Manatee County's sweeping rewrite of its growth plan is stuck in limbo with no vote date on the calendar, leaving Lakewood Ranch residents uncertain about when rules governing future growth will be decided.

The county on Monday, Aug. 3, pulled the Comprehensive Plan transmittal hearing from the Aug. 6 land use meeting agenda, marking the second time commissioners have postponed the vote. Unlike the first delay on June 4, when commissioners set a new date, this time the hearing is "continued to no date set."

Development Services Director Nicole Knapp issued a memo with the agenda update stating the hearing was continued because of the volume and nature of public comments received, and that staff needed additional time to review and evaluate them, the Bradenton Times reported.

Commissioner George Kruse announced Monday evening on Facebook that he wants to push the hearing past the Nov. 3 general election entirely.

"I have requested, and if necessary I will make a motion, to postpone it until after we have a full board and the seating of any new Commissioners," Kruse wrote.

The board lost a member when Commissioner Carol Felts died unexpectedly on Feb. 24. Gov. Ron DeSantis declared the District 1 seat vacant on March 24, and as of April no replacement had been appointed. Voters will fill the seat in November. That election will also decide three other commission seats, meaning up to four new commissioners could join the board afterward.

Commissioners Jason Bearden and Bob McCann have also expressed concerns about the current timeline, including whether the county should proceed while constrained by Senate Bill 180. That state law, signed in 2025, prohibits local governments from adopting regulations "more stringent, burdensome, or restrictive" than state building and environmental codes. It applies retroactively to Aug. 1, 2024, and runs through Oct. 1, 2027.

County planning staff acknowledged during earlier advisory board discussions that certain resiliency and sustainability policies were left out of the draft because of SB 180's restrictions.

The roughly 1,000-page plan rewrite, contracted to Kimley-Horn in May 2023 and published in draft form in December 2024, replaces a document originally adopted in 1989. The Manatee County Planning Commission recommended transmittal on May 14 but simultaneously urged the Board of County Commissioners to give the public at least 90 days to review the draft before any hearing.

At the June 4 hearing, commissioners voted 5-1 to delay, with Commission Chair Tal Siddique casting the lone dissent. Commissioner Amanda Ballard supported the continuance, citing the number of residents who urged delay.

It remains unclear whether commissioners will formally vote to push the hearing into 2027 or whether staff will simply wait for direction before rescheduling. The county said a new hearing date will be announced with proper public notice once set.