Bradenton Beach’s sewer line dispute with county may get settled

The Bradenton Beach City Commission will have the next say in a legal dispute between the municipality and Manatee County regarding access to a sewage pipeline.

Resolving that dispute depends on what the commission decides regarding a 20-foot wide strip of ground that is part of a street that appears on a 1924 map but was never built.

Since 1971, the county has provided wastewater service to the city at the southern end of Anna Maria Island.

In August, the county filed a lawsuit against the city and property owners Shawn Kaleta, BB Bayfront LLC and 114 11th Street LLC regarding a sewage pipeline that serves the area south of 11th Street to Longboat Pass.

The county contends that, in 2001, the city improperly vacated an unplatted street named Bay Shore Drive.

The three defendants with properties in the 100 block of 11th Street seek city permits to construct pools and pool decks at least partially on that vacated strip.

The county contends the construction would interfere with a 40-year-old sewer line buried 10 feet deep within the former easement. Its lawsuit claims the defendants have failed to propose pool and pool deck design plans “that will not impair” the county’s “ability to protect, operate and maintain the existing sewer line.”