Landowners Claiming Agritourism based on Section 570.85 F.S.
Manatee County is concerned with the offsite impacts related to Agritourism Activities on Agriculturally Zoned lands. Based on Florida Statute 570.85(1), the Statute "does not limit the powers and duties of a local government to address substantial offsite impacts of agritourism activities or an emergency as provided in Chapter 252."
County staff has determined that Agritourism Activities need to be reviewed to address substantial offsite impacts, or an emergency pursuant to Chapter 252. Based on Manatee County Land Development Code Section 401.2 "Schedule of Uses", the process for this will be Special Permit (SP) approval. SP approval shall be required for existing or proposed Agritourism Activities. Any landowner conducting Agritourism Activities without submitting for the SP approval process is proceeding at its own risk, without Manatee County's evaluation for offsite impacts. The County's SP approval process requirements are located on mymanatee.org.
Agritourism letter to landowners REVISED 09-28-21.pdf