County commissioners question if Manatee Planning Commission needs rehaul

Parrish’s Anthony Sciullo is Manatee County’s latest planning commissioner.

Sciullo was appointed by commissioners during the Feb. 12 land use meeting, one day after the planning commission was the topic of discussion at a commission work session. 

While nothing is binding at a work session, commissioners agreed that citizens who serve on the planning commission should be given a small stipend to cover lunch on meeting days and four alternates should be seated. 

Commissioner George Kruse noted that the City of Bradenton’s planning commission has alternates, and the biggest problem facing the board has been the attendance of its members. 

Commissioner Mike Rahn was a member of the planning commission before being elected to the commission in 2022. He remembered “fighting for a quorum to get people to show up.” 

Sciullo earned his appointment, in large part, due to how much he shows up to county meetings. For years, Sciullo has attended community, commission and land use meetings. 

“There’s something to be said for how long and how many times you showed up so insanely educated on things and had real, concrete information, that at times, helped me along,” Kruse said to Sciullo. “People who do that so consistently, they should be rewarded for it.” 

After Alyssa Gay resigned from the role, 26 applicants applied. There was a good amount of competition for the volunteer position, which according to current member Bruce Stamm, can lead to hours of work leading up to the monthly meeting.

It depends on how much material is submitted with each application. There are often staff reports, school district reports, traffic studies, environmental studies and public comments. 

“You have to familiarize yourself thoroughly,” Stamm said. “I read through it all, make my notes, formulate questions and then read it all again.” 

Land Use 101

The role of a planning commissioner was debated during the commission’s work session Feb. 11.

Kruse noted that the position is not meant for activists.

“The board right now is a completely different board than what the intent of a planning commission is,” he said. “The intent of a planning commission isn’t to opine on their opinion because they don’t have a final say in it. They’re not elected. They’re supposed to basically opine on whether or not the project in front of them conforms to the comprehensive plan.”

Director of Development Nicole Knapp said staff members had made the same observation, so a Land Use 101 session is scheduled “to go back to basics and remind them of what their authority is and what their roles are and their basis for what the discussion should be with consistency and compliance with the comprehensive plan and code.” 

Matt Bower served on the planning commission from 2013 to 2017 and was reappointed last year. He said members of the board have been asking to meet with commissioners for the past year. More recently, they’ve been asking for more information on traffic issues. 

Photo by Lesley Dwyer

Traffic was a major factor in a unanimous decision by the planning commission to recommend that county commissioners should deny the Bradenton Estates II project, a clustered development of 80 homes off 18th Avenue East. However, that project was approved by commissioners in a 4-3 vote with commissioners Kruse, Rahn, Tal Siddique and Jason Bearden in favor of approval. 

Kruse complemented Bower, but pointed to his past experience as the reason why he’s a good planning commissioner. Overall, Kruse said members are not following “the mandate of what a planning commission is supposed to be doing.” 

Siddique said projects are being denied on a “subjective basis,” instead of being evaluated according to the comprehensive plan. He called it a “skills gap.” 

"In my view, everyone gives serious consideration to their decisions," Stamm said. "Wether I agree or not, it's well thought out on both sides of the coin." 

While the commissioners' conversation started veering toward appointing more planners and engineers, Commissioner Carol Felts advocated for the current board. 

“We still need to have a mix of average Joe kind of guys on that board,” she said. “Sometimes, you just need some plain, common sense.”