Palmetto gov't gives real estate market a safety net

Palmetto City Commissioners voted Monday to amend a city ordinance that will extend performance security bonds beyond one year and defect security bonds for three years.

The vote will give developers an extended period of time to install infrastructure, such as roadways and sidewalks, in designed communities.

Under the previous ordinance, developers had the option to build the infrastructure improvements themselves or post a performance bond for one year with one possible extension. Upon completion of the subdivision, a security bond, equal to 10 percent of the total cost to install, had to be taken out to ensure any defects would be corrected and posted for one year.

With the economy still in recovery, Allen Tusing, Public Works Director, suggested the amendment. Tusing added that in some subdivisions, infrastructure defects are not detectable for several years after installation or construction.

"We don't allow people to say "We can do this to provide the infrastructure, then build the plats," he said.

Tusing said the amendment was brought on by the slow development of Sanctuary Cove in Palmetto.

In 2010, a Central Florida land investment and development firm purchased the proposed Sanctuary Cove project, which at the time, was facing the largest foreclosure action in Manatee County history.

The deal resolved a $57 million foreclosure lawsuit that three lenders filed against the project. Sanctuary Cove was approved for 1,026 condominiums, townhouses and single-family homes.

The project was approved by Palmetto City Commissioners in 2005. 

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2010/01/05/1950301/sanctuary-project-in-foreclosure.html#storylink=cpy