Meanwhile, the planning commission postponed an amendment to allow permanent occupancy of RVs in mobile home parks.
By Dania Hefley
Original Air Date: October 17, 2025
Host: Expansion of sports amenities and other public uses could be underway soon near Lakewood Ranch. On Thursday, the Manatee County Planning Commission recommended approval of more than doubling the size of public uses for county land near State Road 70. Another agenda item meant to bring relief to mobile home park residents still recovering from last year’s hurricanes was postponed. Dania Hefley has the details.
A mobile home park in Frostproof, Fla. allows coexistence of manufactured homes and RVs.
Dania Hefley: The planning commission first took up a county-initiated proposal designed to address the shortage of affordable housing following the 2024 hurricane season. The amendment was intended to allow the permanent occupancy of recreational vehicles in mobile home parks, offering a housing alternative for residents whose homes were substantially damaged. The item, however, was continued to a future date and will be re-advertised—meaning no immediate relief or policy change was enacted. County staff highlighted the changes.
Staff: County-initiated land development code text amendment, recreational vehicles and mobile home parks. This is a legislative item, and this is to be continued to no date set and re-advertised.
County-owned land off Rangeland Parkway and Uihlein Road will likely be opened up to a variety of public uses. Manatee County uses most of adjacent land north of State Road 70 for soccer fields.
DH: The commission also looked at the East County Facilities rezone—a major public development in the Lakewood Ranch area. That proposal was approved, greenlighting an expansion of the project with 126 acres of agriculture-zoned land, to bring it to more than 236 acres. Uses of the expanded land could include a new aquatic center, an expanded sports complex, and new government services—including a library, a sheriff’s substation or an EMS station. It also allows for related commercial uses like a hotel or or parking garages. The commission voted 6-0 to recommend the project to the county commission.
Meanwhile, a county-led project to expand the Lake Manatee EMS Station was postponed after commissioners’ pushback. Concerns focused on safety and infrastructure. They noted that the access road, Dam Road, is only 11 feet wide and sits on a blind curve, raising questions about emergency response times. The motion to postpone passed 6-0, pushing the decision to the November 13 meeting.
Flooding in Sarasota during Hurricane Helene
During the approval of the Christian Berry residential rezone in northwest Bradenton, local resident Greg Geraldson spoke against the development, arguing that raising the land grade makes nearby properties vulnerable to storm surge.
Greg Geraldson: We used to be the highest place out there. And now we’re the lowest, or getting to be the lowest. It will be the lowest if these projects keep getting passed. It’s time to put an end to them.
DH: The developer’s engineer refuted that claim, saying the flooding during Hurricane Helene came from an unavoidable tidal surge off the Gulf—not from the project’s stormwater design. The project was ultimately recommended for approval.
For WSLR News, Dania Hefley.
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