Planned Development Encouragement Zone (PDEZ)
The Land Development Code establishes a Planned Development Encouragement Zone (PDEZ) Zoning District. This district encourages port-compatible development on vacant lands in the vicinity of Port Manatee. This could include manufacturing, warehouses, distribution centers and a range of other light and heavy industrial uses. To date, four areas totaling over 1,000 acres have been rezoned to the new PDEZ district. Additional parcels are being considered for PDEZ zoning (for more information contact Kathleen Thompson below).
The PDEZ provides the ability for a landowner to get advance approval for a variety of port-related uses. Once the PDEZ re-zoning is approved and the list of the various potential uses with the rezone, the property owner can then market their property for the list of available uses. Once a decision is made to develop the property, the process will be administrative.
Land owners are free to apply on their own for the PDEZ. However, the public hearings for PDEZ rezonings are typically done with a number of properties and owners at a time. Manatee County acts as a partner when multiple projects/properties are in the process, and coordinates the applications and other necessary materials with the applicants. Fees are divided among the applicants to save costs.