Lennar Homes LLC proposed a rezone of over 680 acres of agricultural land near Buckeye Road to build about 2,000 single-family homes in Manatee County, shown on Feb. 12, 2026.
Tiffany Tompkins
ttompkins@bradenton.com
Bradenton
A 2,000-home project near Bradenton has been rejected by local leaders over concerns about a lack of infrastructure and amenities to support new residents.
Manatee County commissioners heard arguments for and against the “Lone Valley” project proposed by Miami-based Lennar Homes. The project, in unincorporated Parish, would have added up to 2,047 homes to a rapidly developing area.
Lennar Homes is the developer for several other residential communities in Manatee County, including Seaire, Legends Cove and Rye Ranch in Parrish. The company planned to build the Lone Valley project north of the North River Ranch neighborhoods along Moccasin Wallow Road and U.S. 301.
The proposed new development included up to 15,000 square feet of land dedicated for a potential fire station, which would have expanded emergency services to the area. The developers also proposed an impact fee credit agreement for about $23 million if they enhanced Buckeye Road to four lanes.
But commissioners found that their concerns outweighed potential benefits. They cited a lack of nearby commercial spaces for amenities such as grocery stores and also doubted whether Buckeye and surrounding roads could support thousands of new residents.
Commissioners unanimously denied the Lone Valley project, and the applicants pulled the impact fee credit item from consideration.
Lennar Homes LLC proposed a rezone of over 680 acres of agricultural land near Buckeye Road to build about 2,000 single-family homes in Manatee County, shown on Feb. 12, 2026. Tiffany Tompkins ttompkins@bradenton.com A look at the Florida homes project
Lennar Homes proposed rezoning about 683 acres of agricultural land along the north side of Buckeye Road to build up to 2,047 single-family homes. Manatee County’s Planning Commission unanimously suggested approval for the project.
With the proposal, Lennar designated 15,000 square feet of land to be used for public safety, extending the Parrish Fire District’s service area to Lone Valley and the surrounding new developments.
“We have been working closely with the Parrish Fire District to provide a site in an area that would improve response times for both current and future residents,” said Kayla Witkowski, a planner for the project.
Parrish Fire Chief Stacey Bailey also spoke to commissioners, saying that the fire district supported the project because of the public facility use. Bailey said the fire district is not meeting National Fire Protection Association standards for the number of fire trucks in the area.
He added that space is running out in Parrish to build a fire station.
“We’re in support of the project,” Bailey said. “We’re running out of space. There’s not much up there. We have to take what we can get. It’s not the best place, I’ll be honest with you, we can do much better. But we’re going to take what we can get, because we have to serve.”
Lennar representatives also said the project had minimal impacts on wetlands.
Lennar Homes LLC proposed a rezone of over 680 acres of agricultural land, shown below green potato fields, near Buckeye Road to build about 2,000 single-family homes in Manatee County. on Feb. 12, 2026. Tiffany Tompkins ttompkins@bradenton.com Developer offers impact fee agreement
Kyle Grimes, an attorney with the Grimes Galvano law firm in Bradenton, spoke on behalf of the applicant. Grimes focused on an impact fee credit that the developers proposed for improvements to Buckeye Road.
“Lennar has shown that they are good partners to get this infrastructure in this area of the county. They want to continue that relationship with the county,” Grimes said.
As it stands now, Buckeye Road is a two lane road with aging asphalt. The developers proposed a deal — in collaboration with other nearby developers — to improve Buckeye Road.
In the short term, the road would be redone as an improved two-lane road with a 15-foot multi-use path. However, the developers’ long-term vision is to widen Buckeye Road to four lanes, including roundabouts planned for the community’s entrances.
The company offered to pay about $2.5 million to start the Buckeye Road improvements. In return, developers asked the county to grant them about $23 million in impact fee credits to complete the rest of the work.
“This is a project that was very thoughtfully designed. We knew we wanted to work with the county staff up front … to provide the desperately needed funding to do these improvements to Buckeye Road,” Grimes said.
County staff found the project in compliance with the Land Development Code and consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. However, one of the main negative aspects county staff raised about the project included lack of fire and EMS services.
Lennar Homes LLC proposed a rezone of over 680 acres of agricultural land near Buckeye Road to build about 2,000 single-family homes in Manatee County, shown on Feb. 12, 2026. Tiffany Tompkins ttompkins@bradenton.com Residents oppose new Parrish development
A few citizens spoke during the hearing, with concerns mainly about the scale of the project, emergency services capabilities and whether the new houses would be affordable.
Parrish resident Anthony Sciullo urged moderation with development. He said infrastructure like roads should be upgraded first before adding thousands of new homes.
“Adding more [homes], at this particular time, is not a good plan. Growing without moderation is not a good plan,” Sciullo said. “What’s in the best interest of the county? Pump the brakes. Let infrastructure catch up.”
Lennar Homes LLC proposed a rezone of over 680 acres of agricultural land near Buckeye Road to build about 2,000 single-family homes in Manatee County, shown on Feb. 12, 2026. Tiffany Tompkins ttompkins@bradenton.com What commissioners said about the Lennar project
Manatee Commissioner George Kruse found it odd that the project was unanimously approved by the Planning Commission, arguing that it would create a bedroom community without any commercial development, like a grocery store.
“I cannot continue to approve these things until we can figure out a better way of handling it, and get our (Comprehensive Plan) fixed,” Kruse said. “All we’re doing is putting ourselves deeper and deeper in a hole.”
Agreeing with Kruse, Commissioner Tal Siddique cited the lack of commercial land as his main detraction for the project.
“Today, I’m just not in favor of this,” Siddique said. “We’re going to even further perform a disservice for this region and these residents — future and today — by not having some form of commercial entitlements in this property of this scale.”
Before motioning to deny the project, Commissioner Carol Ann Felts attributed the problems to poor planning.
“Parrish is going to have a new identity. We have a hospital going in, we have our school going in,” Felts said. “But we need to fix the identity and we need to fix the lack of planning from many, many years of decisions that have been made up here before.”
Bradenton Herald
Carter Weinhofer is the Bradenton Herald’s Accountability Reporter. He covers politics, development and other local issues. Carter’s work has received recognition from the Florida Press Association, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Florida Society of News Editors. He graduated from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg.