allows for short-term agricultural and related uses while providing for areas that transition to suburban character.

Change in zoning for residential lot refunded

Commissioners approved a change in zoning for a small piece of land owned by Tibisay Josefina Perez De Osuna from Residential Single-Family 4.5 to Residential Single-Family 6. The property is located north of the 26th Avenue East and 15th Street East intersection.

The new zoning accommodates up to six residential homes on the property. The property owner requested to bring a nonconforming lot into compliance. Commissioners voted in favor of refunding costs associated with the zoning change application to the owner after expressing frustration with the need for a zoning change for the property.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: What to know in Manatee: Officials mull environmental lands referendum