Manatee County voters approved up to $75 million in bonds to buy and protect land from development, passing the conservation referendum Nov. 3 with nearly 76% of the vote.

The measure adds a 0.16-mill property tax estimated to cost the median Manatee County homestead about $34 per year, according to the Trust for Public Land, which helped develop the referendum. The bonds must be repaid within 20 years, as first reported by the Bradenton Herald.

The result builds on a similar referendum Manatee voters approved by 71% in 2020. That earlier measure authorized $50 million in bonds and has funded the purchase of more than 300 acres of new and expanded parks, according to the Bradenton Herald. The county has spent about $31.96 million on those acquisitions since its first purchase in December 2023, according to the Your Observer.

The 2020 money is nearly spent, which is why commissioners voted unanimously July 28 to put the new question on the ballot.

What's new this time

The 2026 referendum goes beyond parks and preserves. It allows the county to purchase development rights on agricultural properties, permanently limiting those lands to farming and ranching. Agricultural easements cost roughly one-tenth the price of buying land outright, Manatee County Natural Resources Director Charlie Hunsicker told commissioners earlier this year, according to the Bradenton Herald.

The program includes annual audits and citizen oversight, according to WUSF. Properties are recommended by county staff and the Environmental Lands Management and Acquisition Advisory Committee (ELMAC), a volunteer citizens board that has overseen the program since 1993. The County Commission gives final approval for each purchase.

Recent land purchases show the program at work

In October, commissioners approved two purchases totaling $16.25 million that protected about 711 acres, according to the Bradenton Herald. The deals covered a roughly 545-acre Myakka Valley Preserve in eastern Manatee County and a roughly 156-acre Bunker Hill Preserve in Parrish.

Commissioner Tal Siddique said in a news release at the time that the county is "preserving hundreds of acres of important habitat, protecting our waterways and creating opportunities for residents to explore and appreciate these lands for generations to come."

Mason Gravley, a Palmetto resident and conservationist who chairs ELMAC, said before the vote that the land east of the county's urban core is vulnerable. "I think people don't realize how much land is out east and how vulnerable it is," Gravley told the Bradenton Herald. "There's a huge opportunity."

Broader trend across Florida

Manatee was not alone. Voters approved similar conservation referendums in six other Florida counties on Nov. 3, according to the Bradenton Herald. In neighboring Sarasota County, 84% of voters approved extending their Environmentally Sensitive Lands Protection Program through 2049, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Manatee County has added nearly 70,000 residents since 2020, a population growth of about 17%, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates cited by the Bradenton Herald. The county is projected to surpass a half-million residents by 2040.

Bond funds are restricted to acquiring environmental lands and cannot be used for ongoing operations or maintenance. Each land purchase must go before the County Commission for final approval.