- Flooding – The entire Long Bar Pointe area is in the flood evacuation zone
- Majority of property is in Zone A
- Remainder of property is in Zone B
- More than half of the property is in the Coastal High Hazard Area (V-zone) Structures located within the CHHA have a 26-percent chance of flooding during the life of a standard 30-year mortgage. FEMA considers it “unwise” to build in a CHHA.
- The entire LBP area is in the FEMA DFIRM Impact Zone (See Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012)
- Flood insurance rates will be extremely high.
- Infrastructure such as streets, sewer lines, water lines, power and cable lines, other public property such as sidewalks, street signs and transit system stops would be put at risk.
- The builder has suggested that he will mitigate the flood hazard by filling in the area to bring it above flood level. In addition to being cost prohibitive it is illegal since it would divert flood waters to other nearby areas. Seawalls are also prohibited for the same reason. The only legal mitigation is to build on stilts (14 feet above mean sea level) which the builder says he will not do.
- In addition to the storm surge, wind will produce waves that will impact structures well above the storm surge. Because of coastal wave action Super Storm Sandy (not even a hurricane) destroyed many structures built to code on stilts.
- Global warming is causing higher sea levels. This will increase the flood risk in future years.
- Mangroves - There is a large mangrove forest along the entire 2.5 mile shoreline of the Long Bar Pointe property. As it stands, the mangrove forest will have a significant mitigating effect on any storm surge, wave action, and wind velocity.
- The builder has indicated that he intends to cut back the mangrove forest to a narrow strip along the shore as allowed by law.
- The builder has also announced that he plans to remove some of the shoreline mangroves entirely. It is not likely that this would be approved.
- The builder has indicated that he will trim most of the remaining mangroves to a height or six feet as allowed by law so that there will be a better view of the bay and sunsets.
- Trimming the mangroves consistently will eventually result in the disappearance of the trees as seeds (propagules) are formed on the ends of branches and when those ends are trimmed off no seeds are produced. The only solution would be a systematic plan of replanting.
- The present mangrove forest provides a rookery for both native and migratory birds. If the mangroves are trimmed they would not be high enough for a rookery. The result would be disappearance of the birds including Bald Eagles which have been sighted in the LBP area. This would have a negative impact on ecotourism in Manatee County.
- Construction activity and the increase in population would have a negative impact on wildlife populations which would also have a negative impact on tourism.
- Pollution – Every large development produces pollution and Long Bar Pointe is no exception except that any pollution from LBP goes directly into environmentally sensitive Sarasota Bay.
- Lawn fertilizers will dissolve in water from rain and sprinklers and wash into the Bay nourishing algae and other harmful plant life
- Pesticides will also end up in the Bay killing microscopic organisms that provide nourishment to larger marine life
- Oil, antifreeze, break fluid and other hydrocarbon chemicals from autos and other vehicles in parking lots or just doing work in the area will all end up running downhill with rainwater and into the Bay.
- The builder has claimed that there will be less pollution because there are chemicals in the soil from previous agricultural activities which continue to wash into the Bay. This is not correct. There has been no agricultural activity in that area for many years and any chemicals used by the farmers have long since leached out. That is one reason why the Bay is recovering from much abuse in previous years.
- The builder has also suggested that all water entering the Bay will be treated and will not pollute the Bay. This is an impossible claim. First, to make the water that pure would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to maintain and many times more for construction costs. Imagine days when we have several inches of rain. Any purification system would be totally overrun and millions of gallons of untreated water would end up in the Bay.
- Also, don’t forget about light pollution, sound pollution, and people pollution. All will have a negative effect on the Bay and wildlife in the sea, on the land, and in the air.
- Traffic problems –
- Traffic on 53 Avenue is already congested with the projected over 3,000 new residential units, a hotel, offices, a conference center, and numerous stores the traffic situation will only get worse
- New and wider roads will be required. Who will pay for them?
- The “Traffic Analysis” done by Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. raises a number of questions such as: --What methodology was used (was not specified in report)
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Were the other Mixed Use properties considered since they will likely be developed in the near future
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Was access to I-75 considered since many visitors would be expected
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Was access to the Airport considered
- Economically not feasible - No study has been done that indicates that any project along Long Bar Pointe will be profitable.
- The nearby developments of Legends Bay and Legends Cove immediately south of Long Bar Pointe have many vacant lots. This indicates lack of interest in buying homes and living in that area. (see Google Maps photo)
- The sewage plant across the street from Long Bar Point is a deterrent to prospective buyers or residents (see Google Maps photo)
- Potential buyers will be leery of buying from a developer who used Chinese drywall in one of his projects and instead of doing the right thing and replacing the defective drywall, he let the LLC go bankrupt.
- Flood insurance will be extremely high
- Evacuation routes are already over crowded.
- The Long Bar Map Amendment – PA-13-03 was originally approved with the understanding that there would be no boat access or marina. Project developers have said that the resort was not feasible without a marina and boat access.
- It is likely that if PA-13-03 receives final approval, the developers, Beruff and Lieberman, will sell the property to another developer who will not have negotiated the “no marina or boat access” provision and will expect that option to be honored under MU (Mixed Use). It would be very difficult and expensive for the County to defend against that and the new developer would not be bound by statements made at a Board meeting by previous owners. Knowing the developer’s propensity to sue, the Board needs to be aware that it is probable that the new owner would do likewise. It is not worth the risk!!!!!
- Other new hotels in the area will provide competition
- Character of Manatee County – Any high end resort built at Long Bar Pointe would drastically change the “Old Florida” character of Manatee County
- MU would allow all of the following that would not be allowed by RES-9
- Hotels and motels
- Neighborhood retail stores including wholesale
- Community serving retail stores
- Regional big-box retail stores such as Walmart and Target
- Offices including a conference center
- Light industrial including manufacture of clothes, furniture, and consumer electronics
- Research and Corporate Parks
- Warehouse and distribution stores such as Sam’s Club and BJ’s
- A 300 room hotel would dominate the skyline of Southwest Manatee County and forever change the character of Manatee County
- There is already a new 120 room Hotel in Bradenton that is only six miles from the IMG Academy. Great river views and within walking distance of numerous restaurants, attractions, and the Riverwalk.
- If Mixed Use is authorized for Long Bar Point there will be a constant battle between the developer and the County about what is authorized under MU and what is permitted to actually be built by the County. There surely will be many law suites as the citizenry attempt to prevent the developers from destroying that ecologically sensitive area.
- If MU is approved you can expect that the developers will try to maximize their profits and that will probably not be in the best interest of the County or the Bay.
- RES-9 is already in place and the county made numerous concessions when that was approved and revised twice.
- Other options – The Board of County Commissioners has a number of options
- Vote “No” on PA-13-03 and let the developers proceed under the already approved RES-9 land use category
- Vote “Yes” on PA-13-03 and deal with the consequences later
- Law suits from the builders for not approving certain projects
- Law suits from the citizenry
- Possible consequences at the polls
- Possible failure of the entire project
- Convince the developers to develop property elsewhere in the county that is less environmentally sensitive
- Convince the developers to exchange the LBP property for county owned property elsewhere of equal value
- Convince the developers to donate the property to the county for development as a nature preserve
And remember, any decision the BoCC makes will set a precedent for all similar property in Manatee County.