Heritage Harbour rethinks gate security measures

Development changes to Heritage Harbour are prompting residents to consider consolidating their gates and boosting their security presence.

Manatee commissioners unanimously approved a request by Lennar Development, the community’s developer, to nix longterm plans for a 12-acre marina and 6,000-square-foot commercial property from its River Strand project within Heritage Harbour at a land use meeting Sept. 4.

Modifications to the amended development agreement approved last week call for 100 townhomes to be built in place of previous plans for a 60-bed assisted-living facility. The site of the marina is now the future home of 11 single-family lots.

Heritage Harbour resident Paul Bondi expressed concern that another Lennar community will give Heritage Harbour a fifth gate for a community that currently has about 300 single-family homes.

Bondi said an effort to reduce the number of gates to one main gate at the entrance will offer more control and security, will reduce crime and save residents money.

“Longterm, safety and security are important,” Bondi said. “We’ve had 10 burglaries related to issues with gate access and we need to fix that.”

Commissioner Vanessa Baugh, a resident of Lakewood Ranch, said if residents want more security control of the gates and the roads moving forward, residents will need to pay off any road debt and have the ownership transferred from the community development association to the homeowner association.

Before that can happen though, the Florida Legislature must amend a bill to allow the transfer of ownership from a CDD to a homeowner association.

Lakewood Ranch residents are investigating such an effort that could help other communities like Heritage Harbour have more control of gates.

Heritage Harbour residents in attendance at the land-use meeting last week, meanwhile, expressed displeasure the 462-boat slip marina was disappearing from the plans.

“Many of us bought property here because of the promise of a marina,” said Heritage Harbour resident David Gutierrez.

Grimes, however, said a public dock wasn’t in the company’s plans, noting that homes built on the property would include docks for the homeowners.

No density increase, though, is being proposed as part of Lennar’s changes.

The commission urged residents and Lennar to work together as changes in the community occur.