Issues
There are many issues in Manatee County that need attention, but I have identified the three most important to my constituents:
- Our Quality of Life
- Our Property Rights
- Our Environment
As I speak to many more constituents and new issues arise before the election, this list can change and expand.
Our Quality of Life
We all have the right to Quality of Life in our community.
Whether that means getting from point A to B without bumper to bumper traffic, turning on our kitchen faucets and expecting clean, drinkable water or expecting our schools, utilities and infrastructure to support our rapid growth.
Impact fees are too low, bond issues are at 10 year high interest rates and the prices of maintenance and repairs are escalating to record levels. This will all lead to budget deficits and increases in taxes to service our rising debt.
We need to address with flooding in our community that is causing our property owners health and safety issues, along with monetary losses from damage. Our Comprehensive Plan is based on hydrology studies that are over 10 years old and FEMA maps that have not been updated in the last 5 years. We need to complete these updated studies and and establish feasibility on the necessary infrastructure to mitigate future flooding events.
Our Property Rights
We all bought property in Manatee knowing the rules and regulations. That doesn't seem to apply to the development community. What appears to be the trend rather than the exception is that developers buy land, petition to rezone it and then use the BOCC to change the land use even though it goes against the Comprehensive Plan, FDAB, DRI and other settled rules.
When do our property rights come into consideration? Why do we continue to present expert witnesses, facts, community leaders and resident only to be ignored and things change for the worse.
It’s time that our property rights have the same weight and importance as the developers.
Our Environment
Florida largest economic drivers of agriculture and tourism rely on the condition of our environment.
Clean water, clean air, pollution control and reducing environmental impact of development are necessary to keep the balance we have enjoyed for the last 100 years.
Due to rapid growth, we are running out of clean water to drink. Due to pollutants and contaminants our drinking water source is experiencing algae blooms that compromise its quality. We are running out of processing capacity to provide the explosive growth in Manatee clean water. At this rate, some time in the near future we will need to utilize clean drinking water from Peace River. A Manatee County Commissioner sits on the board of the Peace River Authority. In visiting the facility, it has been conveyed that that have capacity to supply our water needs, but distribution infrastructure needs to be built to bring their water to us.
Most recently our wetland buffer zones have been dramatically reduced because the development community wanted to put a few more homes on previously undeveloped land. The current County Commissioners have subsequently reversed that decision and the buffers will return to the original 50ft.
We deserve better custodians of our environment for our future enjoyment and use.