October 8, 2026 - Land Use Meeting - 2026-10-08 09:00:00

At the October 8, 2026 Manatee County Commission land use meeting, commissioners unanimously adopted Ordinance 26-42, imposing a 12-month moratorium on accepting data-center-related applications while staff reviews potential updates to the comprehensive plan, land development code, and ordinances. Commissioners discussed water and power demands, hurricane and flooding risks, and the need to define data centers before setting permanent rules. No data-center contract or procurement award was made. The Parish Lakes amendments, which reduce approved residential units and add commercial/office uses without a projected increase in traffic, passed 5–1; the companion zoning amendment also passed 5–1. A separate land-use amendment was approved unanimously. The meeting also considered a proposal for 108 affordable apartments at 60% of area median income; the applicant said a bond allocation was expected to come before the commission on October 20, but no final vote on that proposal is captured in the transcript.

Procurement and spending concerns were raised but not resolved: a resident requested up to $40,000 in one-time facility funding for the Dementia Navigation Hub and asked that it be scheduled for a formal vote; public commenters questioned reported spending of $350,000 on a shelter kitchen and cited legal costs and a settlement, without commission action on those claims. Commissioner Bearden questioned the county’s 2023 single-source StreetLeaf solar-lighting procurement, requesting records concerning competition, pricing, and procurement due diligence; the discussion about the county administrator’s contract and related matters was continued to October 20, with no contract action taken at this meeting. Commissioners unanimously approved the execution of an IRS form related to a completed county property purchase, describing it as having no additional cost to the county. No new contract award or bid approval was identified.