BRADENTON — Commissioners listened to heartfelt testimonies during a land use public hearing on Thursday that concluded with board approval for an addiction recovery facility to continue operating within a residential neighborhood in Oneco. Public testimony from both sides of the debate extended hours, and the county commissioner whose district the facility is located in found legal sufficiency to oppose the nonconforming-use approval.
The Crossings facility formerly operated under previous owners as a senior care facility known as The Cottages. The 6.6-acre site is located in a residential zoning district south of 53rd Avenue East and a block west of US 301 at the end of 24th Street East. The only entrance to the 90-bed, 36,449-square-foot facility is a dead-end street lined with roughly 200 single-family homes.
In 1986, a special permit was issued to the Manatee Glens Corporation to construct and operate a residential care facility. The facility was approved to operate as residential care for senior citizens who suffered from mental health conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia…