Manatee County denies Zipporah Road rezoning; Bus Barn rezoning continued for access revisions

Manatee County commissioners on Monday denied the proposed rezoning for the 55.79‑acre Zipporah Road development, which had sought PDR zoning and a preliminary plan for 167 single‑family homes, and continued a related Bus Barn rezoning while asking the applicant to fix access and design problems.

The commission’s vote followed a long night of staff briefings, technical testimony and more than three hours of public comment. James McDevitt of Development Services told the board the Zipporah proposal would rely on NOAA Atlas 14 storm‑rainfall modeling, Mill Creek watershed rules requiring a 50% reduction in post‑development runoff, and a shared sewer/force‑main approach; he also noted there is no existing wastewater infrastructure on Zipporah Road and that the site contains wetland impacts the record quantifies (staff: roughly a quarter‑acre total impacts). McDevitt’s presentation detailed a 250‑foot lattice personal wireless service tower on the site that requires a specific approval to remain in a residential zoning district.

Residents and technical witnesses urged the board to reject the rezone. Longtime Zipporah Road resident Pamela Plant submitted a neighborhood petition and argued the county‑required road upgrades and sewer force‑main shown in project plans would require digging along the west side of Zipporah Road and kill large live oaks that form the road’s canopy; she said planned sidewalks and proposed gating language in materials were inconsistent and that children would be left walking along State Road 64 to the bus stop. Traffic critic Greg Marino submitted GPS and video exhibits asserting that the corridor already operates at or near failure and that the applicants’ traffic studies undercounted committed and “ghost” trips; Marino estimated the proposed Zipporah neighborhood alone could add roughly 1,500 daily trips using standard ITE rates. Multiple neighbors and an ISA‑certified arborist group testified that 18–42 canopy oaks would be impacted and that root cutting for a widened road and a buried 6‑inch force main would likely cause tree mortality.

Representatives of the Moran family and their counsel said the property has been in the family for generations, that the parcels lie inside the county’s UF‑3 future land‑use boundary and are appropriate for low‑density residential conversion, and that the project includes mitigation commitments (developer counsel provided a draft stipulation limiting the Bus Barn project to 100 units unless a second means of access is approved and said construction traffic could be restricted from using Zipporah Road). William Moran and other family members emphasized financial and legacy reasons for redevelopment and said engineering work showed 50% post‑development runoff reduction in retention ponds.

Staff said project materials had used updated stormwater modeling and that many technical conditions can be addressed by required site‑plan checks, but they also confirmed Zipporah Road is currently a substandard roadway that would need full base and pavement replacement to meet county standards if used as a primary access. County staff and outside engineers also acknowledged outstanding questions about the 250‑foot tower’s certified fall‑down radius, which opponents argued lacked a signed, sealed, contemporary engineering certification.

After deliberations, the commission voted to deny the Zipporah Road rezoning (item 8). The Bus Barn rezoning (item 7), which had been presented jointly and which commissioners said cannot be built as proposed without a compliant second access or a revised internal layout, was continued to no date certain so the applicant can revise the site plan and address the county’s access/cul‑de‑sac concerns. The board recorded the denial for Zipporah Road as the final action at the meeting.

What’s next: The denial ends the county’s discretion to approve the Zipporah rezone as presented; the applicant may choose to revise and reapply after addressing the board’s stated issues. The Bus Barn application remains active and will return to the commission after the applicant resubmits a site plan showing either a second means of access or a redesigned internal circulation that meets county standards.

Quotes from the hearing included residents’ appeals and applicant responses. “Please deny this application,” said Pamela Plant, a 27‑year resident who brought a petition from neighbors. Developer counsel Ed Vogler told the board, “Neal Communities will perform its commitments,” and family member William Moran asked commissioners to “vote yes for the future of our family and Manatee County families” if the standards of code and the comprehensive plan were met.

The commission record includes staff reports, multiple arborist assessments filed by residents claiming irreversible loss of heritage live oaks if the road and sewer work proceed as shown, technical exhibits on observed speeds and queue lengths, and an Army Corps of Engineers application describing proposed wetland impacts. The staff packet and submitted exhibits remain available in the meeting record for further review by residents and the board.