Developers, Mosaic win big as Manatee County set to strip its own wetland protections

Manatee County commissioners are stripping local wetland protections, and the biggest beneficiaries are developers and The Mosaic Co.

The decision was based on the word of a private sector land use consultant, Daniel DeLisi, who served as an expert witness on behalf of a Carlos Beruff company in a court case resolved just months ago challenging the county's wetlands protection policies.

The vote transmits plans to make the change to state agencies. A final vote will be scheduled later this year.

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DeLisi argues there is no science to back up the county's longstanding rule.

"I do want to say, unequivocally, that these amendments do not cause impacts to wetlands," DeLisi said.

More than three dozen concerned residents turned out to defend the wetland protections from developers. Beruff and representatives for Moasiac did not respond to requests for comment.

"Is anyone mildly curious how the consultant for the developer who attacked these regulations in court ... appears as a consultant to Manatee County? I don't understand that," said Michael Barfield, director of public access at the Florida Centers for Government Accountability, a public watchdog organization.

Overwhelming environmental concerns

Rob Brown, speaking on behalf of the Manatee Fish and Game Association, was among dozens of residents raising concerns about the environmental impact and the effect changes could have on flooding during major storms.

Brown worked for 34 years as a division manager for Manatee County Parks and Natural Resources Department until March 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile.

"I was here when the comp plan was initially adopted, there was science behind all of those decisions," he said. "There is some unintended consequences to what's being proposed here… One of the largest private property owners in Manatee County… is Mosaic. They have to meet the wetland requirements."

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Manasota-88 Director Glenn Compton pointed to Hillsborough County, which has been under similar pressures but instead imposed tougher restrictions than those in place in Manatee.

'Relentless in their effort to weaken environmental protections'

The county's decision to gut county-imposed wetland protections and defer to state regulators is an about-face from decisions made by former county boards to implement them — a longstanding concern of many residents who are leery of political connections between current county commissioners and local developers.

DeLisi, the private sector consultant, was the only person not an elected official who spoke in favor of stripping the county's wetland protections. He was once an expert witness on behalf of the Beruff-owned Mandarin Development Inc. in a lawsuit filed against the county over its wetland policies.

The lawsuit refers to a 41.2-acre property known as Riva Trace, which is located adjacent to the Braden River and west of I-75 and contests the county's 50-foot buffer requirement for wetlands that are a part of its comprehensive plan.

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It is not the only lawsuit a Beruff-related entity has become embroiled in over the county's protections for local waterways. In 2014, Long Bar Pointe LLLP filed a lawsuit against Manatee County challenging certain policies in the comprehensive plan over another Beruff project. The case pertains to the 463-acre Long Bar Point waterfront property in Bradenton.

"We were involved in litigation several years ago," Suncoast Waterkeeper Founder Justin Bloom said of the lawsuit. "Medallion Homes and Carlos Beruff tried to pressure Manatee County to do away with certain provisions of its comprehensive plan related to coastal protections. The county didn't go along, they were sued by the developer, and Suncoast Waterkeeper intervened in the case in defending the county. That case was litigated, and the county prevailed."

"Since then, they've continued with that effort," he said. "The county has consistently upheld their comprehensive plan provisions and fought back these challenges, but the development community is relentless in their effort to weaken environmental protections."

In recent years, new commissioners elected have political ties to Beruff, some of who have received political donations from his companies or PACs. The board has also been friendly to developers on other controversial matters, including creating a system where only master-planned community developers could skip over the county's urban boundary line.

Commissioner George Kruse, the lone nay vote, said state legislators have attempted to pre-empt local governments like Manatee County from imposing wetland protections.

"The state is already trying to take control of this," he said, "and we're trying to voluntarily give it to them before they take it."

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Developers, Mosaic win big as Manatee County strips wetland protection