The proposal for the development of 12.4 vacant and overgrown acres along the Tamiami Trail gateway into Bradenton is just what Manatee County commissioners had in mind in adopting Land Development Code amendments targeting the county’s six major urban corridors. The code modifications encourage infill projects and redevelopment along the county’s six major urban corridors, including Tamiami Trail (also known as 14th Street West and Highway 41). By increasing intensity, density and heights of projects and allowing mixed uses and residential units along the corridors, the county granted greater flexibility in rules, eliminated outdated regulations and shifted from a suburban model to an urban infill one that utilizes infrastructure already in place. Suburban sprawl is costly to the county as infrastructure must be extended. Fast-track administrative reviews of projects that follow certain design guidelines removes the costly and time-consuming process of county commission approvals, a system that developers deplore and and one that discourages redevelopment.
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