Neighbors launch petition against a new townhome project near I-75 and Braden River
A Fortune 500 company, D. R. Horton, is seeking to build 99 townhomes on 34.5 acres near the Braden River, and neighbors have taken notice.
Linger Lodge Townhomes are proposed for a wooded area at 8240 Linger Lodge Road, near the east landing of the Interstate 75 overpass.
D. R. Horton is the largest home builder in the United States and has numerous projects in Manatee County.
Among them are Silverstone North and Mandarin Grove in Palmetto, Bella Lago in Parrish, Braden Pointe, Glen Creek and Evergreen Estates in Bradenton and Woodleaf Hammock, Star Homes and Solera at Lakewood Ranch.
But in a change.org petition, opponents are saying that the Linger Lodge Road property is the wrong place for the townhouses.
“A natural habitat and wildlife corridor will be eradicated if a proposed development is built alongside the Braden River in Manatee County, Florida. Hundreds of trees will be destroyed and large retention ponds will be installed,” the petition says.
“This site, used by wildlife and migratory birds, is close to an eagle’s nest and less than 500 yards from the Johnson Preserve, which was saved from development a few years ago.
“The proposed complex, only 50 feet from the river, jeopardizes the ecosystem in the Evers Reservoir Watershed, the source of Bradenton’s drinking water. To make matters worse, the adjacent 25 acres is now for sale for development,” the petition says.
The property is currently under review for a rezone and is scheduled to come before the Manatee County Commission on Aug. 17.
“One could understand the desire to place a few homes at this location, but we don’t need another development that reduces our dwindling tree canopy and threatens the environment,” the petition said.
The grassroots opposition to Linger Lodge Townhomes is reminiscent of another battle fought several years ago by the Friends of Keep Woods group.
Friends of Keep Woods opposed a proposed 32-home development on a 33-acre parcel between the Braden Woods and River Club neighborhoods. The project would have created a thoroughfare from Linger Lodge Road to Clubhouse Drive.
In 2018, the Friends group prevailed with the creation of the Braden River Preserve, later renamed The Floyd C. Johnson and Flo Singer Johnson Preserve at Braden River.
The Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast and Manatee County announced the name change and the closing of the $3 million transaction between developer Pat Neal and the land conservation nonprofit.
The Conservation Foundation donated the adjoining 11.44 acres which were bequeathed by the late Carlton Bergstresser.
“The 44.5-acre oasis of nature is home to an amazing diversity of plants and animals not normally seen in similar suburban areas, with mature live oaks, tall long leaf pines, important wetlands that store water preventing flooding, imperiled swallowtail kites and gopher tortoises. The land’s riverfront and floodplain forests are part of a corridor linking natural habitat along the Braden River, which supplies drinking water for the City of Bradenton,” the Manatee County webpage says.
Gary Hebert was the president of Friends of Keep Woods Inc. and also started the petition against the Linger Lodge Townhome project.
The petition asks that the requested Linger Lodge Townhomes zoning change and the proposed preliminary site plan be denied.
