PARRISH, Fla. — It's everywhere. The Alvarez's pool. Their tree house. Even inside their garage and home.
"We just thought, 'Oh, they're gonna build houses, you know, they're gonna lose the farmland.' But I don't think we ever considered there was going to be dirt blowing over like that," Marcos said, standing in his backyard.
As Marcos spoke to us, the wind barely blew, but there was still a small tint of brown in the air.
Across the street from the Alvarez's house, Lennar Homes is clearing more than 1,300 acres for the Rye Ranch development.
Alvarez has countless pictures of the worst of the dust. Some pictures show just how badly it can impact visibility on the road, and others show just how thick the dust can coat one's belongings.
"My concerns are property damage, you know, just our, you know, air conditioning filters or ac system pool filters. Like on a windy day, it's not good to be breathing in all that dirt. So we basically have to stay inside when it's dusty. But if you come out, it's like you know, it irritates your lungs makes you cough," he said.
We wanted to know just how pervasive this is for Manatee County. County Commission Chairman Michael Rahn tells us it's not the first time an issue like this has come up.
"It's not only an issue here. It's an issue across the state right now with land development," he said.
Manatee County is growing quickly, and so is the need for more housing.
"The issues first started in Lake Flores in my district, and blew over into Commissioner Van Ostenbridge's district," Chairman Rahn said. "We started at that point, going out there. We actually lent water trucks to them. So they could really water down the dusts, but the problem is water trucks too. There's not a lot of them. So we can use sprinkler systems."
Lennar Homes sent this letter to homeowners impacted, including Alvarez.
The letter says they're already managing windborne debris and dust with water trucks, seed, and mulch applications.
Those techniques can make the dust heavier, keeping it from blowing away
The letter also states the company won't compensate or maintain any homes impacted.
That doesn't sit well with Alvarez.
"They don't really care about making things, right. They're gonna keep doing what they do until someone makes them stop," he said.
Manatee County Commissioners will discuss the dust issue at their April 23rd meeting. It begins at 9 A.M.
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