Save Gates Creek and its Neighborhoods, Inc.

Our membership is open to all neighboring community residents at no cost.  By joining you become a supporter of our efforts to prevent Gates Creek from being moved and paved over, our neighborhoods from being flooded and 18 wheelers from blocking our neighborhood roads.

We oppose the ill-considered 4-3 decision of the Manatee Board of County Commissioners to allow Gates Creek to be moved and the land paved over with asphalt for an 18.2-acre auto dealership in a flood plain surrounded by 5 residential neighborhoods.  See the News Page for an update on this matter and the Legal Case Page.

Purposes (as specified in Articles of Incorporation for Save Gates Creek and its Neighborhoods, Inc.)

The specific purposes for which the corporation is organized are to represent, protect and advance the interests of its members and the public, through advocacy, education, litigation and other appropriate means, in securing environmental protection and sensible use of the Gates Creek watershed and protecting its surrounding neighborhoods.


Its further purpose is to provide public education, legal service & planning expertise to promote broad & effective citizen involvement & governmental accountability in the comprehensive planning process & environmental & growth management in Manatee County, Florida.


Gates Creek with its tributaries

Presentation to Manatee County Commissioners by John Rhodes and Rex Cowden at the 10-22-20 Board of County Commissioners zoning hearing:

Cowden and Rhodes Presentation for 10-22-2020.pdf
Gates Creek tributary flowing through 18-acre parcel, with 25-year floodplain highlighted.

From the original zoning application submitted to Manatee County: the development concept plan shows the auto dealership parking lot covering Gates Creek (on the west side) and the wetland (in the southeast corner).

 This is an area along the Pearce Canal near 36th St E.  The flooded homes in the foreground are on 65th Ave Cir E.

Outdated stormwater regulations

Many areas in Manatee County have seen flooding nearly every year, due to outdated stormwater planning.    This was brought up at the Manatee County stormwater workshop on 9-22-20 found here (follow the two links in that page).  Manatee staff recommendations to toughen the regulations for stormwater design standards raised concerns by some Commissioners that this could impact development!  Those recommendations will include "further outreach to land development community...", meaning this is stalled, in our opinion. If citizens make enough noise, bringing this up to the newly elected Commissioners, those tougher regulations may be enacted before our homes suffer flooding damage similar to those along the Pearce Canal.

A critical flaw in rainfall runoff management in Manatee County is that they apply 25‐year rainfall events to each project within a drainage basin on an isolated basis and do not consider the cumulative impact of multiple projects (noted in the 9-22-20 Work Session). This will prove very detrimental to the Gates Creek Basin once all the construction is completed on the south side of SR 64 and the Giddens site is filled in and paved over. The area has experienced multiple storm events over the past four years that have exceed the 25‐year design storm and have caused substantial flooding (see Flooding Page). 

Protest walk 10-17-20 along SR 64 near 117th St E

This site's web design and Domain registration fees were entirely covered through volunteer efforts, without any costs to Save Gates Creek and its Neighborhoods, Inc.