Manatee County commissioners deny 232 townhomes off Lorraine Road

Between 2022 and 2024, John and Janyel Taylor of Ralph Taylor’s Nurseries helped fight off three residential developments proposed for their Elwood Park neighborhood.   

At the March 5 Manatee County Land Use meeting, the couple were fighting in favor of a residential development on Lorraine Road, directly south of Nate’s Honor Animal Rescue Center. 

The nursery has two locations — 3709 38th Ave. E. in Elwood Park and 4973 Lorraine Road in Lakewood Ranch. The Taylors were working with Penler Development LLC to sell the 19.51-acre nursery on Lorraine Road to make way for 232 townhomes.

Manatee County commissioners voted unanimously to deny the requested rezone and comprehensive plan map amendment. The Planning Commission was also unanimous in its denial of the project. 

Members of both boards liked the project, which included an affordable housing component and a Florida Water Star certification.

According to Florida Water Star’s website, certified homes save up to 6,000 gallons of water indoors and up to 42,000 gallons of water outdoors per year by following the program’s guidelines for indoor fixtures and appliances, landscape design, and irrigation systems.  

John Osborne, owner of Green Street Associates of Bradenton, represented Penler. He described that corridor of Lorraine Road as a “donut hole” of agriculture with residential uses closing on it. The area is surrounded by Lorraine Lakes, Cedar Mill, Aurora and Avalon Woods.

Courtesy image

However, those are single-family home developments, and that’s where Commissioner George Kruse saw a problem. 

He said when asking to increase density, the “nice thing to do” is to go up to the next zone, but Penler was asking to increase the density by two zones, which Kruse called a “big leap.”

Commissioner Amanda Ballard noted the board would then be “stuck with” that zoning as future projects came forward. She said Lorraine Road could handle one project, but questioned if it could handle four more similar projects. 

Several residents in the surrounding area complained that the road simply can’t handle more traffic. 

Luzette Socash lives along Lorraine Road and drives the corridor daily. She asked commissioners to also consider the impact of “cumulative density” to Lorraine Road, beyond this one project.

“(Lorraine Road) is already strained, especially during peak hours,” Socash said. “This will only intensify when you consider all the additional developments that are already approved but haven’t been built yet.” 

Janyel Taylor questioned if congestion on Lorraine Road was a design failure or a “driver choice” or if it existed at all. 

“I understand that frustration when you are sitting in traffic — five minutes can feel like 30, but land use decisions must be based on measurable performance, not perceived duration,” she said. 

She played a series of three videos where she drove from the Lorraine Lakes exit off 44th Avenue East to the intersection at State Road 70 and Lorraine Road on Feb. 10 between 7:51 a.m. and 8:41 a.m. 

During two trips, Janyel Taylor’s route was 44th Avenue East to Lorraine Road to State Road 70. The travel times were 8 minutes, 15 seconds, and 9 minutes, 33 seconds. The shortest travel time of 7 minutes, 27 seconds was achieved by first taking 44th Avenue East to Uihlein Road to Rangeland Parkway, then turning onto Lorraine Road to get to State Road 70.   

“This is within normal commuter expectations,” she said. 

But contrary to Janyel Taylor’s account, Commissioner Bob McCann said he sat in traffic for 45 minutes between 44th Avenue and State Road 70 just a day earlier.  

“Obviously, you planned (this project) with Lorraine being widened,” he said. “And obviously, we don’t know if Lorraine Road is ever going to be widened. It’s out of the budget now.” 

Manatee County's plans to widen Lorraine Road have been delayed to no sooner than 2031.