In just one week, Manatee County Commissioners will be voting on the future of the Long Bar Pointe project.

Carlos Beruff and his partners are trying to build a high-end resort, housing and marina on more than 460 acres in southwest Bradenton. Developers say it would create a first class water view destination for visitors and locals along the Sarasota Bay.

However, environmentalists fear the development would destroy the area, and so they are fighting it.

"We have an extremely special place here,” said Jim Stephenson, who is president of the Manatee County Audubon Society. "We have species that aren’t seen anywhere."

Stephenson said this area is home to dozens of species of birds that cannot be found in other locations. He said people travel from all over the world to see the birds in their natural habitat.

Developers promise to be very careful when building. They also said their project would improve the economy by adding jobs and bringing in more money to the area.

Environmentalists said it would hurt the natural coastline and lead to the removal of mangroves and damage to sea grass. They also worry it would hurt local fishermen.

"Dredging the harbor for 100-foot yachts will absolutely destroy the tarpon fishing,” said Stephenson.  “Tarpon is a huge industry.”

Critics also fear the change to the natural shoreline would cause problems if a hurricane was to hit the area. They fear it would lead to storm surge and problems with people trying to evacuate.

“Do we want to put more population in an area that has to evacuate when we really can’t ensure that we can safely evacuate the current residents that are here?" said Glenn Compton, Director of ManaSota-88.

Environmentalists said they worry that if the project is approved, it would establish a precedent for similar projects in the future.

Those against the Long Bar Pointe Project have been holding several protests. The most recent one took place off of Cortez Road Tuesday afternoon.

Another one is planned for 1 p.m. on Aug. 1 outside the Manatee County administration building.

Developers need to get county commissioners to amend the county’s comprehensive plan to move forward. They will ask commissioners to do this on Aug. 6.