Commissioners approve Manatee Cottages East rezone after contentious neighborhood debate

Manatee County commissioners narrowly approved a zoning ordinance and general development plan allowing a large residential treatment/assisted‑living use at 5720 Fourth Street East, commonly called Manatee Cottages East, after a lengthy and emotional hearing.

The vote followed more than two hours of public comment and a broad turnout from both supporters and opponents. Supporters — including program graduates, veterans and volunteers — urged the board to approve the site so the nonprofit operator could continue offering residential recovery services. Opponents, including many long‑time Meadow Lakes residents, said the facility’s current operations have altered neighborhood traffic patterns and raised safety concerns and that the site and its operations do not meet the county’s current locational standards for residential treatment programs.

The applicant said the property was originally developed and used for health‑care related residential uses dating to the 1980s and that later approvals and final site plans supported residential care. Patricia Petruff, land‑use counsel for the owner, said the 1997 PDR ordinance that governs the site authorized the facility’s residential uses and that the recent filings were intended to clarify which long‑standing uses remain permitted. “We’re not asking for anything more, anything less than the historical uses that…