House bill may loosen DCA control over growth issues
By Jim Ash
FLORIDA CAPITAL BUREAU CHIEF

Conservative House leaders today roll out a complex proposal late in the legislative session that critics worry would strip the Department of Community Affairs of much of its power to regulate growth.

''That sounds bad,'' Gov. Charlie Crist said Tuesday. ''I'm an optimist. I hope this won't reach my desk in that version.''

Crist issued another veto threat earlier this week about a House plan to make it harder for local governments to protect wetlands.

''I'm an environmentalist,'' Crist declared on Tuesday.

The latest plan, backed by developers and builders, would allow larger counties and cities to skip state review of zoning changes in urban areas and leave oversight to a network of 11 regional planning councils.

''The Legislature finds that local governments that are significantly built out and those that have a staff that represents a broad range of expertise, should be exempt from unnecessary state oversight,'' a draft version of the bill states.

The House Economic Expansion and Infrastructure Council will begin hashing over the proposal at a workshop today. No votes are scheduled.

The draft language also calls for the creation of a 19-member task force to study what lawmakers consider to be a looming shortage of concrete, asphalt and road base materials that threatens ''overall health, safety and welfare.'' State officials would be forced to consider that before denying mining permits.

Council Chairman Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park , said the idea is to free the department to focus its growth management oversight on more rural and pristine areas where development poses the biggest threat.

''If you are a good faith actor in an area  that is already built out, then there's not a lot of need for the state to be reviewing your comp plan changes,'' Cannon said. ''The goal of this proposal is not to undercut the traditional protections we already have in place, but to make the wisest and best use of limited sate resources.''

Wade Hopping, a veteran lobbyist who represents the Association of Florida Community Developers, said the legislation is crucial for an industry battered by a slumping economy and hemmed in by a backlog of road construction projects.

The 30-page draft calls for reworking the way developers pay for road ''concurrency,'' making it clear that they are not responsible for backlogs of too few roads.

Environmental groups complain that the proposal is an attempt to make an end-run around Department of Community Affairs Secretary Tom Pelham, and his efforts to address some of the issues.

Environmental advocates applauded four months ago when Crist picked Pelham to run the state's premier land planning agency.

Pelham served as secretary from 1987-1991 under former Gov. Bob Martinez, implementing the milestone 1986 Growth Management Act. He said he wants to wait until next year before proposing another major overhaul of growth management laws.

''We have some very serious concerns,'' Pelham said Tuesday. ''Every local government in the state would be exempt from review the way that draft is written. Growth management is important and we need to approach reforming the system in a very careful and deliberative fashion.''

But next year may be too late, Hopping warns.

''The homebuilding and development industry is in the ditch,'' Hopping said. ''The real estate development market will crash and everyone will look around and wonder what happened.''

Climate conversation urges conservation
Scientists talk to Cabinet, Crist about threat
By Bruce Ritchie
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

Climate change and sea-level rise is real and is threatening Florida's coastal property and natural areas, scientists told Gov. Charlie Crist and the Cabinet on Tuesday.

At the first of four ''Conversations on Climate Change,'' the Cabinet also was urged to help Florida become a leader in energy conservation and renewable energy technology.

''I'm here to argue (clean energy) is the 21st-century investment option,'' said Ken Locklin, principal in the Clean Energy Group of Washington , D.C. , which provides support for investment in new technology to address climate change.

The series of Cabinet workshops follows Gov. Charlie Crist's inauguration address in January in which he said climate change is an important issue facing the state. He reiterated his concerns on Tuesday.

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson organized the session.

Sink said 75 percent of Florida 's population lives in coastal counties.

''We'll listen, we'll learn and then we'll decide about doing - because I'm a doer,'' she said.

Bronson invited climate-change skeptics to consider the effects of changes in weather patterns.

''Insurance rates depend on weather patterns,'' Bronson said. ''Food supplies depend on weather patterns. So when you put all that together, it means a lot to everybody.''

Stephen Mulkey, climate-change science adviser to the Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida, said global temperatures rose 1.4 degrees in the past 100 years.

The National Academy of Sciences, he said, has urged people to focus on reducing greenhouse-gas emissions in addition to preparing for the consequences of climate change.

But Attorney General Bill McCollum, saying he was playing the devil's advocate, raised questions about whether Florida , the earth and its oceans were going through fluctuations as they have in the past.

Mulkey said computer models have taken into account natural influences and show that humans now are driving the rate of climate change.

''We know that adaptation is expensive,'' Mulkey responded. ''We know there will be warming. ... The issue is how bad do we want it to get?''

Sawgrass in the Everglades already is giving way to saltwater marsh even as the state and federal governments spend billions of dollars to restore the ''river of grass,'' said Stephen Leatherman, director of Florida International University 's International Hurricane Research Center and Coastal Research lab.

''Climate change and sea-level rise is already happening,'' he said.

Climate change, along with increasing hurricanes that some scientists are blaming on climate change, are increasing uncertainty within the insurance industry, causing companies to increase rates or drop coverage of coastal property, said Tim Wagner the Nebraska insurance commissioner and director of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

After hearing several presentations on the situation, Sink said, ''I'm depressed enough as it is.''

But Locklin said 28 states, most of them outside of the South, have created accounts to invest in projects that promote investment in clean energy.

''This state could be a major game-changer in the equation if the leadership comes from the top,'' he said.

Florida puts focus on climate outlook

By DINAH VOYLES PULVER
Environment Writer

TALLAHASSEE -- Expect to hear more in the coming months about how Floridians can try to improve the long-term outlook on climate change or make the most of it rather than just waiting for the ocean to start reclaiming the state.

Even simple things such as solar hot water heaters and energy efficient appliances could make a difference, a handful of experts told Gov. Charlie Crist and the Cabinet Tuesday. Other, more complicated changes also are needed, they said, such as standards for energy production and efficiency and more incentives for using solar energy.

The workshop was the first of four "conversations on climate change" planned this year for the state's top officials. It featured impassioned pleas from several top scientists who talked about rising seas and a warming atmosphere, the economic impacts and potential ways the state could affect the outcome.

The governor called the workshop "a great new beginning for Florida ."

The experts' basic message?

Floridians can either make money now by becoming energy efficient and taking advantage of new economic opportunities such as attracting new "green energy" industries to the state, or spend later trying to catch up and react to the effects of climate change.

While state officials have been working to improve energy efficiency and promote green fuels made from crops such as corn, other states are far ahead.

Arizona, for example, has come up with a list of 49 recommendations, expecting to cut its emissions in half by 2020, resulting in $5.5 billion in net savings to the state's economy, said Stephen Mulkey with the University of Florida's School of Natural Resources and the Environment.

Big changes are needed -- and fast -- in order to reverse the trends scientists are seeing in rising temperatures and sea levels, Mulkey said during his remarks. That can be achieved by reducing the use of fossil fuels, to curb the amount of carbon dioxide being released into the environment.

"We need an overarching plan that takes us far into the future," Mulkey said. "There needs to be a cut in emissions by 60 percent by 2050."

Additional possibilities mentioned by the state's chief financial officer, Alex Sink, include investing part of the state employees pension funds in the new green industries and ensuring that companies where the pension funds are invested are preparing for the future.

The changing climates around the world already are affecting Floridians, said Charles Bronson, commissioner of agriculture and consumer services.

"You don't have to believe in global warming," he said. "But if you believe in eating food and you care about forest fires, you'd better start paying attention to weather patterns."

dinah.pulver@news-jrnl.com

Experts paint grim future with warming

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published April 4, 2007

TALLAHASSEE - Canceled insurance policies and skyrocketing rates plaguing the state since the active hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005 are a premonition of Florida 's future under a warming climate, an insurance expert told the state Cabinet on Tuesday.

Rising sea levels, stronger hurricanes and the need for renewable energies were some of the topics a half-dozen experts touched on at the Cabinet's first of four climate change workshops. And despite a recent special session to address insurance woes, one predicted a gloomy future for insurance unless proactive measures are taken.

"What we have seen in recent years in terms of insurance losses are but a harbinger of things to come," said Tim Wagner, co-chairman of the Climate Change and Global Warming Task Force for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. "Insurance is priced based on statistics and probability. What climate change has done is create ambiguity and uncertainty in the pricing scenario."

While he favors a national catastrophe fund to back up coastal states in the event of a major disaster, Wagner said it would be a tough sell for many interior states that don't want to subsidize overbuilding on the coast.

The true costs of insurance along the coastlines need to be transparent, not artificially lowered by government subsidies that encourage building in fragile areas, he said. The state can strengthen the insurance market by tightening development rules and requiring tougher building codes, he said.

That theme - that despite strong evidence of a warming planet, there are specific actions Florida can take to counteract the danger - was a recurring one during Tuesday's nearly four-hour meeting.

Gov. Charlie Crist echoed the sentiment, telling the Cabinet it has a real impact on climate change policies. The Cabinet's management of coastal lands and natural resources, conservation efforts and choice of power plant locations all have an effect, he said.

Experts told the Cabinet that sea levels in Florida have risen 6 to 8 inches over the last 100 years because of expanding ocean water due to the melting of Arctic ice. Those levels could rise 7 to 23 additional inches by 2100, seemingly small changes that have large consequences, they said.

The Cabinet will hold its next climate workshop June 12.

Key Cabinet Members Meet With Global Warming Experts

By KEVIN BEGOS The Tampa Tribune

Published: Apr 4, 2007

TALLAHASSEE - Experts say it was a "momentous" day - the first time the four most powerful leaders in the state came together solely to discuss global warming.

"This issue of climate change is vastly significant to us," said Gov. Charlie Crist, who on Tuesday took part in a three-hour special meeting on the subject along with Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson and Attorney General Bill McCollum.

Under former Gov. Jeb Bush, global warming was rarely a topic of discussion and never a priority.

" Florida has turned the corner. We're finally willing to talk about climate change," said Stephen Mulkey, a professor in the University of Florida 's School of Natural Resources and Environment.

Mulkey, who was skeptical about climate change 20 years ago, said the day felt "momentous."

Sink said the first goal of the meeting was education but added that quick action is possible.

"What we're hoping for today is we get the conversation going and we raise the level of awareness," she said, noting that Bronson already has been very active in promoting ethanol production from agriculture.

Asked if she thinks serious action will have to wait until next year, she disagreed.

"I really don't," she said. "I've got a list of a few things just out of today. I think we're not going to wait."

There was plenty of grim news delivered by most of the seven experts who spoke to the Cabinet, though on many of the issues the scientists stressed that serious international action could slow the worst impacts of climate change.

Mulkey and other scientists outlined the growing body of data on carbon dioxide emissions, sea level rise, and weather patterns, all of which point to changes not seen in the Earth's climate for thousands of years.

There wasn't much of a bright side in the presentation on property insurance. Tim Wagner, Nebraska Insurance Commissioner and Director of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, predicted that the current crisis of losses, rate hikes and dropped policies "are but a harbinger of things to come."

Canary In Coal Mine

"The insurance industry is our canary in the coal mine," he said, adding, "There are no short term fixes."

Wagner expected many questions on that issue, but Sink suggested coming back to focus solely on insurance at another session.

Crist asked for details about the problem of coral bleaching. Reefs around the world, including some in the Florida Keys , are showing signs of damage, in part because of rising acidity in oceans connected to global warming.

"We can expect the loss of the vast majority of our coral reefs worldwide" by 2100, Mulkey told the governor.

There were several questions about near-term possibilities.

"Tell us about timing," Sink said, asking about projections for the next 10 to 40 years.

Stephen Leatherman, director of the International Hurricane Research Center at Florida International University , said that recent data indicate sea levels are rising just less than 1/8 inch a year.

That doesn't sound like a lot, but levels in Texas and Louisiana are rising at a far higher rate. Leatherman said one of the most worrisome findings is that the rate of increase seems to have been speeding up in recent years.

Beach Erosion Worse

Beach erosion is getting worse around the nation, he said, and renourishment projects that have rebuilt beaches in the past face a new problem.

"We're running out of sand in South Florida ," Leatherman said.

Rising sea levels also threaten the Everglades . "The river of grass is being displaced," he said. Asked what the future holds, he replied, "I'm not sure anybody knows."

Throughout the presentations, McCollum repeated questions raised by global warming skeptics. But the scientists said the overwhelming majority of research points to humans having a significant impact on the situation, mostly by injecting billions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Bronson said research has shown that dramatic climate shifts took place in the past.

"The Sahara desert was once a forest," Bronson said, adding that significant change "can happen here."

The historical data are sometimes hard to visualize. According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, sea levels were almost 400 feet lower 18,000 years ago, and large parts of the Gulf of Mexico were dry.

There was some good news. Kenneth Locklin of the Clean Energy Group said he thinks green energy such as solar, hydroelectric and ethanol will be among the best investment opportunities of the 21st century.

Bronson agreed. "It'll be a major addition to the economy of the state," he said.

Reporter Kevin Begos can be reached at (850) 222-8382 or kbegos@tampatrib.com.
State halts access to Everglades water

The Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH - The tap on the fragile Everglades ecosystem has been clamped as officials warn cities across South Florida to find other ways to quench the thirst of a growing population, the state announced Tuesday.

The new Regional Water Availability Rule prevents water users from tapping the River of Grass for any new or additional water supplies and means utilities will now be forced to develop alternative means of production, according to the South Florida Water Management District.

It is the first time in history that Everglades water has been deemed off-limits.

South Florida water suppliers in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties currently depend on an estimated 500 million gallons each day from the Everglades .

"The water that is being withdrawn today, that's it, we're capped off,'' district director Carol Wehle said Tuesday. "It sends a message to the utilities that if you want to grow, there are many sources of water that you can access that are environmentally sustainable.''

Under the new rule, existing water supply permits will not be revoked, but new permits for Everglades water to meet the needs of population growth won't be approved.

The rule also provides a grace period to prevent water shortages but only if water suppliers can show they are actively developing alternative techniques.

Wehle said regional utilities would have to begin reusing water on a larger scale and may have to look at desalination techniques.

"The good news for Southeast Florida, unlike, say, Las Vegas , is there is an incredible amount of water available to continue to serve future growth. It's just not going to be the Everglades ,'' Wehle said.

The state is currently in the midst of a 30-year, $10.5 billion effort to restore the Everglades , the largest such wetlands restoration project in the world.

Curt Levine, head of the political committee for the Sierra Club's Florida chapter, called the rule "a wake-up call to local governments'' to contain urban sprawl and better prepare for growth.

"Water is not infinite anymore,'' Levine said.

Miami-Dade County took a proactive step and agreed last year not to seek additional water permits that would draw from the Everglades , said Doug Yoder, deputy director of the county's wastewater department.

"What this rule does is formalize the system for everyone in South Florida so all the utilities are on the same, level playing field of planning for future water supply demands,'' Yoder said.

He said the county was considering $2 billion worth of projects over the next 20 years to create alternative water supplies.

"People will need to adjust to the idea that water rates and wastewater rates are definitely going to go up,'' Yoder said, adding that Miami-Dade plans to cut back on consumption through conservation measures and to enhance reuse of wastewater.

Meanwhile, Florida is experiencing one of the driest spells on record with the situation only expected to get worse.

"We have never experienced such a rapid depletion of our water supply as we have this year,'' Wehle said.
Red tide likely to blame for dead manatees

FORT MYERS - State officials are suspecting that red tide may have killed some of the 26 manatees whose bodies were found in Lee County waters throughout the past two weeks.

Scientists are awaiting results from toxin analyses to determine for certain whether red tide caused their deaths, said Wendy Quigley, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Four of the threatened sea cows were found dead Monday.

Red tide is caused by a bloom of the single-celled alga Karenia brevis, which contains a powerful toxin that kills fish and other marine life.

When manatees come up for air, they inhale the toxin at the water's surface. They also eat seagrasses that have absorbed the toxin.

Forty manatees have died in Lee County since the beginning of the year. Across the state, 72 deaths had been reported as of March 23.

Last year, 417 manatee deaths were recorded, the deadliest year on record for manatees.

Other major causes of death for the endangered creatures include boat injuries, stress from being in cold waters or human contact, and natural causes.

Nelson discusses efforts to restore lagoon

By Cara Fitzpatrick

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Looking out over the Indian River Lagoon, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson told city and county officials Tuesday about his efforts to pass a massive water projects bill - a bill that has languished in Congress for several years and includes about $1.4 billion for restoration of the lagoon.

"This bill has had a torturous past," he said.

Nelson, D-Fla., held a press conference at 11 a.m. at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution near Fort Pierce to discuss that past and current efforts to move the bill forward. U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Palm Beach Gardens , and state Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, also attended.

Congress has not passed a Water Resources Development Act since 2000. Last year, the House and Senate each passed a different version of the bill, but failed to reach a compromise. The bill would provide funding for water projects throughout the country, including $95 million for restoration of the Everglades and $362 million for the Picayune Strand ecosystem in Southwest Florida .

Committees in both the Senate and the House have already voted on their respective versions of the bill and may reach the full bodies sometime between now and mid-June, Nelson predicted.

The Indian River Lagoon has been susceptible to pollution because it has limited water movement, reaches an average depth of only 5 feet and has had massive discharges of water from Lake Okeechobee that have turned its ordinarily brackish water nearly fresh, according to data released from Harbor Branch.

The build-up of pollutants and change in water quality can threaten native species of plants and animals and act as an incubator for algae and bacteria, Nelson said. Those changes, in turn, can damage other ecosystems connected by local waterways, including the Everglades .

"It's started to alter what Mother Nature intended," he said. "The good news is that we are now going to pass the water bill."

Faucet turned off in fragile Everglades

A new rule marks the first time water in the vast wetland has been deemed off-limits.

Brian Skoloff
the Associated Press

April 4, 2007

WEST PALM BEACH -- The tap on the fragile Everglades ecosystem was clamped shut Tuesday as officials warned cities across South Florida to find other ways to quench the thirst of a growing population.

The new Regional Water Availability Rule prevents water users from tapping the Everglades for any new or additional water supplies and means utilities will now be forced to develop alternative means of production, according to the South Florida Water Management District.

It is the first time in history that Everglades water has been deemed off-limits.

South Florida water suppliers in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties currently depend on an estimated 500 million gallons each day from the Everglades .

"The water that is being withdrawn today, that's it, we're capped off," district director Carol Wehle said Tuesday. "It sends a message to the utilities that if you want to grow, there are many sources of water that you can access that are environmentally sustainable."

Under the new rule, existing water-supply permits will not be revoked, but new permits for Everglades water to meet the needs of population growth won't be approved. The rule also provides a grace period to prevent water shortages, but only if water suppliers can show they are actively developing alternative techniques.

Wehle said utilities would have to begin reusing water on a larger scale and may have to look at desalination techniques.

"The good news for southeast Florida , unlike, say, Las Vegas , is there is an incredible amount of water available to continue to serve future growth. It's just not going to be the Everglades ," Wehle said.

The state is in the midst of a 30-year, $10.5 billion effort to restore the Everglades , the largest such wetlands-restoration project in the world.

Curt Levine, head of the political committee for the Sierra Club's Florida chapter, called the rule "a wake-up call to local governments" to contain urban sprawl and better prepare for growth.

"Water is not infinite anymore," Levine said.

Miami-Dade County agreed last year not to seek additional water permits that would draw from the Everglades , said Doug Yoder, deputy director of the county's wastewater department.

"What this rule does is formalize the system for everyone in South Florida , so all the utilities are on the same level playing field of planning for future water-supply demands," Yoder said.

He said the county was considering $2 billion worth of projects during the next 20 years to create alternative water supplies.

"People will need to adjust to the idea that water rates and wastewater rates are definitely going to go up," Yoder said, adding that Miami-Dade plans to cut back on consumption through conservation measures and to enhance reuse of wastewater.

City offers solution to swale issue

By JEANNINE GAGE
Correspondent

SOUTH DAYTONA -- When attempting to keep up with the Jones's, having a big ditch and a "latrine-like" hole in the yard may not be the best way to go about it. But having a flooded yard and street won't work either.

Therein lies the conflict between some Palm Grove subdivision residents and the city.

"Aesthetically these things are horrible," homeowner Jeff LaCour said. "There are all kinds of people in this neighborhood upset."

City officials have said that the deeper swales, or ditches, and concrete outfalls with large openings were needed to overcome problems with the original drainage system from the 1970s and to meet St. Johns River Water Management District regulations.

Since then, however, they have been able to work with the agency to redesign and replace about 40 percent of the deepest swales.

The homeowners who were not part of that redesign felt left out and said the city was dragging its feet on getting permission to fix all of the swales.

"They told us last year they would try to get a permit from St. Johns to fix this," LaCour said, "but they never did."

That application was submitted last week, said South Daytona Assistant Public Works Director Les Gillis.

"We have some new ideas about how to get around the drainage issues without having such deep swales and the large openings," Gillis said. "I think this will make the homeowners happy."

The problems began about four years ago when the city decided to run water and sewage lines into the approximately 260-home subdivision on the west side of the city.

Since Palm Grove had had some flooding issues in the past, the decision was made to redo the stormwater drainage system at the same time.

But they came up against some problems with the original system that was put in by home builders when the neighborhood was still in unincorporated Volusia County .

"Regulations back then weren't what they are now," Gillis said. "It was a mess in there, every swale was different and some people had filled them in."

The city originally wanted to put in underground pipes, but pipes only fulfilled two of the three requirements for a drainage system, Gillis said.

"You have to collect, conduct and treat the water," he said. "Pipes only collect and conduct. Swales act as a filtration system, thus treating the water."

Another idea was to curb and gutter the neighborhood, but that takes a retention pond and Gillis said that wasn't feasible.

"The whole neighborhood was already built out," he said, "and the residents didn't want a retention pond anyway."

After the swales went in, the city immediately began receiving complaints from residents.

Gillis said what looked good on paper didn't translate into real life.

"We did deem that some of the deeper swales presented a safety hazard," he said, "so we called St. Johns out there to see what we could do."

Gillis said the agency gave the city permission to rework some of the deepest swales. They are shallower and have a smaller outfall opening that is flush to the ground. That $1 million project is going on now.

As for the other homes that still have the swales, Gillis said he has come up with an idea that he thinks the agency will approve.

"We think we can offset the swale, so it doesn't have to sit right on top of the pipes," he said. "They will not be as deep and get rid of the ugly outfall."

Gillis estimates the cost of the project at $1.6 million. It would begin immediately if approved.

The agency must reply to the city within 30 days of receiving the permit application.

"This plan should meet their regulations," Gillis said, "If we're successful, I think we'll get a very positive reaction."

Citizens push for growth controls

By PATRICK WHITTLE

patrick.whittle@heraldtribune.com
SARASOTA COUNTY -- A pair of growth-control measures that seem headed for a November vote could hamstring developers' ability to build dense residential projects on rural land here.

The measures, proposed by a local citizens group, would make it much more difficult for developers to gain approval for building projects in the county's undeveloped eastern reaches.

Supporters, including environmentalists and slow-growth advocates, say the measures would force developers to shift their focus away from isolated residential projects and toward mixed-use urban redevelopment.

That attitude falls in line with several high-ranking county officials who have trumpeted the need for infill redevelopment rather than suburban sprawl.

But opponents, including building industry forces, say the measures would harm the county's economy and ultimately promote the sprawl they seek to curtail.

Here's how the measures work: If the first one passes, residents will have the chance to vote on any plans that increase the size of the county's urban service area. The service area is an invisible line that straddles Interstate 75 and represents a boundary for dense building projects. Expanding that line would require voter approval.

The other measure, if passed, would force the County Commission to approve certain changes to the county's comprehensive plan by a minimum 4-to-1 vote. The comprehensive plan prescribes how dense developers can build on lands around the county. A 4-to-1 vote to approve a dense building project is highly unlikely because two of the county's five commissioners are outspoken opponents of suburban sprawl.

The citizens group, Citizens for Sensible Growth, needs to collect 12,525 signatures per measure to get the items on the November ballot. The group has collected about 9,000 signatures per measure.

Bill Zoller, a member of the citizens group, said the group hopes to collect the required signatures by July.

"We get people who are living out east and they say, 'I'll sign it because we don't want sprawl moving out here,'" Zoller said. "People see just unending rooftops a la what you see in South Florida ."

But Larry Anderson, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Sarasota County, thinks the opposite is true.

Anderson believes the measures, if passed, would raise the price of land west of the urban service area. Builders would have less options for building and demand for housing would result in higher land costs, he said.

That scenario would ultimately lead to more residents forced to commute to Sarasota from neighboring counties, Anderson said.

Moreover, Anderson said the measures could harm one of Sarasota 's primary economic engines: the building industry.

"One of the fundamental drivers of Florida and this area is development of growth," Anderson said. "Demand continues to be very high and what will happen is the infill will become very expensive."

The County Commission could take a position on the measures before or after the citizens group finishes collecting signatures.

That happened last year when Sarasota County sent a citizen-driven initiative about land annexations to the voters. The March referendum question, which gives Sarasota County more control over rural lands annexed by cities such as Venice and North Port , passed by a more than 2-to-1 ratio.

County Commissioner Jon Thaxton said it is too early to say if the commission would take a position on the growth measures. He said he supports the plan to require a 4-to-1 vote for a comp plan change.

However, he believes allowing citizens to vote on changes to the urban service area could be misguided because "explaining those kinds of minuscule details to hundreds of thousands of voters is a task."

The citizens' group is proposing the ballot issues during a time of some of the most explosive growth in Sarasota County history. The county's population grew from 325,957 to 369,535 between 2000 and 2006. That is almost as much as the county grew during the entire 1990s.

The growth measures would also come as Sarasota County voters are exerting themselves as supporters of land preservation. A November 2005 referendum question allowed the county to spend up to $250 million to preserve natural habitat and neighborhood parks.

But the measures would also happen in a time when the area's real estate market has slowed down considerably.

"This is not about saving pristine land. It's about economics," said Anderson, the builders association official.

County Commissioner Joe Barbetta, who won election to the commission last year on a slow-growth platform, thinks the referendums will help fulfill his goal of fostering mixed-use redevelopment of the county's aging, urban strip malls.

"We have an urban growth area and I really believe in redevelopment," Barbetta said. "Let the voters decide."
Appellate court affirms Feb. 1 petition deadline

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published April 4, 2007

TALLAHASSEE - A group challenging a shorter deadline for submitting citizen-initiative petitions was undecided Tuesday if it would appeal a court ruling upholding the new limit, about six months earlier than the old one.

A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court's decision upholding the Feb. 1 deadline in an election year. The unanimous opinion was posted on the court's Web site on Tuesday.

Voters in 2004 approved a state constitutional amendment offered by the Legislature to set the new deadline. The appellate court rejected arguments the amendment's ballot language was misleading and that the state failed to meet requirements for advertising it.

The challenge came from Hometown Democracy, a group established to collect signatures for a proposed amendment that would give voters a bigger voice in local planning and development.

Hometown Democracy lawyer Ross Burnaman can asking the panel or full 15-member appellate court for a rehearing or certification that would send the issue to the Florida Supreme Court.

Judge James R. Wolf wrote for the district court that the ballot summary told voters exactly what the new limit would be even though it failed to explain that would mean less time to collect signatures.

Dead Panther found on I-75

NAPLES , Fla. (AP) -- A 3-year-old male panther was found dead on Interstate 75 on Tuesday, authorities said.

A Florida Highway Patrol officer discovered the dead panther in the median at mile marker 98 near the Alligator Alley toll plaza. It is the sixth panther fatality on a Florida roadway this year.

Wildlife officials said it may be the same cat that killed five goats and wounded a miniature donkey in a nearby area last year. They won't know for sure because DNA samples were not taken from the attacked animals.

Developer receives OK for project

By BARRY FLYNN
Staff Writer

BUNNELL -- Despite the weak local housing market, a developer won approval Monday for an intensive combined residential-commercial project in The Hammock.

With the blessing of a civic group in the area, the Flagler County Commission unanimously approved a proposal for 26 single-family houses and two commercial buildings on 8.6 acres between State Road A1A and the Intracoastal Waterway .

Rich Smith, owner of Lighthouse Development Group Inc., said he expected to begin construction on the planned-unit development within 18 months.

He acknowledged the slowdown in home sales here, but was still optimistic. He said the project's nine planned waterfront houses and one of the two commercial buildings would likely sell first.

The commercial component is planned as two two-story buildings facing A1A, each of 15,000 square feet.

As for completion of the project, Smith said, "Let's talk about a five-year building out on the entire plan."

The civic group, Scenic A1A PRIDE, endorsed the plan after negotiating with Smith, said Dennis Clark, chairman of the group's site review committee on the project.

"They made a few concessions . . . They worked with us," Clark said of Smith's company.

Clark said Lighthouse could have gotten approval for even more intensive development if the project had been townhouses or condominiums.

Panel Rejects Huge Fee Increases

By JULIA FERRANTE The Tampa Tribune

Published: Apr 4, 2007

Saying the burden would be too great on builders, an advisory panel rejected a plan to double or triple one-time construction fees for new roads.

The 10-member Impact Fee Advisory Committee suggested appointing a subcommittee to find other ways to pay for an estimated $500 million in road improvements over the next five years.

The committee is slated to review the findings Monday and forward suggestions to the county commission the next day.

Among the subcommittee's suggestions for paying for new and improved roads:

•Raise property taxes by $1 for every $1,000 of valuation for an estimated $25 million a year in additional revenue. The proceeds would pay only for transportation needs.

•Increase the gasoline tax from 6 cents to 11 cents a gallon for an estimated $55 million during the next five years.

•Phase in higher construction fees for roads for an estimated $424 million over the next five years. Developers building in areas where roads are able to handle additional traffic could be given a discount.

The county commission in the past has been open to raising gas taxes and construction fees - also called impact fees - but as a matter of policy has not endorsed using property taxes for road projects.

County officials are proposing putting off many projects because of a lack of money, but the advisory panel wants many of those projects to continue. Members agreed raising the tax rate could help accomplish that.

The subcommittee plans to continue meeting in coming months to discuss road project priorities and funding mechanisms, including special taxing districts.

"Because the [proposal] only takes care of a small amount of the Transportation Capital Improvement Plan, they want to look at other funding options," said Michele Baker, program administrator for engineering services. "They realize the county's got big issues in front of them, and they want to tackle them."

The subcommittee's proposal does not cover the estimated $250 million for state road projects in the Florida Department of Transportation's long-range plan. Nor does it include money for county projects totaling $951.7 million.

An estimated $62.3 million to be collected from the Penny for Pasco sales tax is earmarked for specific projects approved by voters. Plans for those projects will not change, Baker has said.

Many of the road improvements in the county's plan are needed because of the burgeoning population, which increased to more than 451,000 in 2006, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Residential building has slowed, but retail developments are filling in the gaps, providing services and amenities for new residents.

As a matter of course, developers pay their "proportionate share" for road improvements, but how much they contribute and which projects they complete are a matter of negotiation.

Commissioner Ted Schrader and others have said they prefer impact fees to other forms of revenue boosters because the fees essentially make growth pay for itself.

A county-commissioned economist, Hank Fishkind, has warned the subcommittee not to overcharge developers, lest the county scare away desirable businesses.

Fishkind suggested breaks for certain kinds of businesses and gradual increases in impact fees overall. The committee supported those recommendations.

WHAT'S NEXT

•The Transportation Impact Fee Fact-Finding Committee will meet at 2 p.m. today at Hudson Regional Library, 8012 Library Road , to discuss ongoing needs for road projects.

•The Impact Fee Advisory Committee meets at 10 a.m. Monday at the West Pasco Government Center , 7530 Little Road in New Port Richey.

•The county commission is to consider the recommendations at a meeting starting at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the historic Pasco County Courthouse, 37918 Meridian Ave. in Dade City .

Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220 or jferrante@tampatrib.com.

County to hold hearing on building moratorium
No drainage at Rainbow Park poses problem

BY SUSAN LATHAM CARR
STAR-BANNER

OCALA - The Marion County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to conduct a public hearing this month to discuss implementing a building permit moratorium in the Rainbow Park subdivision.

The vested subdivision, which was approved in 1960, has no drainage, and the commission fears there will be increased flooding as new homes are built.

A moratorium would give the commission time to consider how best to fix the problem in the 4,500-platted-lot subdivision that is north of State Road 40 and east of Dunnellon.

Several options are being explored.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Park residents are wondering how much it will cost to fix it and who is going to pay for it.

"Right now, half of everybody out here is on a fixed income," said Angelita Rosier. "They are scared."

A number of those residents are planning to meet with the county's Municipal Services Taxing Unit (MSTU) Department on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. to express their concerns.

Before the county started looking at the flooding that occurs on some of the lime rock roads and in some residents' yards with the increase in new home construction, a small group of people went to the county to ask if they could have their road paved.

At that time, it was determined if the majority of the people responding to a petition agreed to pay for the road through an assessment, it would cost property owners about $3,000 per lot.

Then the problem of the flooding came to light. Myra Tedder, director of the MSTU Department, said she could pave the roads and fix the drainage for about $6,500 a lot.

So, the MSTU Department sent out petitions asking the lot owners if they would agree to pay the $6,500 per lot plus interest during a 10-year-period.

And that is what has upset residents, some of whom own more than one lot.

"It's going to cost me $50,000," said Rosier, who has lived there for 29 years. "Ouch!"

Wesley Knight said he has lived in Rainbow Park for 18 years.

"If they don't build, there won't be a problem," Knight said. "Looking at the entire situation within Marion County , the entire county is growing altogether too fast. All of their services are going to be stretched and we are going to be taxed to death to pay for it."

Knight, who will be 82 years old within a few weeks, owns three lots, so he is looking at a bill of about $20,000.

"I have lived on dirt roads all my life and it doesn't bother me a bit," he said. "Put it on the backs of the builders. Don't put it on our backs."

Laurie Watson, too, is concerned about the cost. Her husband has not been able to work for 17 years because of medical problems, she said. The couple has lived in Rainbow Park for about 26 years.

"Our total income is about $20,000 a year," Watson said. About a quarter of that goes for medical insurance, co-payments and deductibles.

"It doesn't give us very much to live on," she said. Since gas prices have risen, she has tried to do all her errands in two trips a week to save on gas.

The Watsons, too, own eight lots.
"We are talking somewhere between $50,000 to $60,000 for us," she said about a possible assessment. "Nobody is trying to be uncooperative. On the other hand, with eight lots, we have our hands tied."

Commission Chairman Stan McClain said after Tuesday's meeting, that the county owns about 50 lots in Rainbow Park . He said the county might be able to swap some of its lots on high ground for lots people own in low areas. Then the county could use the low areas for retention ponds to collect the storm water.

He said if the people do not vote for the MSTU assessment, the county could assess the amount anyway because it is a problem threatening the health, safety and welfare of the residents.

The commission set the hearing for the moratorium at 10 a.m., April 17, in the commission auditorium at the McPherson Governmental Complex, 601 S.E. 25th Ave. , Ocala .

Susan Latham Carr may be reached at susan.carr@starbanner.com or (352) 867-4156.

Boynton passes ordinance requiring affordable housing

By Will Vash

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

BOYNTON BEACH — To stem the high cost of housing, city commissioners unanimously passed an ordinance Tuesday night effectively requiring workforce housing in new residential developments.

The ordinance requires developers of new communities to supply a percentage of affordable homes in exchange for more units per acre. Mayor Jerry Taylor said it was important to move forward on the new law because the city was in desperate need of lower-priced homes.

"Right now, nothing is happening. Let's get this thing off the ground," Taylor said. "Every December we can reevaluate and see what's going on."

The ordinance would address housing needs of moderate-income families - those who make between 80 and 120 percent of the federal government's median household income for Palm Beach County , which is $64,400. It also would help some low-income households, those that make below 80 percent of that median. For example, a family of four making less than $77,280 would be eligible for the affordable units, according to federal guidelines.

The new rule provides that:

• Developers seeking higher densities set aside 10 percent to 20 percent of their projects' residential units as affordable.

• Both homeowner and rental units remain affordable for 30 years through liens and deed restrictions.

• Developers of projects where 80 percent of the home prices in a new development exceed $500,000 be given the option of donating land for affordable housing, paying for the workforce housing units to go somewhere else or building the affordable units on another site in the city. City commissioners voted to amend the ordinance 4-1 to set those in-lieu-of prices between $60,000 and $100,000 depending on unit size. Commissioner Mack McCray dissented.

CRA planning director Vivian Brooks said the ordinance would be one tool to help workers afford their own home.

"The housing has not come down where most workers are even able to afford a home," Brooks said. "The gap is huge. It's a very daunting thing, but we are making a major step."

A family making $45,000 a year could reasonably afford a house at $138,500, according to a report by the area's planning and regional council.

Indian bones dispute spurs suit to void property deal

By Gretel Sarmiento

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

HIGHLAND BEACH — American Indian remains have become a $5.8 million bone of contention for the Brooklyn resident who bought property in this tiny beachfront town without knowing it was the site of an ancient burial ground.

Yitzchok Schwartz bought the land at 4521 S. Ocean Blvd. in 2005, thinking he could fix the home and move in. Instead, he discovered skeletal remains and a burial mound that could date to historic groups that existed even before the Seminoles, Schwartz contends in a lawsuit filed in Palm Beach County court last week.

The previous owner, Bibb Latané, knew about the bones but didn't mention them when he sold the beachfront property, according to the lawsuit. That would have halted the sale, said Ubaldo Perez, one of Schwartz's attorneys.

Latané, a psychologist and owner of Social Science Conferences Inc. in North Carolina, was aware of the remains as early as 2003 and failed to notify Schwartz, who now wants his money back, as well as attorney fees, Schwartz's attorneys claim.

"The only way to fix this one is to undo the transaction, to put everybody back in the place where they were before this," said Schwartz's attorney, Howard DuBosar.

If the bones have archaeological significance, the discovery could delay any plans Schwartz had for the property.

"If human remains are found on a site, the state has very strict rules," said Christian Davenport, Palm Beach County 's archaeologist. "There would be added steps, that the bones are not destroyed, that they are relocated or avoided."

Davenport has worked on ancient sites in Lake Worth , Boynton Beach and Jupiter, as well as throughout the East Coast. Typically, he said, bones and artifacts are found when developers move in and the water level is reduced.

"We don't go digging in looking for them," he said.

The battle between development and preserving history in South Florida intensified after the Miami Circle was uncovered in 1998. The 2.2-acre site, believed to have been used by Tequesta Indians, sits on waterfront property on the south bank of the Miami River .

A New York development firm had agreed to buy the site for $18 million. But after the bones were found about a foot below the surface, ending plans for two 40-story condo towers, the state and county eventually bought the site for $26.7 million.

In Palm Beach County , most archaeological findings point toward early Indians, such as the Glades and the Jeagas, who settled before the Seminoles.

"We know very little about them," Davenport said. "They have distinctive cultural traits such as differences in pottery."

Indian bones don't have to scare off developers.

"Some parts of the parcel could be developed," said archaeologist Robert Carr, who helped discover the Miami Circle .

For a burial mound, the boundaries of the cemetery would need to be located and preserved. If the bone fragments are scattered, determining those boundaries could be difficult.

If that's the case, the landowner has two choices.

"Leave it as it is or relocate them" with the help of an archaeologist, said state archaeologist Ryan Wheeler.

Regarding the lawsuit, Latané's attorney, Roderick Coleman, said it was no secret but rather common knowledge that the property had an Indian burial mound. The 2003 discovery of a human bone while Latané was building an addition to the home received media attention, he said.

Coleman said the law protects an owner from having to disclose a homicide, suicide or death on the property when selling it.

"This has got nothing to do with bones," Coleman said. "They are using the bones to get out of not-such-a-good real estate deal now that the market has gone south."

Latané, who at one point was chairman of the Department of Psychology at Florida Atlantic University and director of the Institute for Research in Social Science, dismissed the claims against him. He noted the irony of the timing.

"I just got back from a conference in London on the evolution of human behavior," he said. "Come to think about it, bones were discussed."

Property case upholds owners' rights

Judge sides with Olympia owners on case that tests state eminent domain law.

By ANTHONY CORMIER

anthony.cormier@heraldtribune.com
PALMETTO -- Joel and Cindy Jarvis, husband-and-wife developers who dabble in small-time projects in Palmetto, bought the Olympia Theatre from the city in 1995 for $1 and promised sweeping changes to the historic building.

Twelve years later, though, the Olympia is still in bad shape. It's rarely open to the public. There is no indoor stage. The once glorious movie house is a shell of its former self.

Frustrated with the pace of renovations, Palmetto officials tried to take it back through eminent domain and do the renovations themselves.

But a judge ruled this week that the Olympia is private property -- and the city cannot take it back -- in a case that some observers are calling the first of its kind for Southwest Florida .

The Olympia decision is this region's first test of a new law that protects property owners and limits the government's ability to take land for redevelopment.

It also underscores the complex debate over individual rights and public goals, which took hold during a controversial U.S. Supreme Court ruling two years ago.

"There is no reason governments should step in when they see a property they like and say, 'We'll take it from here,'" said Bill Moore, a Sarasota land attorney who represented the Jarvises.

Moore's firm helped lobby the state Legislature in 2006 to tighten eminent domain laws, which came under fire after a Supreme Court decision that gave wider discretion to governments and developers.

Eminent domain cases are rarely noticed, and most often are tools that help widen roads and build sidewalks. In many cases, the government buys property from a landowner and uses that property for the greater public good.

But in February 2005 the federal Supreme Court ruled that New London , Conn. , officials could take private property that had fallen into disrepair and give it to a developer who wanted to build a shopping center and business plaza.

The decision shocked many observers and drew near universal scorn. For Florida legislators, the worry was potential for abuse in cities where wealthy and well-connected developers could eye valuable waterfront properties for redevelopment into condominiums and shopping plazas.

So legislators changed Florida 's laws and said that governments could not use eminent domain for their own economic or redevelopment goals. Essentially, legislators made one thing clear: The government cannot take property in order to turn a profit.

"They looked at the law and found it very skimpy," Moore said.

In this case, Palmetto leaders wanted to turn the Olympia into a municipal auditorium -- for public and private community use, such as senior nights, holiday gatherings, even wedding receptions. Many in the city felt the Jarvises, who paid $1 for the title in 1995 and were recently offered as much as $600,000 by the city, were not holding up their end of the deal to refurbish the Olympia .

The auditorium would be the centerpiece of a downtown renewal, which could transform 10th Avenue West back into " Old Main Street " with quaint shops and restaurants surrounding the Olympia . So, after negotiating for months with the Jarvises, the city filed suit against the couple in July 2006.

In Florida 's eminent domain cases, the burden is on the government to show two things: a public purpose and reasonable necessity for the taking. Circuit Judge Peter Dubensky agreed that Palmetto had a public purpose in mind, but that they didn't need to have the Olympia .

In fact, the judge said that Palmetto never did traffic or demand studies, didn't budget for a new auditorium and never mentioned the building in long-term development plans. Officials were "clearly disturbed" at the slow pace of renovations, Dubensky wrote, but "declared the theater a public necessity -- out of necessity."

For Tanya Lukowiak, director of the Community Redevelopment Agency, this week's decision is not a surprise -- but is certainly a disappointment. The CRA, a tax arm of the city government, paid for nearly $30,000 in repairs in what some feel was a bad investment.

"It was always our intention to finish the theater as a theater," Joel Jarvis said during a February hearing.

With the Jarvises' job unfinished, the city wanted the building back. But even staffers such as Lukowiak admit that eminent domain is tricky -- and the questions are nearly always the same:

How far should a government go to spur change? And what role do private property owners have in public renewals?

"It's a touchy subject," Lukowiak said Tuesday. "It's about public benefits and private property rights. But the city's position has always been: 'If you can't do it, we'll do it for you.'"

So, more than a century after the Olympia opened in 1916 as one of the first movie houses on Florida 's west coast, the history-rich building will not be a symbol of the city's downtown renewal.

At least not for now. City officials have not decided whether to appeal the ruling, and the Jarvises' attorneys say they want to work on a public-private partnership that would restore the Olympia to its former glory.

Mayor Larry Bustle says he is all for a solution, and the city could appeal the decision, refile another eminent domain petition or go back to the drawing board with the Jarvises.

"I'm really open to any option," Bustle said. "I do feel, though, that we would do a great job of turning what is a shell of a building into a fantastic multi-use structure for our citizens. That's what this has always been about."

Residents to protest plans to sell park

CORTEZ -- Cortez Trailer Park residents will protest the pending sale of their five-acre community by holding up signs condemning the deal Saturday along Cortez Road .

More than 80 households could face eviction if property owner Harry "Butch" Howey goes through with the $10.8 million sale to Bradenton developer Carlos Beruff.

Residents, who include Howey's parents, have offered to match Beruff's offer.

Howey has refused them, they say.

The protest will be between 10 a.m. and noon Saturday on the south side of Cortez Road .

Howey did not return an interview request Tuesday. Beruff said he will not comment on his plans.

Mobile-home evictions draw pleas for help

By Jason Schultz

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

STUART — Martin County commissioners on Tuesday grasped for ways to help low-income mobile-home park residents like Annita Richards find a place to live as their communities continue falling victim to more-expensive housing.

"We're all hard-working Americans," said Richards, one of about three-dozen residents being evicted from Bloomfield Meadows, a 55-and-older mobile home community in Hobe Sound. "Unless I'm going to live in a shed, I don't know what I'm going to do."

Residents there found out last month they were being evicted after the owner announced he intends to build townhomes on the site. Bloomfield Meadows joins a growing list of mobile-home parks in Martin County being sold for more upscale development.

County commissioners Tuesday discussed the housing problem, tossing around the idea of a moratorium, but did not make any policy changes.

Cheryl Bass, director of the county's community services department, said she organized a "strike team" of county officials and nonprofit agencies after learning of the plight of Bloomfield Meadows residents.

Although many of them own their mobile homes, the structures are too old to move.

"It's going to be a lifestyle change big time for these people," Bass said. "No matter what the options, I don't see how we're going to maintain that community. That's a real loss."

The county receives state money that could help lower-income residents put down first month's rent on new mobile homes, Bass said, but most of the Bloomfield Meadows residents would not qualify because they do not make enough money to pay the rent at other parks.

Richards said she made $10,000 last year as a massage therapist and still owes money on the mobile home she'll have to leave behind. Even if residents can move to another lot, several other parks have also been redeveloped, Richards said.

"How long are we going to be there before we get put off of that land?" Richards asked.

Art Madsen, a resident of the Indianwood park in Indiantown, agreed.

"We have a lot of people living in fear," Madsen said.

The task force, which will meet with Bloomfield Meadows residents on April 13, will probably become a permanent board working to relocate residents from other redeveloped parks, Bass said.

"The situation is not going to end with Hobe Sound," Bass said. "It's going to be something that's repeated over and over again."

Commissioner Lee Weberman said he has asked the developers of a proposed 650-home project in Hobe Sound known as the Atlantic Ridge to contribute about $375,000 to a fund the county could use to relocate mobile-home residents.

That project is not involved in the mobile-home developments, and Weberman said the developer has not agreed to a contribution.

Weberman also suggested that county officials should investigate whether they could legally impose a moratorium on rezoning mobile home parks for development.

Commissioner Susan Valliere suggested creating a "no net loss" policy for mobile home parks where new spaces would have to replace redeveloped ones. Commission Chairman Michael DiTerlizzi agreed, pointing out that the county has an existing "no net loss" policy for boat slips.

"If it can work for marinas, it can work for mobile-home parks," DiTerlizzi said.

Trailer-park crunch leaves poor in lurch

BREANNE GILPATRICK

Less than a year after bulldozers forced Brandy Caradonna and her three sons out of their Davie mobile home, the family needs to move again. They just can't afford to stay.

''One paycheck goes to pay the rent,'' she said in January, standing in the living room of the three-bedroom Hollywood home she shared with her sons, two parents and grandmother. ``One paycheck goes to pay the car payment and day care, and that's it. I don't even have enough extra money to help with my share of the bills.''

Throughout Florida , pressure to redevelop the state's mobile- home parks has left families like the Caradonnas searching for a place to live. Many end up in crowded or shabby housing, or with none at all.

Mobile home redevelopment has spawned its own housing crisis. A study by the Florida Manufactured Housing Association estimated that between January 2005 and June 2006 about 7,600 mobile-home lots were lost when 58 parks closed.

As the parks disappear, a nagging question arises: Whose responsibility is it to step in?

That question is at the heart of a proposed bill that would shift more of the burden to local governments by requiring cities and counties to help relocate displaced mobile-home residents and provide incentives to keep parks open.

The House Committee on Infrastructure voted 7-1 in favor of the bill late last month. And it continues to move through the Florida Legislature.

Local governments have questioned plans to shift responsibility to them the same year the state wants to cut property taxes and limit local spending. But as legislators argue, it's local governments that benefit from higher tax revenue every time a mobile-home park becomes a high-rise or subdivision.

''You're going to make a net income,'' said Rep. Frank Attkisson, the bill's House sponsor. ``You're going to displace the poor. Don't you have a moral obligation to help them out with your windfall?''

Cities and counties shouldn't look to the state or park owners to provide housing for their residents, said Frank Schnidman, a senior fellow at the Center for Urban & Environmental Solutions at Florida Atlantic University . Moving responsibility to the local level also allows governments to find a solution that fits their housing market.

''The bottom line is government has to bite the bullet and decide maybe this is a regional function,'' he said. ``It's not the private sector's responsibility. It's the government that has to look at the cost of providing housing.''

Some South Florida municipalities have tried to deal with the problem.

In Davie , more than one-fourth of residents live in mobile homes. The Central Broward town has more mobile-home residents per capita than anywhere in South Florida, and some parks, like the Stirling Mobile Home Park where Caradonna lived until August, have already closed.

Late last year, more than 200 residents packed Davie Town Hall pleading for relief. In February, the town finalized a one-year moratorium on mobile-home park redevelopment. A town Mobile Home Task Force created to search for other affordable housing solutions met for the first time last week.

In Dania Beach , city leaders also worked with developers to help relocate residents when several local mobile-home parks were rezoned over the past couple of years, city attorney Tom Ansbro said.

But cities say outdated state statues don't give mobile-home park residents enough money to find a place to live in South Florida . And they argue they need more state and federal aid for affordable options.

Under the current law, mobile-home residents can receive $3,000 for a single-wide mobile home and $6,000 for a double-wide to help cover moving expenses. If a mobile home can't be moved to another park, residents receive $1,375 for a single-wide and $2,750 for a double-wide. The money comes from the state's Mobile Home Relocation Trust Fund, funded mostly by mobile-home park owners.

''It helps,'' said Suzanne Fejes, assistant director of Broward County 's Housing and Community Development Division. ``It's better than nothing. But it's not sufficient.''

The average rent in Broward is roughly $1,100. And the median single-family home price is nearly $400,000, according to a recent study by the Broward Housing Partnership.

But other areas of Florida are less expensive, and Attkisson said a statewide change in the formula isn't fair.

''Should Pensacola or Gainesville or Jacksonville pay for the problems of Davie in a sales tax?'' he said. ``I don't think so.''

The money in the mobile- home trust fund was never meant to be more than ''a leg up in terms of moving on,'' said Jim Dale, who owns Rexmere and Paradise Village mobile-home parks in Davie .

After all, argues Jim Ayotte, executive director of the Florida Manufactured Housing Association, mobile-home park residents don't own the land their homes occupy -- the park owner does.

''Where does it end?'' he said. 'If you own a strip shopping mall and you decide, `By the way, I'm going to turn it into something else,' you don't need to pay your residents. You just tell your tenants, 'Hey, you're outta here.' ''

Meanwhile, Caradonna prepares to move.

''I am so sore and tired just of painting places and moving furniture and packing,'' she said Monday. ``And Saturday, I had to explain to my kids that we were moving. Try explaining to a 10-year-old that we don't own where we live, we rent, and we can't afford to stay.''

Towering Hopes

By SHANNON BEHNKEN The Tampa Tribune

Published: Apr 4, 2007

TAMPA - For two years now, commuters into the city have watched towers grow.

They've navigated dusty streets, passing cranes and construction workers dangling high above what will become thousands of new homes.

When that happens, commuters will tangle with a species that has become rare in Tampa 's downtown: the urban resident.

The first six of two dozen condo projects planned in the downtown area are expected to open by August, and pioneering condo dwellers are moving in. The combined 1,495 residential units promise a lot: a boost in downtown's population, a flock of retailers willing to serve those residents, and a bustling atmosphere of night life, cafes and thriving restaurants to draw outsiders.

Is this the year Tampa 's downtown blossoms? City planners and developers think so. But how long will the transformation take, and will the slowing real estate market postpone their dreams, as it has for developers who have already pulled their projects?

And will it all happen soon enough for new residents such as Matt Schuck and Lindsey Snyder?

The pair are among the first to move into the first of the six projects to open its doors. Both 25 years old, they moved in July from Charlotte , N.C. , and failed at suburban life in New Tampa. So in December, they bought a 1-bedroom, 820-square-foot unit in Grand Central at Kennedy for $265,000, a sum that could have purchased a nice three-bedroom home on a cul de sac.

They moved in three weeks ago and say they're paying for an urban lifestyle, not space. So far, it's not quite what they're looking for. There is one other tenant on their floor, they say, and it's lonely. But they have faith that will change soon.

"We were hoping there would be people moving in just like us so we could make friends," Schuck said. "We're excited. We feel like Tampa is going through a revitalization, and we want to be part of it."

The couple enjoy walking their dog, Simon, on the ninth-floor pool deckand hope dry cleaners, coffee shops and bars will come to the neighborhood. They enjoy riding the trolley to Ybor City and Channelside.

But they do worry about their growing neighborhood. Will there be enough residents living in their tower, or will investors leave units dark and empty? The couple want to enjoy urban life for a few years, then sell their condo and possibly move back to the suburbs.

"It's in the back of our minds," Schuck said.

Just Be Patient, Experts Say

The experts offer hope to Schuck and Snyder. Commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield forecasts 5,000 total residents in the downtown areaby the end of 2008 and 7,500 by the end of 2010.

About 600 people currently live downtown, according to the Tampa Downtown Partnership.

Christine Burdick, president of the partnership, said she's excited to see years of planning start to pay off.

"This is the year that it will really be obvious that things are changing," Burdick said. "We will start to see things happening."

During the recent real estate boom, developers pitched 30 condo projects for the downtown area. With the real estate market slowdown, some developers have canceled projects, are without financing or are still looking for buyers.

Trump Tower Tampa , for example, is stalled. The original developer, which has a licensing agreement to use Donald Trump's name, has had trouble securing financing to move forward on the project. A New York hedge fund is negotiating to provide financing. The project faces $3.3 million in construction liens, and it's unclear when vertical construction could start or when the project would be completed.

Such slowdowns are normal and Tampa is on the right track, said Bill Hudnut, senior fellow at the Urban Land Institute in Washington .

"The problem is people want to seeinstantaneous results," Hudnut said. "It will take 10 years or more to see how it will all come together."

The first residents will need to be patient, Hudnut said. They may have to live without some of the services they moved to the city to be near, but those luxuries will come.

Some condo developers may have a difficult time selling all their units, especially to full-time residents instead of investors, but people will move in over time.

" Florida is growing so much that I have no doubt those condos will fill up," Hudnut said.

Retailers Cautious But Coming

Ken Stoltenberg is a developer with Mercury Advisors, which is working on the second building of Grand Central at Kennedy and is developing The Martin, a 22-story tower at 1115 E. Twiggs St .

The majority of sales at Grand Central have closed on time, he said. Others haven't been able to close, for various reasons. Some are investors who can no longer afford their purchases.Some people can't close because of life changes. One buyer has since died after reserving a condo.

Several blocks south are the twin Towers of Channelside. The first tower is scheduled to open in July, said Michael McGuinness, a partner in the project, and he expects a full house. His company did a random sample of buyers, and everyone reached said they were poised to close on their units. But if some aren't, he said, it could mean more money for the developer.

"On average people have $50,000 down," McGuinness said. "Even in today's market, they probably have another $50,000 in equity. We'll take that if they want to walk away."

The retail space in the towers was sold, and McGuinness said he has been told retailers include a health club, pizza parlor and sushi restaurant.

Many of the condo developers opening buildings this year are selling some of the retail space and leasing the rest. National retailers tend to want to wait for more residents to show up before they take a chance on Tampa , some developers say.

McGuinness said he is so confident of what Tampa will become that he and his wife plan to open a day care center, Carlton Academy Day School , this fall at 205 Brush St .

New downtown resident Schuck said he's happy to wait - as long as he gets to live in the urban environment he's paying for.

"If there is ever a time to live in a place like this, it's now, when you're 25 and single," he said.

Reporter Shannon Behnken can be reached at (813) 259-7804 or sbehnken@tampatrib.com.

Plans change for Punta Gorda development

By DEVONA WALKER

devona.walker@heraldtribune.com
PUNTA GORDA -- The developers behind City Marketplace, the 520,000-square-foot hotel, retail and residential project planned for downtown Punta Gorda, are heading back to the drawing board.

Changing market conditions -- namely the huge slowdown in Southwest Florida 's condominium and residential housing market -- has prompted developers to rethink the design and makeup of the project.

Rather than building the project all at once as originally planned, the massive mixed-use development will now likely be built in phases, said Ron Oskey Jr., head of the Charlotte County Development Corp.

"The market has changed. The concept we had before -- we had to design the whole thing and build it at once," Oskey said. "Now phasing is really important."

The developers might start on the retail component of the project first, waiting out the lull in residential real estate before working on the condos planned for City Marketplace.

Charlotte County Development Corp. also might go for taller -- or shorter -- buildings.

The height variance that had been granted to the developers by the city that allowed for buildings to be two stories higher than originally proposed expired on Sunday.

Depending on what the market demands, Oskey said he would likely be back to the city government for another variance.

The impetus for all the action on City Marketplace is that, on Monday, developers settled a long-standing suit that they had with Bradenton-based Bealls Outlet Inc. for an undisclosed sum.

That cleared the way for them to seek financing.

Punta Gorda's elections in November also might have cleared the way for Oskey to get a smoother ride from city government.

The city has three new council members, all former members of TEAM Punta Gorda who are largely considered pro-business.

"A number of us have been in touch with both Ron Sr. and Ron Jr. and he's shared with us his latest plans," said Harvey Goldberg, Punta Gorda's vice mayor and former government relations liaison to TEAM Punta. "And I think they are on the right track."

Goldberg says they will definitely be working more collaboratively with the business community than the previous council "to help revitalize" Punta Gorda.

"This is a critical sector of our community, and for the health of our community it's important that we work in a collaborative way," Goldberg said.

Other council members are waiting to see more specific about what the Oskeys will propose.

"He lost his height variance on Sunday. Now, he's going back to square one," said Councilwoman Marilyn Smith-Mooney, who was re-elected in November. "I think he's going to try to push it a lot further next time."

Smith-Mooney says she has not seen any updated plans for the project.

"I'm hoping we don't have -- not just on the council but also in the community -- such impatience that we just say, 'Build it,'" Smith-Mooney said. "What is built will be there for many years and we will have to live with it, whatever positive or negative. I hope they won't just say, 'Let him do it,' just to have something built."

Oskey already has invested too much in the project to just throw up his hands and walk away, and the City Council members thus have some leverage upon which to make sure their interests are met.

"He would do what we want and build something that pleases us," Smith-Mooney said. "Or he will sell it."

Oskey had been entangled in a legal dispute with Bealls Outlet Inc. dating back to 2004, shortly after Hurricane Charley destroyed the old Punta Gorda Mall.

Since then, Oskey has been trying to develop the property. He would not say specifically how much it cost to settle the dispute, only that it was about "50-50."

"Because of that, everybody walks away happy," Oskey said. "In the business we're in, you never know, we might just run into them again someday."

Oskey said he is confident now that he can complete the delay-dogged project.

"When you work on something long enough, you know you are going to find a solution if you keep working on it."
Emergency order to restrict flow into drainage districts

By Kimberly Miller

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

A coast-to-coast drought that could drop Lake Okeechobee water levels to record lows had water management administrators asking residents Tuesday to voluntarily reduce watering now before official orders are expected next week.

With no substantial rainfall in sight and Lake Okeechobee just 1.3 feet above the 2001 record low of 8.97 feet above sea level, South Florida Water Management District Executive Director Carol Ann Wehle also said she will sign an emergency order today restricting water flow from the Everglades into local drainage districts.

The move, which she said was necessary in the face of "really difficult times," will dry up canals, ponds and wetlands areas used by western Palm Beach County residents and some municipalities to water plants and lawns.

Less water flowing into the canals and ponds means a greater chance saltwater will seep into the water supply, making it harder and more expensive to treat.

In the worst-case scenario, the district could be required to provide bottled water to residents.

Local wildlife also is expected to be hurt by the restrictions.

"There is no water to give to the drainage districts," Wehle said.

"The well fields could become saltier than they are today and if the water is not replenished, we probably couldn't drink it," she said. "We are doing everything we can to avoid that situation."

Wehle said the current water shortage is the first major drought to affect the entire South Florida region.

"We have not been in a situation where the Kissimmee (River), Lake Okeechobee and water conservation areas have all been in drought conditions at the same time," said Deputy Executive Director Chip Merriam. "We need rain at the right times in the right places. We have a long way to catch up."

The board of the South Florida Water Management District will consider recommendations April 12 to tighten current water restrictions.

If approved, residents of Martin and St. Lucie counties could water their yards only three days a week. Most of Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties would be cut to twice-weekly watering, and Lake Okeechobee areas would be allowed to water only once a week.

Nearly half of all drinking water goes to irrigation, district officials said.

Under the recommendations, which Wehle expects to be approved, city and decorative fountains that don't recycle their water would be shut down.

Car washes could remain open, but residents would be restricted to washing their cars during the same hours they are allowed to water.

Golf courses, which now must prove they have cut their water use by 15 percent, would have to cut by 30 percent.

"They've been reporting to us on a weekly basis their water use," district spokesman Jesus Rodriguez said of the golf courses.

Water managers also opened their Emergency Operations Center full time and have created 15 teams to monitor specific situations such as enforcement and wildlife impact.

Wehle said part of the problem in managing water levels is that weather forecasts have been inaccurate, including less rainfall last summer than was predicted.

"The drought today was not predicted by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), it was not predicted by the National Weather Service or by our own meteorologists," Wehle said. "Mother Nature has a way of doing what Mother Nature is going to do no matter what weathermen predict."

County considers partnering with city

By TONY BRITT tbritt@lakecityreporter.com
Tuesday, April 3, 2007 11:58 PM EDTColumbia County officials are looking at the possibility of obtaining water from the City of Lake City to feed the proposed Ellisville utility.

County officials met for more than two hours Tuesday during a commissioner's workshop. They discussed the proposed Ellisville utility project and a proposed unincorporated area utility.

Commissioners decided to ask city officials if they would be willing to provide the county with a connection to the city's 20-inch water main being fed from its new wellfield that is near Lake City Community College .

“If they give that permission, the county will consider supplying the (proposed) Ellisville utility with water from that source,” said Dale Williams, county manager. “At the same time, the stand-alone wellfield at Ellisville, is being pursued. That way we don't lose any time.”

Commissioners spent close to an hour discussing the proposed Ellisville utility before they asked Scott Reynolds, general manager of the Greater Lake City Regional Utility Authority, to relay their request to city officials.

During the discussion about the proposed Ellisville project, county officials listened and viewed a power point presentation by representatives of Eutaw Utilities, Inc., the consulting firm the county hired to work on its utility facility needs.

Eutaw Utilities, Inc., representatives said the project's engineering phase would be approximately

270 days.

The plan is for the facility to be able to handle water-related needs up to 2029 and beyond with expansion.

The proposed Ellisville utility is being designed to handle water and wastewater needs because in the past, benzene and chloroforms have been found in the Ellisville water supply.

The projected cost of the drinking water component has been listed as $2.1 million, which is coming from the state revolving loan program and legislative

appropriations.

The projected cost of the wastewater project has been listed at $5.4 million, which includes $2.2 million for a collection system and $3.2 million for wastewater treatment and disposal.

For the wastewater project, the funding source has been listed as the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's state revolving loan fund, legislative appropriations and a portion of state revenue sharing entitlement.

Officials hope to have the wellfield at Ellisville completed for water supply purposes by April 2008 and sewer facility requirements there completed by November 2008 or early 2009.

“This is very realistic,” Williams said. “We had already met with the engineers to discuss the delivery dates and everything we disclosed tonight, we believe to be good

information.”

The Ellisville utility system is being designed to service a three-mile radius of the Interstate 75 interchange as its service area.

The distribution of services may increase in the future beyond the theoretical three-mile perimeter if population and business growth dictate a market for the water service. Currently, there is a large undeveloped area at the Ellisville interchange that officials believe may grow once the presence of a utility service is established.

“The intent and idea is to put the utility in and as expansion is necessary in the three miles, then expand,” Williams said.

“We have to expand when we can afford to expand, otherwise we will be subsidizing with general taxpayers' funds and that's a no-no.”

Eutaw Utilities Inc. representatives are scheduled to give another presentation of the Ellisville water and wastewater facilities plan during Thursday's county commission meeting.

Once adopted, those plans will be submitted to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

No relief in sight as region dries up

By JONATHAN ABEL
Published April 4, 2007

Day after day this winter, Gordon Mosteller has watched the water level drop 2 feet in Strawberry and Crystal lakes outside his house in Lutz.

The canal connecting them is bone dry, too.

"Our lake is not a spring-fed lake," he said apologetically. "It depends entirely on rainwater to keep it full."

The rain hasn't come this year, not just to Lutz's lakes. The whole Tampa Bay region is dry, with some parts receiving less than half the normal rainfall.

Forecasters blame a high-pressure system, which diverted the rains normally associated with El Nino and kept southwest Florida largely dry.

Rivers are running below normal, and the forest fire index keeps growing. Water restrictions - which the Southwest Florida Water Management District, also known as Swiftmud, recommended in January - have caused lawns to wilt.

With only a quarter-inch of rain predicted in the next week, the forecast holds no relief for the parched region.

"Keep in mind that we're also going into the dry season," said Nick Petro, a forecaster at the National Weather Service in Ruskin. "It is going to get worse before it gets better."

In South Florida , water management officials ranked this as the third worst dry season on record.

In west central Florida , it is the 15th worst in the last century, according to Granville Kinsman, manager of the district's hydrologic data section.

"We probably need above normal rainfall throughout the summer to make an improvement," Kinsman said. "We are not at the same stage as we were back in the really bad drought in 2001. What I've been telling people is to me the signals look like the year prior to that. Things are getting bad, but we're not really in the heart of it."

So how dry is it? Rain gauges tell part of the story.

In Tarpon Springs, a National Weather Service gauge measured 5.6 inches from November to March, about a third of normal.

A gauge at Tampa International Airport showed just over 4 inches from Jan. 1 through April 1, about half what it should be.

In Tampa , the rainfall shortage is forcing the city to buy water.

The city gets most of its water from a reservoir on the Hillsborough River . But demand is beyond the permitted withdrawal of 80-million gallons a day. Tampa turned to Tampa Bay Water to boost supply.

That's costing the city about $66,000 a day and could top more than $9-million over the dry season, said Sandra Anderson, deputy director of the Tampa Water Department.

No water has flowed over the Hillsborough River dam since October. Last year, water flowed over the dam until March.

The fire danger is up throughout the region, too.

On Tuesday afternoon, a brush fire broke out near the Plant City Municipal Airport in eastern Hillsborough County , burning 5 acres.

Forestry crews and local firefighters were positioned on the perimeter, waiting for it to burn itself out, said Hillsborough Fire Rescue spokesman Ray Yeakley.

With dry conditions and strong winds, "a little fire can become big quickly," Yeakley said, so firefighters take extra precaution this time of year.

Chris Kintner, a spokeswoman for the Division of Forestry, said that without rain the fire danger would go up later this spring when the lightning strikes arrive.

"We expect to have a very serious fire season," she said.

Staff writers Janet Zink, Ben Montgomery and Bill Coats contributed to this report. Jonathan Abel can be reached at "jabel@sptimes.com.

WATER SHORTAGE

Tighten the tap: Record cutbacks coming

As drought conditions persist in South Florida , water managers have called for a new round of emergency cutbacks to take effect late next week.

BY CURTIS MORGAN

cmorgan@MiamiHerald.com

South Florida faces its toughest water cutbacks ever, and brown lawns and wilted flowers could look like minor worries soon.

In the coming days, canals and ponds in western suburbs will drop fast and shallow ones may dry up. In weeks, municipal wells near the coast -- particularly in Broward County -- could pump water too salty to drink. In months, wetlands may wither and Lake Okeechobee could recede to the lowest point since the dike was built around it more than 70 years ago.

That's the dry-as-a-bone scenario regional water managers painted Tuesday as they called for a new round of emergency cutbacks, expected to take effect April 13.

Homeowners in Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe and Palm Beach counties will be restricted to only two days a week of landscape watering instead of the current three. Golf courses, nurseries and other industrial users face a 30 percent reduction, double the current restriction. The supply to sugar growers and other farms around Lake Okeechobee , already watching crops wilt, could be cut nearly in half.

Carol Ann Wehle, executive director of the South Florida Water Management District, said drastic steps were needed to limit long-term effects on everything from wildlife to drinking water.

''This is one of the worst droughts we have ever seen,'' said Wehle, whose agency oversees the water supply from just south of Orlando to Key West .

Unlike in 2001, the last time a drought forced mandatory restrictions on South Florida , the entire lower third of the state is parched. With water literally evaporating from Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades , managers said they have no reserves to tap and little room to maneuver -- other than ordering more cutbacks.

The ramped-up restrictions must be approved by the district's governing board. The board doesn't meet until April 12, but water managers expect support and urged users to start tightening taps now -- beyond the first rules imposed just two weeks ago.

''I don't want to be an alarmist on this,'' said Chip Merriam, district deputy executive director, but ``people need to be concerned. This is the time when conservation is extremely important.''

EMERGENCY MEETINGS

Water managers planned emergency meetings Monday and Tuesday with local drainage districts and major utilities to detail the rapidly deteriorating outlook.

Lake Okeechobee, the region's water barrel, is so low -- at 10.34 feet Tuesday -- that water managers worry whether they can pump enough to meet the anticipated 45 percent reduction to surrounding farms.

If the dry spell continues through June, the traditional start of the rainy season, the lake could plummet a foot below its historic low of 8.97 feet, Wehle said -- a level that could prove devasting to wildlife and the aquatic system as well.

Wehle said she would sign an unprecedented order today to end releases from the water conservation areas into the Everglades, which fringe the suburbs from Palm Beach to Miami-Dade and are sometimes tapped to replenish well fields and groundwater levels.

At the same time, drainage districts and utilities will be asked to keep canals higher along the coast in an effort to create a freshwater ''head'' or barrier to prevent saltwater intrusion, which could exceed the treatment capacity of some water plants.

District maps show Broward wells at risk in Hallandale Beach, Dania Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano, Hillsboro Beach and Deerfield Beach, as well as in Palm Beach County. Miami-Dade is also being asked to shift the bulk of its pumping to western well fields and hold groundwater high along the coast.

The result of shifting the water eastward will be drier western suburbs -- most noticeably in Broward and Palm Beach .

''In some cases, there will be a pretty immediate drop,'' Merriam said -- possibly by several feet, meaning the muddy bottoms of some drainage ditches or ponds may soon be baking in the sun.

ALTERNATIVE SOURCE

The district is seeking a variance from federal environmental regulations to draw more water from the conservation areas, which it received in 2001 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Merriam said that would add only ''a little flexibility'' and a few weeks cushion.

But there are now tougher limits on the Everglades as a resource.

The district coincidentally adopted a rule, in development for a year as part of the $11 billion Everglades restoration effort, to cap withdrawals -- a policy that has forced Miami-Dade, Broward and other counties to invest billions in developing ''alternative sources'' such as treated wastewater.

Water managers and the Corps dumped several feet of excess water from Lake Okeechobee after the record 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons. But the agencies blame the current shortage on nature.

Only 40.75 inches fell across the region in 2006 -- nearly a foot less than normal -- making it the district's sixth-driest year on record. This year has started well below normal as well.

Now it may take record downpours to right things.

''We truly need above-average rainfall this summer to recover from this deficit,'' said Wehle. ``If not, we may be talking about this again next year.''

Year could set record for drought

By TONI WHITT

toni.whitt@heraldtribune.com
The drought that has gripped Florida for more than a year is worsening into one of the most severe in the state's recorded history, draining major rivers and prompting severe water restrictions.

Since 2006 began, 13 fewer inches of rain than normal has fallen in Southwest Florida . With no rain on the horizon, officials say this year could be on track to compare with 2000-2001 as driest on record.

While the winter months are typically dry in Florida , just four inches of rain has fallen in this five-county region since January, about half of normal.

"Hope for rain and for a lot of it this summer," said Granville Kinsman, manager of hydrologic evaluation for the Southwest Florida Water Management District. "If that doesn't happen, we could be seeing levels as bad as they were in 2000 and 2001."

Shortages are so severe across south Florida that this week the Miami area issued an emergency order severely restricting the amount of water the Everglades can supply to nearby areas, meaning residents are likely to have problems with water pressure as surface water levels fall.

In Arcadia , the Peace River , which usually flows at 300 cubic feet per second at this time of year is flowing at one-third its normal rate, at 98 cubic feet per second.

Only a temporary suspension of rules has allowed the water authority to continue pumping water from the Peace River at levels never before allowed or tested.

Without the change, the water authority -- which provides water to Sarasota , DeSoto and Charlotte counties -- would have to further drain the aquifer or find water from other areas. As it is, environmentalists worry the depleted Peace River will take a toll on the state's largest estuary, which the river feeds. Not enough fresh water reaching the estuary could severely upset the ecological balance, killing fish and plants.

The stress on water resources is forcing the Southwest Water Management District to look for new ways to conserve, particularly in fast-growing North Port.

The district has given North Port more than $58,000 to to help residents retrofit their homes with low-flow toilets, showerheads and rain sensors. It is also helping them plan to use reclaimed water for homeowners' irrigation needs.

Without rain soon, it is likely that the Peace River Manasota Water Supply Authority and the Tampa Bay Water Authority will ask for even more stringent water restrictions, said Lois Sorensen, the district's coordinator for water demand.

Such restrictions could include eliminating all nonessential water uses.

Average rainfall last year for this region was at 42 inches, a little less than in 1999, the year that ushered in what hydrologists call Florida 's drought of the century. Average rainfall the following year was just above 37 inches -- prompting water shortages, emergency orders and talk across the state of trucking in water across the state.

In two weeks, Sorensen will again evaluate rainfall, aquifer levels and streamflow, especially for rivers that supply public water, and the drought index to determine whether southwest Florida should be under more stringent conservation measures.

"Whenever there is a drought especially in an area that has been or is experiencing significant growth, that is a concern," Sorensen said "Wholesale suppliers are reviewing contingencies to ensure there is enough potable water."

Lake Jackson erosion controls ready
February storm overwhelmed area's defenses
By Daniela Velazquez
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

The new, green grass on the eastbound ramp of Interstate 10 near Lakeshore Drive isn't for looks - it's for erosion control.

People living near Lake Jackson and I-10 are waiting to see whether new erosion controls will prevent sediment and trash from washing into the lake during the next big storm. Erosion controls failed during a downpour in early February, and dirty stormwater rushed into the lake.

Since the storm, the Florida Department of Transportation has spent $400,000 on erosion prevention, said Tommie Speights, spokesman for DOT District 3. New controls include a stormwater pond, which was under construction during the last big rain, straw bales and rock-filled baskets in the median.

"I wish they had done all this work before that event," said Nancy McGrath, president of Friends of Lake Jackson. "I'm hoping for rain this week. We'll be able to test and see what the results are."

Speights said the area also was sodded, seeded and mulched to prevent erosion.

"We're increasing the measures," he said. "Hopefully we (won't) have another storm like we did."

Commissioner John Dailey said the project needs to be monitored.

"We do need to make sure we do stay on top of it to make sure it doesn't happen again," he said.

I-10 construction in the 1970s caused sediment to pour into the lake. The county later spent millions of dollars to clean it up.

Tallahassee parks to get trail rehab
By Gerald Ensley
DEMOCRAT SENIOR WRITER

Forget the swimming pools and basketball courts and community centers. When surveys ask Americans what they want most in their parks, the No. 1 answer is always good trails for hiking and biking.

"When I'm sitting there listening to this I realize, 'That's what I like in a park, too,' ” said David Chapman, director of the Tallahassee Parks and Recreation Department.

That's why TPRD is renovating the 50 miles of trails in its 61 parks. Last year it redid Lafayette Park trails. Now it's rebuilding San Luis Park trails. Next on the refurbishing list is Myers Park . Eventually all park trails will be redone.

The rehab program is mostly about water. In a less sophisticated era, park trails were blazed up and down hills without much thought about how they fit into the land around them. Over time, rain washed down the trails, creating networks of exposed tree roots, holes and gullies. That created maintenance problems and made it difficult to walk and bike on the trails.

So now park officials are redesigning those trails with the knowledge they've gained. Long downhills are being eliminated. Trails now weave back and forth across a slope so water runs across a trail but doesn't wash it out.

Crushed limestone is used to cover the dirt, replacing the wood chips that are unstable and wash away too easily. Some might raise an eyebrow at what sounds like paved roads in the woods. But crushed rock is more reliable than dirt and better than wood chips. In time, leaves and pine straw will cover the limestone, creating a woodsy look while leaving the trails with solid footing and longer life.

"It's like your house: If you've got wood siding you might want to change to vinyl siding so you don't have to paint it every year," Chapman said.

Of course, when you've been named the best rec department in the nation (2004), you're after more than just lower maintenance costs. Chuck Goodheart, the TPRD specialist who heads up the redesign, wants to create "the best trails in the Southeast. We want people to say, 'We're going to Tallahassee because of the trails.' ''

He's hiring professional trail designers for some parks. He studies "flow and mo," which is how proper trail design can provide good flow and momentum for bikers. He's rebuilding long-neglected exercise stations in Lafayette, San Luis and Myers parks.

He has hired a photographer to illustrate proper use of those exercise stations. He'll combine those photos with redesigned signs - as well as workout programs that can be downloaded to an iPod - so everyone from beginners to advanced exercise buffs can get the most from the trails.

"To have good trails, they have to be sustainable and environmentally sound," Goodheart said. "But they also have to be fun and functional."

Lake Ruby docks debate draws big crowd

By Jessica Levco

News Chief staff

WINTER HAVEN - Some people wore fishing T-shirts and others wore business suits to the Winter Haven Planning Commission meeting Tuesday night, providing a standing-room-only crowd of residents concerned about overnight boat parking on Lake Ruby .

The Planning Commission heard a request from Ruby Lake Development LLC to amend a city ordinance so the company can construct six piers and docks with 35 boat slips on Lake Ruby , located in southeast Winter Haven , south of State Road 540 and north of Thompson Nursery Road .

With the proposed amendment, the developer wanted all 35 boat slips to be used for overnight mooring of boats. Members of the city planning staff recommended that 25 boat slips be used for overnight parking.

Bing Hacker is the senior vice president of community facilities for Lennar Homes, a third-party purchaser of home sites within Traditions of Lake Ruby. Hacker said that two years ago, the city approved all 35 boat slips without any restrictions, meaning all 35 slips could have been used for overnight boat parking.

The issued was revisited during a February Planning Commission meeting because commissioners were trying to develop an ordinance dealing with multiple boat slips. At the February meeting, commissioners voted 5-2 to limit overnight mooring to five slips.

At Tuesday night's meeting, the Planning Commission recommended unanimously that 20 of the 35 boat slips be used for overnight boat parking

The debate between homeowners, the developer and lawyers went on for about two hours before the Planning Commission reached its decision, which will be presented too the Winter Haven City Commission in May.

Two petitions were started about the issue. One petition represented about 70 people from Traditions of Lake Ruby Phase I. They wanted to have all 35 boat slips for overnight use, which they said they were promised by the developer. Another petition was signed by 200 residents from Mallard Point, Lake Ruby Estates and on West Lake Ruby Road . They wanted the overnight slips limited to five.

Planning Commissioner April Spencer asked if the decision would set a precedent for future development on lakes. A city employee said that it would not set a precedent legally, but this response was met by a loud outburst by the audience, with one man yelling, "Are you kidding me?"

Since the ordinance in question was related to a planned unit development, the city planning staff said future issues would be developed on a case-by-case basis.

Hacker said he was not pleased, calling the Planning Commission's decision "unfortunate."

John Bader, who represents residents on lakes Ruby and Bess, said the Planning Commission's decision could have been worse. He said he was glad the commissioners didn't approve the developer's request for 35 overnight boat slips.

"I still feel like it's an incorrect decision," Bader said. "We're going back to the City Commission and asking them not to take the recommendation of the Planning Commission. We wanted them to go back to their original decision of having five overnight boat slips."

jessica.levco@newschief.com

Developer To Control MacDill Housing

By WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE
St. Petersburg Times

TAMPA - Staff Sgt. Randy Redman won't complain about his family's housing at MacDill Air Force Base. It's got a great view of Hillsborough Bay . And he can't beat the three-minute commute to work.

Still, it's typical, no-frills military fare: plain, unexciting, old.

But a makeover is afoot.

MacDill is joining a quiet revolution that over the past decade has transformed life on military bases as the government turns over most of its family housing - nearly 200,000 units nationally by the end of next year - to private developers. They rebuild or rehabilitate most of it, serving as owner and landlord for the next half-century.

The military says the private sector, driven by the old-fashioned profit motive, can do what Uncle Sam can't: quickly replace antiquated housing and maintain it better than the government.

Supporters see the effort as a vitally important way to retain personnel in wartime.

"If you're happy at home, then you're probably happy at the job," said Redman, 32, who lives with his wife and two children in an apartment of 1960s vintage.

Privatization has attracted surprisingly little criticism around the nation, given the usual storm surrounding such plans. Early fears that developers wouldn't maintain housing or might erode the close-knit sense of community in military neighborhoods by renting to outsiders haven't been realized, some say.

"When they first started privatizing, I think there was a good deal more skepticism among military families than we see now," said Michelle Joyner, a spokeswoman for the National Military Family Association in Alexandria, Va. "The quality of the housing has really been extraordinary."

The Air Force says it intends to award MacDill's privatization project to Clark Realty, a Bethesda , Md. , developer, which will demolish 512 homes and build 331 new units. Another 240 homes built by the military in recent years require no work. Once final contract details are worked out, probably by July, demolition may begin several months afterward.

It could take as long as six years for all work to be completed. The project, officials say, is paid for entirely by Clark , which declined to comment.

The 571 homes will be owned by Clark under a 50-year lease, with military personnel paying their housing allowances to the developer.

"We own a lot of bad housing" around the country, said Lisa Tychsen, a senior analyst at the Defense Department office overseeing privatization. The department has "traditionally underfunded housing maintenance. The money's stolen for a new tarmac or a new tank. So housing's gotten the short end of the stick."

Old, poor housing has long plagued the military. The oldest housing at MacDill, for instance, dates to 1941, and some other base housing dating to the 1950s and 1960s stands abandoned, awaiting demolition.

In 2001, five years after Congress enacted privatization, the Pentagon estimated that nearly two-thirds of all military housing needed to be replaced.

"Sustaining the quality of life of our people is crucial to recruitment, retention, readiness and morale," Philip Grone, a deputy undersecretary of defense, told Congress last month in a report on privatization efforts.

One Pentagon study found that retention rates for recruits at bases with higher-quality housing are 15 percent higher.

Grone said that 71 projects had been awarded nationally with a total private-sector investment of more than $20-billion.

Defense officials say it would have taken the government 30 years to do the work itself under existing budgetary constraints.

A few critics have worried that developers may have incentives to skimp on repairs, especially if occupancy goals aren't met and revenue slides.