Tara development legal battle ends with Manatee County paying multimillion settlement

Nearly 13 years after Manatee County Commissioners denied a request for commercial development at the entrance to the Tara community, commissioners this month agreed to pay the developer $3.6 million in a mediated settlement.

In 2010, Lake Lincoln LLC was seeking approvals for the commercial development of a 3.3-acre parcel on the southwest corner of State Road 70 and Tara Boulevard.

The 2010 denial came after a more than five-hour meeting with more than 120 Tara residents in attendance. The Tara crowd wore red shirts, symbolic of their desire to stop the planned project.

Six of the seven commissioners agreed with the residents, who brought with them a petition with 1,200 signatures in opposition to the developer’s request, the Bradenton Herald reported in 2010.

Residents cited increased traffic and the loss of a portion of the 9.8-acre wetlands area that fronts the community as reasons for their opposition.

In 2012, Lake Lincoln filed a Bert Harris Act lawsuit, alleging its rights as a property owner were being violated by the county’s decision to deny the use of the acreage.

In 2016, Manatee County Commissioners rejected settling the lawsuit for $2.4 million.

In 2019, county commissioners rejected the county attorney’s recommended settlement agreement which would have allowed a drug store to be built at the intersection.

Manatee pays $3.6 million in Tara dispute

In the mediated settlement the county commission approved this month, Naples-based Lake Lincoln LLC agreed to settle all of its claims and demands against Manatee County.

In return, the county will receive title to 10.33 acres at the heart of the dispute, plus two other parcels.

Those include a 36.85-acre parcel south of Linger Lodge Road and east of Evers Reservoir and Jiggs Landing. The Manatee County Property Appraisers website identifies it as a wetlands parcel.

A second contiguous parcel of 8.3 acres along the east side of Evers Reservoir is also listed as a wetland parcel.

Manatee County Commissioners approved the transfer of $3.6 million in reserves for the mediated settlement agreement.

The settlement comes two years after Manatee County won a court ruling for summary judgment in the case. However, on Oct. 11, 2022, the Second District Court of Appeal reversed the ruling and directed the trial court to enter a verdict in favor of Lake Lincoln LLC.

On May 8, 2023, the county and Lake Lincoln engaged in an all-day mediation with a third-party mediator and reached the settlement agreement, which was presented to the county commission this month.

If the county had declined to approve the settlement, the case would have gone to a 12-person jury trial.

“This case has been aggressively litigated by both sides at the trial and appellate court levels. Unfortunately, the appellate court has ruled against our position, leaving the county with the choice of continuing to litigate the amount of damages or resolving the case to foreclose expending additional resources in defense of the case,” the County Attorney’s Office said in its presentation.

Given the circumstances and lengthy history of this case, the County Attorney’s Office recommended that the lawsuit be settled to avoid further litigation.