PALMETTO (WSNN) – Developmental proposals for a contested piece of land in the City of Palmetto are put on pause. Residents in the area have mixed feelings.
Palmetto City Commissioners turned down two developments proposals made for the 3.4-acre property across from the Palmetto Boat Ramp.
“We’re at a stalemate,” City of Palmetto Shirley Groover Bryant said. “And I was very disappointed because now they’ve denied the ability to negotiate either one of the developers.”
But this is a relief for boaters who use this land as an unofficial parking lot.
“It’s a blessing,” Commercial Fisherman Rod Griffon said.
It seemed like everything we had been talking about had been falling on deaf ears and I think they’re finally starting to see the importance of what we’re trying to achieve
Bryant says the Palmetto Community Redevelopment Agency purchased the land for the purpose of redeveloping it.
“The sale of the property would be the linchpin for doing other developments and cleaning up slum and blight,” Bryant said.
The two developers, Hatfield Development Company and CIVIX LLC were proposing to put down three million dollars to build a 150-unit apartment complex. A project, Shirley said would help with the affordable housing crisis.
“We’ve had such an influx of residents and we need housing for our teachers and our police officers and for our first responders and we’re shy of that. And palmetto can help make a difference there,” Bryant said.
But this would cut down the parking spaces for boaters. There are officially 18 spots here. But in the unofficial parking lot….
“Across the street, we park about 75 to 80 vehicles,” Griffon said.
“On weekends, this place is a mess,” Bass-n-Bay Charters Captain Brady Nelson said. “There are people everywhere. We definitely need that on the weekends.”
As part of the proposal, the developers were willing to create more than 30 spaces for boat trailer parking. But parking isn’t the only concern these boaters share.
“The traffic would be highly congested, the community would change as a whole forever, and for our kids and grandkids,” ‘Save the Palmetto Boat Ramp Campaign’ Director Elaine Johnson said.
Johnson created a petition called ‘Save the Palmetto Ramp’ last year and has since received thousands of signatures.
All this goes to show that there’s no quick fix to this problem.
“Some people think it’s so easy, but it’s not, it’s not easy from where I sit,” Bryant said. “Because our CRA owns the property, but if we can’t redevelop it, it would have to sold back to the city.”
As of this point, the land is still up for more developmental proposals.
There are about 250 boat trailer parking spots in Manatee County. County Commissioners and Palmetto City Commissioners have been working together to add more.
You can find last year’s story from SNN, here.
