Posted: 6/5/2026 2:53:36 PM EDT
[Last Edit: osprey21][Edited]
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by Dr. Bob McCann The transformation of Manatee County and Lakewood Ranch has reached a tipping point. What was once celebrated as a master-planned haven of pristine wetlands, sprawling cattle country, and thoughtfully spaced neighborhoods is rapidly morphing into a cautionary tale of unbridled development. For many long-term residents, the driving force behind this shift feels less like progress and more like raw, short-sighted greed—a rush to monetize every square inch of dirt before the concrete even has time to dry. The destruction isn't happening secretly; it is playing out in broad daylight at county commission meetings and along every major thoroughfare. The Death of the Master Plan Lakewood Ranch’s original appeal was its meticulous design. It promised a balance between nature and suburban living, keeping high-density commercial hubs distinct from quiet residential pockets. Today, that balance is being systematically dismantled. 1. Greed Over Guidance: Comprehensive zoning plans and growth boundaries—once viewed as ironclad protections for the environment—are routinely treated as minor speed bumps. Developers regularly petition for high-density rezoning, and local officials, heavily backed by developer campaign contributions, consistently nod them through. 2. The Urban Sprawl: Wetlands are being paved over, old-growth oaks are being cleared for strip malls, and the rural boundary is being pushed farther east into lands meant to remain agricultural. Infrastructure on the Brink The human and financial cost of this overbuilding is borne entirely by the residents who already live here. The pace of residential construction has completely outstripped the county’s ability to support it. 1. Gridlock: Roads such as State Road 64, State Road 70, and University Parkway have become daily tests of patience. Commutes that used to take fifteen minutes now take forty-five, as thousands of new homes are added to networks never designed to handle the volume. 2. Environmental Degradation: The destruction of natural floodplains and wetlands has predictably worsened stormwater issues. When heavy rains hit Manatee County, the water has nowhere to go because the earth's natural sponges have been replaced by asphalt and concrete. The runoff, choked with lawn chemicals from thousands of identical new yards, inevitably feeds into local waterways, exacerbating the toxic red tide blooms that plague our coastlines. 3. Strain on Public Services: Schools are overcrowded, and emergency response times are under pressure. The very quality of life that attracted people to Manatee County is being actively eroded by the sheer volume of new arrivals. "We are trading our natural heritage and long-term stability for short-term developer profits." A Community Losing Its Soul When a community is built purely for volume, it loses its identity. The unique charm of Manatee County —the historic, slower-paced blend of coastal beauty and interior ranchland—is being replaced by a sterile, cookie-cutter aesthetic. Gated community after gated community rises up, offering the illusion of exclusivity while contributing to a fragmented, hostile landscape of traffic jams and clear-cut land. The tragedy of overbuilding in Lakewood Ranch and greater Manatee County is that it is entirely self-defeating. The insatiable appetite for profit is destroying the exact commodity being sold: a beautiful, uncrowded place to live. If citizens and local leaders do not demand a return to strict zoning enforcement, infrastructure-first planning, and environmental stewardship, Manatee County will join the long list of Florida communities that paved over paradise in exchange for a temporary economic boom, leaving a concrete desert in its wake. The Solution Defeating developer-backed candidates in the upcoming August 18 primary is a critical turning point for Manatee County's future. For years, the oversaturation of campaign contributions from massive building interests and specialized law firms has left residents feeling as though their voices are being drowned out by unchecked suburban sprawl, worsening traffic congestion, and degraded environmental protections, such as the controversial reduction of wetland safeguards. By using the primary election to actively vet and vote down candidates who rely heavily on developer and PAC money, have establishment connections to the current federal and state officials, or flipped after being elected on an anti-builder platform, local voters have a direct opportunity to reclaim control of the Board of County Commissioners. Prioritizing grassroots candidates who pledge to protect the county's remaining natural resources and implement responsible progress strategies is the only way to preserve what’s left of Manatee County’s unique community character and ensure that public infrastructure, rather than private profit, dictates the pace of local development on rapid, unchecked suburban growth and the deep political tug-of-war over how to manage it. If you value Florida as much as I do, take heed.  |
Now with more political fatigue.
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As a 5th generation Floridian - I can honestly tell you that the real Florida is gone.... North East Florida is starting to look like South Florida - the woods are evaporating fast. Look at how fast that jacksonville is merging with St. Augustine. We got a new toll road/by-pass coming - going to connect I-10 to I-95 and skip Jacksonville all together. Not too long ago for me to get onto I-95 going south - I would get on a dirt road...now it is a parkway.... Red |
B Double-O M Spells BOOM - BF
| It's noticeably changing for the worst over here in our once sleepy beach town of Indialantic. It used to be after the snowbirds left; we had almost no traffic. Now it's heavy even in the summer. This is what happens when most of the country has gone full socialist, and folks are fleeing looking for a better place to live. It's like a life raft taking on too many drowning soles. Sooner or later the whole boat goes down! |
| the surprise is that anyone is surprised at how things are going. Florida was a great place to live back in say, the sixties, when the population was a manageable <5 million folks. I have always felt that air conditioning ruined FL. It allowed those damn yankees to move here. |
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Originally Posted By Mannlicher: the surprise is that anyone is surprised at how things are going. Florida was a great place to live back in say, the sixties, when the population was a manageable <5 million folks. I have always felt that air conditioning ruined FL. It allowed those damn yankees to move here. Leftist commies ruin everything for everyone. And they never learn from their mistakes because they don't see what they do as a mistake ... or just don't care as long as they get their piece of the grift. |
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Originally Posted By badredfish: As a 5th generation Floridian - I can honestly tell you that the real Florida is gone.... North East Florida is starting to look like South Florida - the woods are evaporating fast. Look at how fast that jacksonville is merging with St. Augustine. We got a new toll road/by-pass coming - going to connect I-10 to I-95 and skip Jacksonville all together. Not too long ago for me to get onto I-95 going south - I would get on a dirt road...now it is a parkway.... Red Unless FL goes full retard and sells off all the state " forest" wma's...and the fed sells off the Ocala forest it'll be limited growth here. But more and more snowbirds each season.... But it's still changing...east Volusia is being developed like mad...all the farm/pasture lands are now being developed....all the " wet lands" being filled in for perfect cookie cutter sib divisions ( airport road area of Ormond). And as posted.. areas that never flood... now flood. I had to drive out past and through the Villages area to Sumterville ... Same out there...driving south to Orlando through Southern lake county the same... |
i dont want my final jig in the belly of a squid.
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Originally Posted By searchin4shacks: It's noticeably changing for the worst over here in our once sleepy beach town of Indialantic. It used to be after the snowbirds left; we had almost no traffic. Now it's heavy even in the summer. This is what happens when most of the country has gone full socialist, and folks are fleeing looking for a better place to live. It's like a life raft taking on too many drowning soles. Sooner or later the whole boat goes down! Same here in Citrus county....exactly! |
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Originally Posted By Mannlicher: the surprise is that anyone is surprised at how things are going. Florida was a great place to live back in say, the sixties, when the population was a manageable <5 million folks. I have always felt that air conditioning ruined FL. It allowed those damn yankees to move here. QFT |
Soldier for Life
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I lived in an area that had massive growth back in the 80s onward. I saw what happened and watched it grow out of control (St. Charles county, MO. for the curious). I see the same things happening here. Infrastructure getting overwhelmed by development. Housing costs are beyond insane and traffic is a shit show but here we are. They are trying to fix the traffic problems but anything they can do is a stop gap solution. Bad news is there is no way out. It will never get better. More building and overwhelming traffic everywhere. Nothing anyone can do. Either get out or learn to live with it. |
If you think I am sexy now just wait until you find out I have full medical and dental.
Personal pronouns are; Bro/Dude
Personal pronouns are; Bro/Dude
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I grew-up in the ‘70s-‘80s, graduated high school in 1985. The neighborhood I grew-up in had feral peacocks roaming around. My playground was the orange groves. I learned to swim in a lake full of gators, moccasins and appearantly brain-eating amoeba. I spent my days fishing and paddling the backwaters in and around lake Jesup. I miss old Florida. ETA- My family first came here in the 1890s as part of the Cassadaga spiritualist community. |
Life is short. If you are waiting for “someday”, it’s here!
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Originally Posted By Makarov: I grew-up in the '70s-'80s, graduated high school in 1985. The neighborhood I grew-up in had feral peacocks roaming around. My playground was the orange groves. I learned to swim in a lake full of gators, moccasins and appearantly brain-eating amoeba. I spent my days fishing and paddling the backwaters in and around lake Jesup. I miss old Florida. I commute just under 100 miles a day to not live in over developed bs. Is there con's to it. Sure. But I don't hear Trains, sirens( unless shits on fire or the 90yr old 3 blocks away died).. I don't have hip hop bass blasting down the street at 3am. Only extreme would be hearing military jets doing military things at the near By bombing range...or some Mexicans blasting ranchero/bacchata on a weekend party...or the guy with tge 98' Chevy on 44s gunning it at the stop sign lol. Or airboats running to the spring runs . Long story is there's still " old Florida " out there...but it's not going be on the coast or very popular areas. |
i dont want my final jig in the belly of a squid.
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The community spirit needed to fight back just doesn't exist. "Community" in most of Florida means the neighbors on NextDoor in the same subdivision. Period. Developers would have been literally lynched for their shenanigans had they been done in small, older towns in other parts of tbe country. There's no threat of it when there's no community to organize, no local news to beat the drum, and no one who cares enough to make it their life mission to organize and stop the growth. Manatee, Sarasota, Pasco, Lee..you could probably round up 20-30 people per country at most, who are ultimately responsible for the sprawl and who personally profited from overturning zoning and steamrolling any opposition. They're the ones who won, at the cost of anyone who wanted their community to stay the same. |
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Originally Posted By osprey21: Ever year more come and fewer leave. Personally, I see Florida is in a similar situation to where California was in the 1960s. Everything looks great, but the foundation is starting to rot. But the effects won't be visible for another 30 to 40 years. |