UPDATE:
On OCTOBER 5, the Board of County Commission is expected to take up the issue of the Comprehensive Plan Amendment and vote for its adoption.
The Value of Wetlands Science Panel was a success! We are organizing volunteers to read scientific facts into the record. Email Abbey at [email protected] if you can help.
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Despite an overwhelmingly unanimous public outcry, the Manatee Board of County Commissioners voted 6-1 to transmit the wetlands protection cutbacks at the Board of County Commissioners Land Use Meeting on August 17, 2023, at 9 AM.
Following over 4 hours of testimonials from qualified wetland scientists, engineers, business owners, fishers, community members, and members of the next generation, six County Commissioners still chose to blatantly ignore the people they purport to serve and to sacrifice our wetlands to developer interests.
To read summaries of the proceedings, please take a look at these articles from The Bradenton Times and Fox 13 News.
To watch segments with clips from the meeting and comments from Suncoast Waterkeeper, please watch this segment from WTSP Tampa Bay 10 and / or this Spanish segment from Telemundo 49.
To watch Suncoast Waterkeeper Executive Director and Waterkeeper, Dr. Abbey Tyrna's public comment, click here.
To watch Suncoast Waterkeeper Chair, Rusty Chinnis's public comment, click here. To read Rusty's recap of the events in his column, click here.
Stay alert and stay tuned! This fight is NOT OVER! The Board still has to vote to adopt these changes and Suncoast Waterkeeper is committed to staying on top of this issue.
Finally, we want to thank anyone who took action, including everyone who attended the lengthy August 17 meeting (there was such overflow that people were directed to the 5th floor to watch the proceedings), and especially to all the brave people who spoke.
To read about the outcome of the August 10 Planning Commission meeting, please take a look at the article written in the Bradenton Times.
We're taking action to ensure that another threat to our quality of life, local economy and waterways doesn't become a reality. Manatee County has proposed removing policies of the Comprehensive Plan and sections of the Land Development Code to allow for the destruction of our wetlands and wetland buffers. These changes would create permanent damage. Once wetlands are gone, they are gone for good.
Wetlands are protected ecosystems because they perform a wide variety of important functions; chief among them is their ability to clean up polluted water. This function alone should have the County Commission and its appointed Planning Commission fighting to protect these valuable ecosystems in the face of an increasingly harmful red tide. Wetlands do more than enhance water quality; they protect us from flooding, provide habitat for Florida wildlife, and replenish our dwindling groundwater supplies.
So why would Manatee County Commission want to push changes that would destroy wetlands in the face of red tide? The answer is simple: they want more developable land to put corporate profits before our quality of life, our local economy, and water quality.
It is time to take action to make sure these changes do not become a reality. Will you join us in protecting our wetlands? Add your name to our petition that we are sending to the Manatee Board of County Commissioners. Together, we'll protect what makes the Suncoast special.
Read our letter to the Manatee County Board of Commissioners for more information.