Throughout its planning history, the Manatee County Port Authority has been committed
to open discussion with the many entities that have a stake in Port Manatee's success.
Consistent with this commitment, the Port Authority held a work session following
its August 20, 2015 monthly meeting, which was open to the public. During this work
session, the consultant team engaged by the Port Authority to update the 2009 master
plan discussed the master planning process, starting with a reminder of where the
Port was when the previous master plan was published, continuing with a look at how
the various commodities moving through the Port have trended since then, and noting
the familiar and new names that are now part of the Port's tenant and user base. Potential
development concepts and opportunities for the Port were then summarized, along with
an overview of the types of questions to be asked during the planning process. Following
the consultant team's presentation, the Port Authority Board members engaged in an
insightful discussion, emphasizing the timeliness of this update and the opportunities
to promote Port Manatee's intermodal and global resources as a niche port and to attract
users to the Port's great asset of available land.
When the session was opened for public comments, one of the landowners with significant
acreage in the PDEZ spoke, saying there is currently no way to access much of the
land in the area and, in addition to much of the land lacking appropriate roads, it
does not have essential water or sewer. The landowner proposed the concept of an "Enterprise
Boulevard" running through the PDEZ to showcase the available land and also asked
for clarification as to which lands are not usable, such as those with phosphate stacks
and the county's game corridor. Board members echoed the importance of addressing
a connector road to take advantage of the available land in a timely manner, as the
window of opportunity for using this land for port-related activities may be short.
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