Long Bar Pointe developers file suit against county
“The developers of Long Bar Pointe have filed a claim against Manatee County to recoup $18 million they say was lost when the commission voted last year to deny portions of the project.
The 80-page filing alleges Manatee County officials violated property rights under the U.S. Constitution by prohibiting Long Bar Pointe developers from using unique land they own that is submerged under Sarasota Bay for components of the proposed community.
Area developers Carlos Beruff and Larry Lieberman plan to build as many as 4,528 homes, 300,000 square feet of general commercial space, a 300-room hotel and an 84,000-square-foot convention center on 523 acres near the Cortez fishing village.
In what became one of the most controversial developments in years, thousands of area residents protested the waterfront project, fearing damage to protected mangroves and other native wildlife.
After a 12-hour marathon meeting in the packed Bradenton Area Convention Center, Manatee County commissioners last August approved a comprise that would allow the bulk of the development to advance as long as the builders agreed to drop their pitch for a marina there.”
Salman, Josh. Herald Tribune 6 August 2014.