Manatee commissioners approve Heritage Harbor increase to 124-room hotel despite traffic concerns

The Manatee County Board of County Commissioners approved an amendment to the Heritage Harbor Development of Regional Impact (DRI) and a companion general development plan amendment for Parcel 37, allowing an increase from 100 to 124 hotel rooms on that parcel and raising the permitted height from four to five stories.

The change, which increases the county-wide hotel entitlement within the Heritage Harbor DRI from 400 to 424 rooms, passed on Feb. 6 by a 4-2 vote with Commissioners Felt and McCann in opposition.

Supporters, including the applicant’s planner and a hotel partner representative, told the board the extra 24 rooms are needed to meet brand and economic thresholds. Linda Stewart, planner with Morris Engineering, said the request is “consistent with the other hotel rooms that were previously approved within Heritage Harbor” and that utilities and pedestrian infrastructure are already in place for the site. Mark Bruce, owner of Heritage Harbor Golf Club, said a Hilton flag requires 124 keys and argued construction costs make a 124-room hotel the only economically viable option for the parcel.

Opponents and some commissioners raised traffic and infrastructure concerns. Commissioner McCann said residents told him the area “already have a severe traffic problem,” asking whether county roadwork and state highway conditions would support more rooms. Commissioner Phelps and others acknowledged the DRI was designed for incremental approvals over decades but said increased development has outpaced the infrastructure residents expected when entitlements were first granted.

Staff said the proposed change does not alter the development’s previously approved intensity and that the Mixed Use future land use and Planned Development-MU (PDMU) zoning intend internal trip capture. Development Services staff clarified that the 24-room increase would not require additional road improvements beyond what the development and prior approvals already anticipate, and that adjacent roads within the development are privately owned or CDD-maintained.

Public comment at the hearing included support from Heritage Harbor stakeholders who said the hotel would serve neighborhood visitors and that existing traffic backups near I-75 reflect regional capacity constraints. The county’s planning commission had unanimously recommended approval with no public comment at its hearing.

The board voted on two companion items: an amendment to Ordinance No. 25-06 amending Map H and the Heritage Harbor DRI development order, and a PDMU amendment for Parcel 37’s GDP to reflect the increased room count and height. Both measures were approved by the same 4-2 margin.

Commissioners who voted in favor said the hotel would provide visitor accommodations and help capture local bed tax revenue that currently goes to other jurisdictions. Commissioners opposed cited resident concerns about scale and traffic and expressed a desire for more infrastructure assurances before expanding entitlements.

The applicants said no immediate site plan or construction permit for the remainder of the DRI beyond Parcel 37 was before the board; they said the parcel owner and hotel partner expect to proceed if the entitlements remain in place. Final building heights and room layouts will be reviewed at final site plan and permit stages, and staff noted the hotel rooms may need to be smaller if more keys are approved while not changing overall intensity allocations.

The board’s approvals do not change existing zoning or the DRI’s overall allowable uses beyond the amended room count and height; the items now return to permitting for required final site plan review and infrastructure verification.