- April 25, 2024
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A group of Tara residents has spearheaded a move to prevent Lake Lincoln, Tara’s developer, from commercially developing 2.3 acres of a 10.3-acre parcel at the southwest corner of State Road 70 and Tara Boulevard without site plans going before the Manatee County Commission for approval.
Seven Tara residents — Bob Dallesandro, Michele Redwine, Karen Clark, Ralph Pushcheck, John Lane, Cathy Woolley and Ray McCray — have filed a petition to intervene and legally object to a July settlement, which cleared the way for Lake Lincoln to proceed with commercial projects at Tara’s entrance.
Representatives of both the Tara Master Association and the Tara Golf and Country Club indicated their organizations are working with attorneys and expect to stake their claim in the case as well.
“We’re going to do what we can,” said Bob Dallesandro, president of Tara Golf and Country Club’s board of directors. “We do plan to intervene.”
“We’re challenging the validity of that agreement,” said John Leone, president of the Tara Master Association. “The public has no opportunity to have input (on development) unless it goes through the court.”
If petitioners can prove they have the legal footing to challenge the settlement, it could force an evidentiary hearing. The petitioners have until Oct. 27 to hire legal counsel and file a motion to intervene. Then a hearing would be scheduled to determine if their argument is valid.
“We’re pleased the judge did not approve the petition to settle and will give us the opportunity for counsel to advise us,” Woolley said.
That was Manatee County 12th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Lon Arend, who at a public hearing on Sept. 28 delayed his decision on the settlement between Manatee County and Lake Lincoln, which then would have been allowed to develop the parcel without site plans going before commissioners.
If Arend had approved the settlement, it would have ended a seven-year development rights battle. The county and Lake Lincoln reached a settlement in July.
