n aide to Putnam, chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, said he expects renewed debate about offshore drilling proposals that some Florida Republicans have already supported.

Energy producers also are under fire and could lose billions in drilling incentives that Congress gave them in the 2005 energy bill, but they still see positives. Thomas Moskitis, lobbyist for the American Gas Association, said natural gas producers are jostling for position in a debate that is enveloping all aspects of energy production and use, from windmills to nuclear reactors.

"This is a renewed push . . . We don't want natural gas to be left out of the mix," he said.

Rep. John Mica, a Republican from Winter Park, until last year was the lone Florida lawmaker who supported natural gas production in the eastern Gulf.

"I've gained a lot of allies and I think I'll gain even more," he said. "If people are getting sticker shock at the pump, they're going to be absolutely petrified when they see their electric bills this summer."

Born To Be Wild

By GEOFF FOX gfox@tampatrib.com

Published: Apr 30, 2006

While most Pasco County residents probably know not to feed alligators or taunt snakes, many new residents are from places where gators are only seen on television and venomous reptiles are as common as a warm winter day.

Between 2000 and 2004, Pasco had an average net population growth of 15,934 new residents a year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Most new residents in the county are from Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, but many newcomers are from as far as New York, Ohio and other northern states.

The area's unique wildlife is fascinating to many transplanted Northerners, but some might not realize they should be mindful of unseen creatures, even while doing routine activities such as yard work or walking a dog.

Although most snake bites aren't fatal and alligators rarely attack humans, experts say it's important for people to realize that snakes and alcohol don't mix, nor do people and alligators.

Kenneth Krysko, a snake specialist with the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, said more than 90 percent of venomous snake bites are to "intoxicated males" and that most snake bites are a result of people trying to harm a snake.

"You don't try to bash it over the head. That's when people get bitten," Krysko said. "But you always hear about the stupid drunk guy who wanted to kill the snake."

According to Krysko, 90 percent of Florida's snakes are harmless to people. The most common snake around the county is the black racer, which eats birds, lizards, rodents and other creatures, but is harmless to humans.

The state's venomous snakes include copperheads, Eastern diamondbacks, pygmy rattlesnakes, coral snakes and water moccasins, also known as cottonmouths or vipers.

The best thing to do if you see a snake is to leave it alone - even if you don't think it's venomous, Krysko said. If you get bitten by a poisonous snake you should immediately call 911. A venomous snake bite will burn.

It's very important to know what kind of snake it was," Krysko said. "There are different kinds of antivenin; there's one type for a viper and another kind for a coral snake. If you can't give a description, they'll figure it out based on your symptoms.

"A viper's bite will digest any flesh that's there. A coral snake [bite] can affect your whole nervous system. You'll have a hard time breathing.

"It's hard to say which one you'd rather get bitten by. I'd say none of them."

An Undeserved Reputation

According to Mike Fagan, owner of Alligator Trading Company and Fagan Alligator Products in Dade City, alligators have a bad reputation they don't deserve.

Like most animals, he said, alligators will probably leave you alone if you leave them alone. Nuisance alligators should be reported to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.

"The likelihood of running up against an aggressive gator is very, very slim, especially if you're in a boat," said Fagan, who has been trapping alligators for 28 years. "I'm not saying it hasn't happened, but they're not likely to attack boats.

"If there's a dog in the boat or something they're after, that's a different story."

It could also be a different story when you're walking near a body of water with a small animal or child.

"If somebody's going to walk a pet on the shoreline they need to understand that if there's an alligator there, the dog is like an ice cream cone," Fagan said. "The reason not many adults are attacked is because you're intimidating. A small child or pet is more likely to be attacked."

He said it is probably safe to swim in vegetation-free lakes and ponds because alligators like to hide in heavy grass.

They don't typically lurk in uncovered shallow water, but if an alligator is seen in a swimming area, it's best to stay out of the water.

Don't Feed Them

According to Fagan, 99 percent of alligators are more afraid of you than you are of them. But an alligator's fear of humans subsides when people feed them, which is illegal.

And if an alligator loses its fear of humans - "You're basically part of the food chain," he said.

Fagan has seen cases where people staying at a resort will throw food outside for alligators. The next people who stay in the room will sometimes leave a door open and a gator will come in looking for food.

Over the years, Fagan said he has removed the reptiles from shower stalls, beneath cars, and under beds and coffee tables.

What is commonly referred to as alligators' "mating season" typically begins at the end of April. Alligators build nests about 50 feet from water and can tend the nests into August.

If you're walking near water and an alligator approaches you or rolls at you, you're probably near its nest.

"They'll blow at you, run toward you, open their mouths and make a real loud hiss," Fagan said.

But that doesn't necessarily make it a nuisance.

Trappers affiliated with the Fish & Wildlife commission make that determination.

"We don't take every gator we get a call about," said Gary Morse, a spokesman with the Fish & Wildlife commission. "People unfamiliar with gators will get nervous about one sitting there being an alligator and call us.

"A lot of people have recently moved to the state or are from high-density coastal areas, and all of a sudden they're in the middle of gator country."

Admire From Afar

Of course, there's more to Florida wildlife than snakes and alligators.

There are bobcats, gopher tortoises, sandhill cranes, bats, raccoons, squirrels, black bears, opossums and other animals, including an array of aquatic life.

Morse says it's best to admire them all from afar.

Yes, even the sandhill cranes.

"For Christ's sake, don't feed the sandhill cranes," he said. "Feeding is the No. 1 cause of nuisance problems. Feeding an animal can cause us to have to euthanize it because it creates a nuisance in the neighborhood and a threat to people.

"Once animals associate people with feeding, that's when the nuisance starts."

In Florida, it's almost as common to see someone helping a gopher tortoise across a road as it is to see a gopher tortoise. Helping tortoises across the road is OK, Morse said, but people should stop there.

The indiscriminate relocation of gopher tortoises can result in "diseased tortoises wiping out entire colonies of other tortoises on state land where they're supposed to be protected," Morse said.

"Most people don't understand the consequences of what they're doing. They don't understand animal diseases or behavior. If anyone ever has a question they should give us a call."

WANT TO LEARN MORE? Information about alligators, snakes and other Florida wildlife, as well as information about wildlife trappers, can be found on the FWC's Web site at www.myfwc.com . Clicking on "Ask FWC" can facilitate your search.

Wild Creatures

TIMBER RATTLESNAKES

These heavy-bodied creatures, also called canebrake rattlesnakes, are rare south of Alachua and Dixie counties. They prefer damp areas. Once common, they have been the target of roundups and skin shops. Adults are 36 to 60 inches.

WATER MOCCASINS

They love wetlands and waterways, including ditches and retention ponds. When their mouths open to bite, the white interior is exposed, giving rise to their other name, cottonmouth. Adults are 20 to 48 inches.

SOUTHERN COPPERHEADS

They prefer wet habitats and haven't been documented in the wild in Central or Southern Florida. Their painful bite can kill children and the elderly, but it is rarely life-threatening to healthy adults. Adults are 22 to 36 inches.

DUSKY PYGMY RATTLESNAKES

They live in pine flat woods, prairies, and near lakes, ponds and cypress swamps. Small, thick-bodied and aggressive, they have a painful bite that is seldom fatal but can result in the loss of a finger or toe. Adults are 12 to 24 inches.

EASTERN DIAMONDBACK RATTLESNAKES

Their bodies are thick, with diamonds on the back and loud rattles. They prefer pine flat woods, longleaf pines, turkey oaks and sand pine scrub areas with palmetto thickets. They pack a deadly wallop. Adults are 36 to 72 inches.

EASTERN CORAL SNAKES

These are differentiated from similar snakes by narrow yellow rings separating fatter red and black ones: "If red touches yellow, it can kill a fellow." They live in various habitats, and their bite is serious. Adults are 20 to 30 inches.

Agreement Worked Out For Cracked Main Road

By JULIA FERRANTE jferrante@tampatrib.com

Published: Apr 30, 2006

WESLEY CHAPEL - County officials and the developers of Lexington Oaks have worked out an agreement to pay for an estimated $900,000 in repairs to the community's main road.

Pulte Homes will pay $750,000, and the county will pay $150,000, to fix cracks and improve the base of Lexington Oaks Boulevard, County Administrator John Gallagher said at a meeting Tuesday in New Port Richey.

County commissioners were enthusiastic about the deal.

"That's a pretty good split," Commissioner Ted Schrader said.

Commissioner Pat Mulieri, who represents Wesley Chapel, credited residents and county staff for putting pressure on the developer to make the fixes. Pulte estimates the repairs will cost about $840,000, but Engineering Services Director Jim Widman has said the cost likely will be closer to $900,000.

Lexington Oaks Boulevard was supposed to last 20 years, but residents began to notice flaws just a few years after it was built. The road was accepted into the county's jurisdiction in 2001, which is why Pasco officials are contributing to the repairs.

Repairs will be made to a mile stretch of Lexington Oaks Boulevard, which runs through the 1,509-home community between Wesley Chapel Boulevard (County Road 54) and the community clubhouse.

Residents have been asking Pulte to fix Lexington Oaks Boulevard for about three years. County engineers toured the road last April. Pulte late last year hired a consultant, Mortensen Engineering Inc., to test the road for possible defects. Holes were drilled, and soil samples were analyzed to determine whether the base contained moisture, clay or other soft material. The tests showed that the 8-year-old road has become pitted and pocked because of flaws in the base and the drains beneath it.

Pulte finished building Lexington Oaks in 2004. Widman has said clogged drains and an insufficient road base appear to have trapped water under the road, causing it to deteriorate. The drains and the sprinkler system now must be replaced, and the road must be torn up and repaved.

Cass Peters, president of the Lexington Oaks Homeowners Association, said she was pleased an agreement has been reached, and that the residents do not have to contribute to the cost.

"I think it's wonderful," she said. "Pat Mulieri has worked very hard on this, and I appreciate Pulte stepping up to the plate and agreeing to take care of it. Now I am just waiting to see when that wonderful thing will happen."

Developer Asks City To Annex 1,009-Acre Site

By DAVE NICHOLSON dnicholson@tampatrib.com

Published: Apr 29, 2006

PLANT CITY - The city continues to show no signs of a housing slowdown.

A Tampa company is the latest to file plans for a big development, requesting the largest annexation in recent city history.

Cone & Graham Inc. is asking the city to annex 1,009 acres generally south of Knights Griffin Road and west of Charlie Taylor Road. The property is targeted for single-family homes and town houses, along with some commercial.

"We're very, very preliminary," said Phil Waldron, of Waldron Consulting Services.

The project would have about 2,500 single-family and town homes. The amount of commercial space hasn't been determined.

The land is mostly in pasture, Waldron said Tuesday.

It is the largest annexation in at least 20 years and dwarfs the most recent large annexation of about 375 acres for Eagle's Crest, a gated, 618-home community near Knights Griffin Road and State Road 39.

Waldron didn't have a date for when building might start on the 1,009 acres, but he said annexation, permitting and other government hurdles would take months.

Waldron, a retired city manager, said a lot of details, such as the name of the development, haven't been set.

If the project moves forward, the development would rival the size of Walden Lake, Plant City's largest subdivision. It has about 2,300 homes. Lakeside Station, a development proposed for 1,300 acres on the east side of Park Road, would have about 2,600 homes.

The annexation would add to a building boom looming for the city, where more than 7,000 homes have been approved and have yet to be built.

Much of the latest growth is proposed north of Interstate 4. Traditionally, development in Plant City has taken place south of the interstate.

The changing growth pattern has prompted the city to consider opening a new fire station north of I-4.

County Rejects Proposal Along Little Manatee

By LIZ BLEAU lbleau@tampatrib.com

Published: Apr 27, 2006

RUSKIN - Environmentalists and a colony of gopher tortoises won a victory Tuesday when the county rejected a rezoning for a spit of land along the Little Manatee River.

SWW Inc.'s plans to build 25 homes on about 15 acres had been approved by the planning commission and planning and growth management staffs.

Representatives of the developer said they were willing to move the colony of about 15 gopher tortoises to another habitat.

But after residents and environmental activists paraded before commissioners arguing in favor of preserving the land, commissioners denied the rezoning with little discussion. The vote was 5-2, with Commissioners Ken Hagan and Mark Sharpe voting in support of the rezoning.

Commissioner Kathy Castor, in making her motion to deny the project, said the land along the Little Manatee River deserves extra protection, and the county should discourage development in the "coastal high-hazard areas," where homes and people are threatened in bad weather.

Bob Curtis, a partner in SWW Inc., said the developer was disappointed by the commission vote.

"We worked very hard with the county and staff to come up with a plan," he said. Curtis said SWW has not decided whether to appeal or redraft the proposal.

A contingent of about 30 people against the project repeated objections they voiced at the zoning hearing in March.

Mariella Smith, head of the south county chapter of the Sierra Club, said the developer's plans to replace trees destroyed to make way for homes was a violation of county policies that prohibit tree removal within 100 feet of the river.

The plan was unacceptable, Smith said, because mature trees measuring 24 inches in diameter would be replaced with 4-inch saplings, or "two two-inch twigs."

"If the new trees do not survive, there is no plan for replacing them. The trees are the only thing holding this spit of sand together. If the trees are removed and die, the spit will be washed away," she said.

The area along the river is pristine habitat, and the islands and fingers of land that stretch into the Little Manatee are "part of the furniture of the river. If you allow this development, it will ruin this spit and allow other spits to be urbanized. It would be like building homes in the middle of the Grand Canyon," Smith said.

Smith said opposition from all over the county helped defeat the proposal.

"I think the fact commissioners could see that people all over the county care about the Little Manatee River and see it as a regional resource was helpful," she said.

Opponents also said there is no land available in the county to relocate the tortoises, and their habitat should be preserved.

Glenn Wright, of Sun City Center, said he opposed the project because of public safety concerns.

"We are going to have increased property destruction and increased deaths because people can't get out of this area in a storm. There is a good possibility that some of these people will die when the big one comes through Tampa Bay," he said.

"Just because something can be done doesn't mean it should be done," Wright said.

Ruskin resident Wade Clark said the county should buy and protect the land.

Clark also said he was surprised the commission denied the rezoning so quickly with so little discussion. "Normally, there's 30 minutes of questions and discussion," he said.

Commissioner Jim Norman seconded Castor's motion but did not comment. Commissioner Ronda Storms said she was concerned about building a residential development where damage was imminent in the event of a hurricane.

Developer: Rules limit old flavor

Builder Gail Oakes says she wants better riverfront views and more green space at the revamped Homosassa Riverside Resort.

By BARBARA BEHRENDT, Times Staff Writer
Published April 30, 2006

HOMOSASSA - A few years ago, when Gail Oakes and her business partners first started talking to residents and local bankers about their big plans to modernize and upgrade their Homosassa Riverside Resort, they heard plenty of pessimism.

The riverfront hotel wasn't what it used to be. She should have seen it in its heyday. She'd never be able to realize a profit on that old place.

But when Oakes talked to bankers outside the county who had seen the property, they saw what she did: a resort that had seen better days, but had even better days yet to come.

With the potential foremost in her mind, about four years ago Oakes began to fix up the riverside motel buildings one by one. She converted those small, outdated rooms into modern suites complete with river views from new balconies. Each would be sold to another investor so she could afford to start the next.

The plan was to move through the entire site that way. But at one point, when Oakes was preparing to seek a permit for the next phase of the work, which involved bulldozing other portions of the resort complex to build more motel suites, county officials suggested that she go through a special approval process that would address her entire site.

Through this planned development overlay approval process, as it is called, Oakes is proposing constructing 72 motel suites in four buildings that have three floors of living space above parking, and 12 standard hotel rooms with two living floors above retail space.

Not everyone favors the plan.

Some residents spoke out against it at a recent meeting of the Planning and Development Review Board. They said it doesn't meet the newly approved building restrictions for old Homosassa.

The problem is that at about the same time Oakes was beginning the approval process for her project through the county, county officials were also wrapping up the approval process for the Old Homosassa Redevelopment Area Plan. That plan only allows buildings in a commercial project to be two stories over parking.

Oakes was shocked.

She had served on the steering committee that had drafted those new development rules, and she said the height restriction came about late in the process, at a meeting where no commercial representatives were present.

Oakes argues that she has designed several features into her project that should mitigate the issue. Because she is building the suites with three living stories, she can provide more green space and not cover as much of the ground with concrete. She also will provide new public access to the water by constructing a boardwalk.

County staff presented the plan to the planning board with two options. One was to allow the three stories over parking with more green space and the second was to be two stories over parking with less green space. The planning board voted 3 to 1 to go with the plan as Oakes had pitched it.

The County Commission is set to discuss the project in a workshop May 23, with a final public hearing scheduled for July 11.

The resort is the larger of two commercial properties affected by the old Homosassa redevelopment district rules. But Oakes had begun her project before those rules were adopted, according to Chuck Dixon, the county's director of community development.

Still, the staff's job is to be sure the planning board and county commissioners know how existing rules fit with proposed projects.

"You have to consider the intent of the overlay district," Dixon said. "The intent was to produce an end product which is compatible with the area and will aesthetically fit with the area."

Oakes said she has tried hard to do that. She pointed to renderings of the buildings, which pull directly from the redevelopment plan using architectural elements and materials reminiscent of the styles of the old fishing village.

If approved, the project will vastly change the property.

Late last week she walked the property, showing off the converted suite rooms and indicating how much of the site would change.

In walking down the main road into the resort, the road that leads visitors back to the popular Riverside Crab House Restaurant, Oakes indicated that everything to the left on the river side of the road would remain. But the offices, retail spaces and rooms to the right of the road would be razed for the new multistory motel suites.

"I'm trying to give them the view. I'm trying to give them green space. I'm trying to give them the aesthetics and pull it back off the water," she said.

Oakes also said it would provide much-needed additional hotel rooms to old Homosassa.

She said she doesn't understand why the number of stories in the motel suites has become such an issue. Under the current codes, she said, she could actually build buildings another 6 or 7 feet taller if she just made them two stories rather than three. But less living space would mean spreading them out further, eating up the green space she is eager to provide.

The plan also reduces the amount of retail space on the resort property from the current 6,957 to 3,600 square feet.

Oakes said she is stung by opposition to the project.

As she showed off the resort and talked about the plans, she told stories about meeting old-timers who have shared some of the site's colorful history with her.

Oakes talked about how she and her husband and business partner, Phil Oakes, appreciated the uniqueness of the community that had drawn them to become owners of the resort in 1998. She talked about how they used to deliver their son to school on their boat with her husband lifting the boy up over the back fence of the school from the canal that runs behind it.

Standing by the old boat docking area set for demolition, she talked about the man who brought in the crabs for the restaurant as a blue heron stalked around looking for a snack.

Oakes said she has no intention of damaging the close-knit Homosassa community that has become her home.

"I love it here," she said.

Barbara Behrendt can be reached at 564-3621 or behrendt@sptimes.com

Together Now: Facing Takeover, Naturist Park Residents Find Unity

By CHRISTIAN M. WADE cwade@tampatrib.com

Published: Apr 30, 2006

HUDSON - As the four-wheeler winds down a dirt road, flanked by bamboo trees and moss-draped oaks, Mike Thompson points past a rusty chain-link fence to a wood house with plastic sheeting covering the windows.

A faded sign nailed to the front door warns passers-by: NO TRESPASSING!

"There was a registered sex offender living there until a few months ago," he says. "We caught him standing over in the bushes watching children and had him arrested."

And over there, Thompson says, pointing to a ramshackle double-wide mobile home. "That's where the drug dealers lived. We ran them out, too."

The ATV lumbers past the dilapidated clubhouse where, back in the day, nudists from across the country basked in the Florida sun.

Past the piles of rubbish. Past the junked RV on concrete blocks.

"This place used to be a mecca," says Ray Cotton, 61, a retired state corrections officer, former Marine sergeant and a nudist, who has lived here nearly a decade.

Florida Naturist Park, a 120-acre nudist colony in western Pasco County founded nearly a half century ago by white segregationists, has been in decline for years.

Most of the nudists who settled here in the early days have moved away, including the Gulvin family, founders of the Naturist Religious Society.

But some newer residents - a mix of nudists and non-nudists, retirees and recluses - are trying to reclaim at least part of the park's past glory.

Amid a tangle of legal challenges to converting the community into an all-encompassing Christian nudist resort, they're tearing down condemned houses, towing away derelict cars, clearing overgrown fields and getting rid of trespassers and criminals.

In the process, they're getting to know one another.

"We're building a community," Thompson says. "A place we can be proud of."

Left Without A Leader

Few park residents remember when Ward and Dorothy Gulvin settled in this sprawling corner of Old Florida between State Road 52 and the Hernando County line, establishing what became one of Pasco's first nudist communities.

It was 1959. State-sponsored segregation slowly was giving way to civil rights as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and others marched and dreamed of a colorblind society.

Ward Gulvin, who vehemently opposed integration, wanted to create a religious haven for like-minded nudists seeking escape from a rapidly changing world.

He argued that his brand of Christianity was exempt from federal civil rights laws because practicing social nudism - and worshipping nature - was a protected religious right. Nudism was still taboo and, when mixed with religion, heretical.

To buy property in Gulvin's park, you had to be a nudist, and you had to be white.

"Membership in the Florida Naturist Park is denied to Negroes and black people, not so much because of color, but because of their attempts to force themselves unwanted on others, thereby depriving others of their rights," one of the original deeds reads.

At a nondenominational church in the park, the faithful shed their clothes, sang hymns and said prayers.

When Gulvin died in 1994, at age 90, he left his flock little, if any, guidance.

Without a leader, the settlement of sandy trails, hand-painted wooden street signs and mobile homes fell into disrepair. Tall grass swallowed pristine fields, roads became impassable, and the three small lakes dried up, collecting decaying garbage.

Meanwhile, drug dealers set up meth labs. Squatters took over abandoned and burned-out buildings. Teenagers sullied the woods with trash and broken beer bottles. Convicted sex offenders moved in without being monitored.

"It'd been neglected for so many years," Cotton says. "Nobody seemed to care."

Residents Say No To Natura

The park also became vulnerable to commercial developers eager to subdivide.

The land where the Gulvins raised seven children had become increasingly desirable as property values skyrocketed.

Pasco has the highest concentration of nudist colonies in the nation, earning a worldwide reputation as one of the few "nudist-friendly" counties.

All of that attracted Bill Martin, a Venice-based Quaker, nudist and developer.

For the past three years, Martin has been behind an effort to convert the park and the vacant 115 acres surrounding it into a family-oriented, Christian nudist resort.

His nonprofit Continuing Care Inc. bought several small park plots from the Gulvin heirs with plans to acquire several more.

The park, to be called Natura, would include a nondenominational church, 500 houses, condominiums, a hotel, clubhouse, restaurant and children's water park.

"At Natura you [will] be able to freely raise your children to feel good about their bodies and themselves," promises an advertisement on Martin's members-only Web site, naturist-christians.org. "At Natura, you and your family can feel more connected, whole and free."

But shortly after acquiring several tracts, Martin imposed new rules, including "mandatory social nudism," and hefty membership and maintenance fees. Then he posted a security guard at the park entrance and forced residents to sign in and out.

Infuriated, they staged two protests against Martin and his group and posted dozens of homemade signs on fences surrounding the park: "No Natura. Bill Martin, Keep Out."

Most of the approximately 70 residents own their property and say the original deeds granted community membership upon purchasing a plot.

"They have no right to come in here and tell us how to live," said Bonnie Clauson, a park resident for several years. "This is our community."

The dispute moved from the neighborhood to the courtroom as residents and the Gulvins sued Martin and Continuing Care.

Several lawsuits have been settled. Others remain in litigation, leaving open the question of exactly who owns management rights to the park.

Martin expects to see Natura built: "It's going to take time, but we're confident that we will prevail."

Residents see Continuing Care as a religious cult that is trying to drive them out.

Daniel Bellows, who sits on the organization's board of directors, says that isn't so.

"This isn't a cult. We're not out to ruin anyone's lives."

A Fractured Community Reborn

In the decade or so of living in Florida Naturist Park, the Cottons rarely spoke to their neighbors.

There would be obligatory exchanges in passing, halfhearted waves and disinterested smiles. Mostly, these were gestures not of kinship, but of familiarity.

That was before opposition to Natura galvanized residents to start revitalizing their park.

"We decided that we couldn't wait around for someone to come in here and clean it up," Cotton says.

Now they're organizing weekend work parties while reaching out to other nudist communities in the county.

Last month, they pooled money to buy a tractor and lawn mower and began clearing common grounds.

And they've opened communications with the Pasco County Sheriff's Office and county code enforcement.

"The community is becoming a community," Thompson says. "Bill Martin brought us all together, against him, but in the process we're getting to know one another."

Residents are discussing starting a homeowners' association and collecting fees for maintenance and beautification projects, Cotton says.

There's even talk of rebuilding the old clubhouse and indoor pool.

"We've got a lot of work to do here," Thompson says as the ATV lumbers on, past a rusting 1940s Hudson coupe with grass sprouting from the hood.

But he knows everything will be different from now on.

A wave won't be just a wave.

A smile will be more than an empty gesture.

This is a community now.

Pinellas Re-Examines Evacuation Lists

By STEVEN ISBITTS sisbitts@tampatrib.com

Published: Apr 30, 2006

CLEARWATER - The owners of about 27,000 Pinellas County land parcels will learn their property is in more or less danger than they knew.

The county issued new evacuation zone status for those properties after emergency management officials analyzed storm-surge models.

A majority of the changed zones will drop one or more levels to a designation of greater risk, said Betty Johnson, a planner for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council.

County Web sites have not been updated with the data. Officials expect to update public databases and publicize the changes within four weeks, said Gary Vickers, director of Pinellas emergency management.

The zone changes were prompted by enhanced county computer technology that interprets storm-surge risk based on models from the National Hurricane Center.

The models aren't new, Johnson said, but technology now reveals a more refined look at storm-surge risk from within an individual parcel.

"We're looking at the topography at a higher resolution than ever before," Johnson said. "We can analyze within the parcel. Now, if 20 percent of a parcel is at a particular storm-surge level, then the whole parcel is assigned that level of greatest risk."

Evacuation zones range from A through E. Residents living at addresses in level A are the first ordered to evacuate when a hurricane threatens the area.

Last year was the first time the county could determine evacuation zones based on a parcel-by-parcel analysis. The result was more than 100,000 zone changes that prompted tens of thousands of hits daily to county Web sites and an unprecedented barrage of phone calls to county offices.

"There was some sticker shock," Vickers said. "It won't be as bad this year, but we're expecting and encouraging a great response."

The county probably will mail letters to the affected addresses, Vickers said, and new hurricane evacuation zone maps distributed in May will include the new data.

The accuracy of evacuation zones is especially critical in densely populated Pinellas County, Johnson said.

A couple of blocks can equal a couple of thousand people," Johnson said. "Accurate zones can help make sure the right people evacuate, or make sure the right people stay home and keep roads clear for those who must go."

Evacuation zone changes do not affect flood insurance rates.

Rates are based on the Federal Emergency Management Agency maps, Vickers said.

Agency Disputes Cited For Everglades Delay

The Associated Press

Published: Apr 30, 2006

WEST PALM BEACH - A project to replenish water for marshes and prairies in Everglades National Park has mushroomed in cost and suffered delays because of government indecision and inability to communicate, a federal audit has concluded.

The cost of the Modified Water Deliveries Project has risen from $81 million in 1989 to nearly $400 million, Interior Department Inspector General Earl Devaney found. The project, a predecessor and key component of the broader state-federal Everglades restoration plan, may not be finished until 2009 or later.

"Since its inception, the project has been subject to significant delays and escalating costs," Devaney said in the audit released last week.

A key reason is the inability of Interior component agencies such as the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service to agree on "fundamental planning and design issues" for water control and water depth.

No method exists to resolve these disputes quickly, and there also are difficulties in communicating with outside groups and other agencies, such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, American Indian tribes and Florida state agencies, the audit found.

This has led to disputes that wound up in court fights.

The Interior Department's senior Everglades policy adviser, Terrence "Rock" Salt, said the agency already has addressed many of the problems raised by the audit.

Pipeline to cost $9-million with lots of digging

By ANDREW MEACHAM
Published April 28, 2006

A proposed water pipeline could add 19-million gallons a day to eastern Hillsborough's drinking water supply.

It will also tear up the ground beside roadways.

If approved by the region's water utility, the Southwest Florida Water Management District, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Hillsborough County Commission, the 4-mile pipeline will cost Tampa Bay Water about $9-million.

Work on the pipeline would begin late in 2007 and last until early 2009.

Laying pipe through Valrico, Brandon and Seffner will disrupt neighborhoods, Tampa Bay Water officials say.

That's why the utility scheduled a meeting last Thursday at Seffner Elementary to solicit reactions from neighbors.

"We've heard the concerns, and we want to keep residents informed," said Mandi Rice, the pipeline's project manager.

Crews will move one block at a time, Rice said, and stay in each location for about a week. Contractors will cover up their work before moving on to the next block.

Most of the pipe will be buried beside roads in Hillsborough County's right of way. At times, workers may also route the pipe beneath streets to avoid trees or utility poles.

"Citizens will be concerned with impact to traffic, whether they will be able to get in and out of their driveway, how their sidewalks will be affected," said Tampa Bay Water spokeswoman Michelle Robinson.

The pipeline would lie about 3 feet below ground starting at a collection of wells at W Wheeler Road at Lenna Avenue. It would head east to Seffner Valrico Road, then jigsaw to the south and west before ending at Lithia-Pinecrest Road.

When completed, it will link well fields that supply water to eastern Hillsborough County with the regional water supply system. The project should improve water quality and pressure, officials say.

Connecting well fields in Brandon and Lithia to the regional system adds up to 19-million gallons a day to the water supply, Robinson said. She predicted that residents will see the long term benefits.

"Folks tend to understand that a pipeline is a temporary inconvenience," Robinson said.

Andrew Meacham can be reached at 661-2431 or ameacham@sptimes.com.

Project Carries Water

By YVETTE C. HAMMETT yhammett@tampatrib.com

Published: Apr 27, 2006

BRANDON - A construction project set for later this year will bring 19 million more gallons of drinking water per day to eastern and southern Hillsborough County.

But before the water starts flowing, area residents will have to put up with periodic construction delays along several neighborhood roads.

"It's in an urban area, so there will be some inconveniences, but we worked with the county road department ... and they agree this is a good route," said Mandi Rice, project manager for Tampa Bay Water.

The regional water supplier will hold an open house and public meeting on the project tonight beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Seffner Elementary School, 109 Cactus Road.

The 4-mile pipeline will carry water from the Brandon Urban Dispersed Wells to a central location for treatment before it is delivered to the Lithia Water Treatment Plant.

The $9 million pipeline project will be built from Wheeler and Lenna roads east to Seffner-Valrico Road, south on Seffner-Valrico to East Clay Avenue, west to Oakwood Avenue and south under the railroad tracks to a Tampa Bay Water treatment facility.

Tampa Bay Water spokeswoman Michelle Klase Robinson said the project is scheduled to get under way late this year.

Where possible, the line will run between the road and the sidewalk in county right of way, Rice said. In some places, it will be buried under road pavement, and traffic will have to be diverted.

"There will be some temporary inconvenience, but there will be a big long-term benefit for the entire area," Rice said.

"We will be required to maintain traffic flow through the project," she said. At times, traffic will be limited to one lane, but no area should be affected for long, Rice said.

"We will be able to move fairly quickly through neighborhoods, so the impacts will be short," Rice said. The project will be done in segments, she said, and roads will be restored before workers start building new segments.

Residents and businesses will be notified before workers move into their area so they can plan accordingly, Rice said. There also will be an on-site contact during construction to address concerns and questions raised by residents and business owners.

The pipeline is the last in a five-part capital improvement project being undertaken by Tampa Bay Water to increase the water supply in this fast-growing area, Robinson said.

The utility, which provides water to Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas Counties and several cities, also plans to build a $30 million water treatment plant off Falkenburg Road.

The plant, expected to provide enough water for customers through 2025, should be on line by 2009. Tampa Bay Water also plans to replace the Lithia treatment plant in 2010

County recommends trails, turn lanes for Riverview neighborhood

By ANDREW MEACHAM
Published April 28, 2006

RIVERVIEW: A developer wants to turn 51 acres north of Rhodine Road and west of Balm-Riverview Road into a subdivision with 76 houses and 128 townhomes. Burcaw Development Group and property owners Greg Lovett and Maxine Hill are seeking to rezone the property from agricultural to a planned development.

In recommending the application, the Planning Commission suggested that the community contain recreation amenities for residents and a network of trails connecting open spaces.

The county's transportation staff in the Planning and Growth Management department okayed the request, but recommended that the developer pay for turn lanes into the project from Rhodine Road, from eastbound and westbound lanes. A zoning hearing master will hear the request on Monday. It goes to the County Commission on June 13. PETITION 06-0243

VALRICO: Mainstreet Homes and property owners Nell Schaker and Merry Schaker Dale are asking to rezone 8 acres from agricultural to a planned development. The developer wants to build 35 homes in a triangular nook bounded by Church Street, Oakhill Village Circle and a CSX railroad.

The developer is asking that the property be covered by a residential category in the county's future land use map that permits up to six units per acre.

The nearest property so designated lies just south of the project. The developer is asking the county to extend the land use boundary on the southern property 500 feet to the north. The request goes before the County Commission on May 23. (PETITION 06-0543)

RIVERVIEW: An out-of-state developer is readying plans for a cozy subdivision next to the Alafia River.

Dreamview Properties of Brooklyn, N.Y., is asking the county to rezone 11 acres northeast of Alafia Drive and Riverview Drive from agricultural to residential. The change would allow the developer to build up to 43 houses on lots no smaller than 10,000 square feet. Neighbors of the proposed development would live on lots ranging from 20,000 square feet to 1 acre.

The request goes to a zoning hearing master on May 31. The County Commission is scheduled to render a final decision July 25. (PETITION 06-0753)

RIVERVIEW: Property owner Kay Pye is seeking to rezone 3 acres south of Pond Ridge Drive and northeast of the Interstate 75 and U.S. 301 interchange from agricultural to a planned development. Forty townhomes could be built there if commissioners approve the request. The County Commission will review the case on May 23. (PETITION 06-0313)

Andrew Meacham can be reached at 661-2431 or ameacham@sptimes.com.

[Last modified April 27, 2006, 14:06:27]

City and county come to an agreement on impact fees

CNHI News Service

— City and county officials held a joint workshop on Monday night to discuss sewer tap and impact fees for businesses located in the Hamilton County/PCS Industrial Park.
In 2000 the County used grant money to run water and sewer lines from the City of Jasper to the Industrial Park and to build a water tower on US Hwy. 129. The City paid $64,000 to the County for the water tower and the County deeded the water and sewer lines to the City, who operates and maintains the system and receives all service fees.
The City has imposed $9,200 in sewer tap and impact fees on G.A.P. Roofing who is constructing a facility at the Industrial Park. The county disputes the fees, quoting a letter signed by then City Manager Ralph bowers in 2002: " The County's contribution (the construction of the water and sewer lines and the water tower) will more than offset any contemplated connection fees."
The meeting began with a simple question from County Commissioner Chairman Mike Adams, "Will you lower or waive the fees?" City Manager Kent Cichon responded by explaining the history and the reason for impact fees.
City Council Chairperson Cecil Rowe said," I feel the citizens of the city have paid enough. We fund economic development with impact fees - we shouldn't waive them."
"We know the city needs impact fees," Bob Poor, County Coordinator, said. "The County is not asking that all fees be waived, just the ones for the businesses in the Industrial Park. The City should honor the agreements that were made in good faith."
Poor explained the background for the agreement and described the incentives the County uses to attract new businesses to the area.
Vice-Mayor Edna Burnham asked the commissioners, "Where were you when Glenn Richards, Doug McGauley and Dollar General came in? If it's in the city limits, it doesn't matter to you. We will not waive or lower the fees.”
Henry Shelton, City engineer, stated that the Industrial Park is an "operational liability" and that it costs the city to service it. According to Shelton the City will not make any money from businesses located in the park.
After more discussion about the intent of the original plans, the audience applauded when Adams said, "The point is to spur economic development in the county and have businesses come in. We want the city to waive the fees because we think 40 jobs is worth it."
Cichon asked why the County could not use the phosphate fees from PCS Phosphate in White Springs. Poor said that those funds were being used to develop an industrial park at Genoa for a business that would hire as many as 100 employees and to build a well, a water treatment, and a sewer treatment plant at the intersection of I-75 and SR 6.
The audience applauded two long-time residents of Hamilton County who addressed the commissioners and the council. Jack Vincent said, "We have to get this county together to amount to anything. I came to see you solve something, but it doesn't look like you will."
Lamar Royals added, "We need to do something to attract jobs. It is time to come to an agreement. Those of you who are sitting in those chairs up there have some hard decisions to make to keep our quality of life. The City and the County need to work together."
Cichon wanted to know how many jobs were guaranteed to Hamilton County residents. Poor responded that the county could not require a company to hire employees only from the county, as that would be a violation of the Equal Opportunity Employment Act.
Perry Ruthowski, General Manager of ESP, stated that 98% of their employees lived in the county. Cichon pointed out that Ruthowski was probably the highest paid employee at that facility and asked him where he lived. Ruthowski answered that he lived in Valdosta, Ga., and explained that he moved from Atlanta, Ga., and his children wanted to continue going to school in a system that used the same scheduling they had been using.
A gentleman in the audience commented that if the city could hire only people from the county, Cichon would not have a job.
When Jan Yancey, a member of the audience, suggested that the City forgive half the fees and the County pay the other half, Mayor Matthew Hawkins answered, "We can't afford to give away impact fees. We can't waive them because we might get sued by other businesses who have to pay the fees."
Cichon said the County could pay the impact fees with funds it will receive from the cardroom. He accused the commissioners of voting against the cardroom but it created a new source of revenue for the County. Adams stated that the commissioners allowed the voters to decide the cardroom issue and asked if the City was receiving any money from the cardroom.
When Cichon said no, Adams asked, "Where is the cardroom located?" Cichon answered that it is in Jasper. Adams then asked, "Don't they use the restroom and drink water? Then the City is receiving money from the cardroom."
County Commissioner Leon McGauley quietly broke into the debate, "The question is this - are you going to honor this agreement? I'm still honoring agreements made by Jack Vincent over 30 years ago. He is no longer a commissioner but I honor them. We had no agreement with Glenn Richards, Doug McGauley or Dollar General."
When Cichon answered that the agreement did not apply to impact fees, McGauley said, "It says fees. It is an official document signed by Ralph Bowers."
Cichon again mentioned the funds from the cardroom. Clerk of Court Greg Godwin explained that the cardroom would generate a only a small amount of revenue and the County would not know until September how much money they would receive from the cardroom.
McGauley broke in again and said, "I'm not talking about the cardroom. Does the fee have to be paid before the tap?"
When Cichon said yes, McGauley said, "Then it is a tap fee."
Cichon responded that a tap fee and an impact fee are not the same thing. Commissioner Randy Ogburn asked how much was the total fee and Cichon answered $9,200.
Ogburn said, "It's silly to dispute over $9,200. If G.A.P. had known about this, they would never have come here. I make a motion that the county pays it."
Jack Miley, a member of the audience, urged the County not to pay the fees. "The county is making every effort to get companies to come here but the City is saying we don't want you unless you pay more. The City will make money off the businesses! Is this genius or what?"
After more discussion, Mayor Hawkins made a motion to allow the County or the Development Authority to pay the fees. The motion was passed unanimously.
Adams then stated that the County wanted to discuss a related issue concerning ESP. "We want to settle it tonight and not wait for another workshop. ESP is a vital industry and we need to keep it here."
Ruthowski said the company wanted to spend approximately four million dollars to expand the facility in Jasper, but a water tower needed to be moved from the property. He said he wanted permission to move the tower.
Ruthowski pointed out that the company currently has 162 employees and reminded everyone that 98% of those lived in the county. He said that they would increase the employees to over 300. He added that they would hire students with a 3.0 grade point average part-time during the summer so they would learn to work and learn the value of staying in school and getting good grades.
Adams asked if the City would move the water tower. Cichon answered that they would have to check into it. Poor said the County would help the city get a grant to buy another water tower.
Ruthowski said ESP would provide the land for a new tower and would pay the costs of an engineer. Cichon responded that the City would work on it as quickly as possible and give an answer in a "couple of weeks." Ruthowski responded that "the sooner the better."
Shelton said that the tower was built in the 1920s and the master plan did not require that tower. It was actually costing the city money. "If we can get a new tank out of the deal, then I say 'yes,'" he added.
Adams pointed out that grants take time and the tower needed to be moved now. Ruthowski said ESP would pay part of the moving costs.
City Council member Kathy Avriett made a motion for the City to remove the tower, which was passed unanimously. Then Mayor Hawkins made a motion to also remove some gas lines in the same area. That motion passed unanimously also.
Adams made a motion for the county to help move the tower, which was passed unanimously.
As the meeting ended, Marion Turner, another long-time resident, stated that ESP had been a good citizen in the community and she was glad the commissioners and the council members had done something to keep them here.

Costly commutes
Those with long drives struggle to save on fuel

JOE CALLAHAN
Senior THE STAR-BANNER

OCALA - Until recently, any time Daniel Shaffer was traveling, he was behind the wheel of his 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 diesel pickup, driving 65 miles one way from Summerfield to Zephyrhills, where he works as an operation recovery room technician.

Back when his truck was new, diesel fuel was about $1.50 per gallon and the cost of a round trip to work was about $16.50, or $264 per month, based on a four-day work week. Today, it would cost Shaffer twice as much to make the same trip - a whopping $528 for the same amount of driving.

"We had to do something," said Cindy Paxson, Shaffer's wife, who works as a nurse at the Marion County Jail. "We decided that we had to park his truck and get a vehicle that gets better gas mileage."

Today, the pickup is only used for pulling boats or hauling items.

The couple decided to buy a 2003 Hyundai Elantra, a vehicle that costs him only $7.50 per day in gas, or $120 per month, for the same amount of driving. That $308 savings in gas is more than enough for a new car payment.

And because of the soaring gas prices, Shaffer's employer now lets him work three days a week in 12-hour shifts - compared to his previous schedule of four, 10-hour days. Now, he is saving another $30 a month.

"It's more than enough savings to make the car payment and I'm not killing my truck," Shaffer said.

Shaffer is among thousands of Marion County residents trying to cope with the soaring cost of gas, currently hovering at $3 per gallon with some forecasts predicting the cost to rise even higher by mid-summer before falling back to about $2.50 per gallon by Thanksgiving.

From local firefighters - many of whom travel from as far away as St. Augustine - to Marion County School District teachers and parents, the cost of driving is causing more and more people to change their spending habits.

American Automobile Association officials said Thursday that speculation is only one reason why gas prices have risen 70 cents to $2.97 per gallon in a one-year period. AAA spokesman Gregg Laskoski said national conditions are the same today as in 2005.

Experts say other reasons for the recent rise in the price of crude oil include new federal regulations requiring ethanol to be added for cleaner burning fuel, fears of instability in oil-rich nations such as Iran, and worries about hurricane season.

"We need to take it with a grain of salt when it comes to speculation of what may happen in the future," said AAA spokesman Gregg Laskoski, who said gasoline prices could soon start dropping now that President Bush has at least temporarily suspended the requirement adding ethanol to fuel.

"We should see these prices to start dropping," he said. "However, we really do not know what will happen. We will have to wait and see."

Dozens of people were interviewed throughout Marion County, and most said they would better plan their trips to take care of more errands when they're driving around the area.

Others say they will cut costs in other areas, such as recreation or eating out.

Deborah and Greg Irwin, who live in Moss Bluff, more than 25 miles from work, decided to commute together to Ocala, cutting their gas cost in half. They also decided that eating out is a luxury, not a necessity.

"It (gas cost) has taken a big chunk out of our salary," said Greg Irwin, who works at the Marion County Jail. His wife works in communications for the Sheriff's Office. "We now eat out only one time per week. We used to do that at least three times a week."

Gragin Mosteller, Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association spokeswoman, said it is too early to tell whether higher gas prices will impact the restaurant industry. Since the prices started rising recently, there has not been enough time to determine whether the spiraling fuel costs will impact statewide food sales.

For Betty Parrea, who along with her husband, Michael, lives in Dunnellon and works in Ocala, the cost of gas hurts. Along with their 17-year-old son, Derrick, they go through five tanks of gas per week, or roughly $200, just to go work, run errands and attend school functions.

"My son often gives his friends rides home, and it's getting expensive," Betty Parrea said, adding that she has told her son he should start charging a couple of bucks for taxi service. "I told him, 'You are not a taxi.' When gas is this high, he can't keep giving rides for free."

Pattie Hornsby, a Sunrise Elementary teacher who drives 75 miles one way from her High Springs home to the Marion Oaks school, said she purchased a 2004 Volvo S60 that gets 38 miles to the gallon when she got the job in Marion County.

"I also adjusted my driving habits," she said. "You know when you drive on Interstate 75, people drive above the speed limit. I slowed it down some and I get much better gas mileage. You have to do what you can."


Joe Callahan may be reached at joe.callahan@starbanner.com or (352) 867-4113

County public comment limits questioned

Time for public to speak at issue

BY JEFF SCHWEERS
FLORIDA TODAY

The ejection of a regular critic of local government from the Brevard County Commission chambers Tuesday raises questions about how long the public should be allowed to speak on agenda items.

Scottsmoor resident Walter Pine, a fixture at county commission and Titusville council meetings, was escorted out of the County Government Center and arrested for trespassing after refusing to leave the podium at the request of Commission Chairwoman Helen Voltz.

Voltz had limited his total time on the five agenda items he wanted to address to 10 minutes. When he argued he was entitled to more time, she had a sheriff's deputy escort him out.

Pine did not return a call for this story, but in a prior interview he said Voltz abused her authority.

The chairwoman has the right to establish time limits on speakers on items removed from the consent agenda, and the right to remove people for arguing with the chairwoman, County Attorney Scott Knox said.

Furthermore, he said, the courts have upheld the rights of governing bodies to place limits on how much time speakers can have on agenda items discussed at public meetings.

But given the confusion over Tuesday's incident, Knox said, the board may want to revisit its policies to make it clear how much time people can speak on consent items.

Board policy says residents can pull items off the consent agenda for discussion, but it doesn't set a time limit for speaking on those specific items, Knox said.

Elsewhere, board policy gives the public five minutes to speak on public hearing items if they submit a card indicating the item they want to address, and three minutes to speak under the public comment period for issues not on the agenda.

Applicants on zoning issues have up to 15 minutes to present their case.

"The commission is allowed to adopt reasonable rules," said Adria Harper, a lawyer with the Florida First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee. "It always makes me cringe when someone is arrested for trying to speak at a public meeting."

As long as the commission gives everyone the same opportunity to participate, Harper said, "that's what it's all about."

Commissioner Truman Scarborough had attempted to give Pine the extra time he wanted, but none of the other commissioners present would support his motion.

"Quite frankly, we have from time to time had someone speak, then have a vote to extend the time," Scarborough said. "What was sort of unusual was the decision to limit the time."

There are times when the board is anxious to move the meeting along, especially when it's late in the day, Scarborough said, but this was not one of those times.

"There didn't seem to be any urgency. We had a light agenda," he said. "There was no risk the meeting was going to be long under any circumstance."

Scarborough said the process is enhanced by citizen participation, and Pine might have had something to say worth the board's consideration.

Pine frequently speaks on several items at each commission meeting, often involving use of tax dollars to buy conservation lands. He often has challenged the board for restricting the public's right to speak out on the issues, most recently when commissioners reviewed a decorum policy. He's hoping to make a legal case out of this incident.

Scarborough said he wouldn't want to be in a position of deciding who was abusing the system and who wasn't.

"Do we say Walter Pine doesn't have anything valuable to contribute?" Scarborough said. "That would be terrible in a democracy."

Contact Schweers at 242-3642 or jschweers@flatoday.net

Development blossoms around Performing Arts Center -- with no plan in place

BY ANDRES VIGLUCCI AND MATTHEW HAGGMAN
aviglucci@MiamiHerald.com

Even before it opens, the Miami Performing Arts Center, conceived as both cultural lodestar and urban growth enzyme, has filled the latter role in spectacular fashion. Better than even its fondest proponents dreamed.

Maybe even too well.

As the MPAC finally nears completion, nearly two years late and millions over budget, private development is following on its heels, fast and hard.

No fewer than 22 major residential and commercial projects are under construction, approved or proposed in the neighborhood surrounding the center's twin halls -- along Biscayne Boulevard and Biscayne Bay, on the site of the shuttered Omni Mall, and in the largely derelict blocks to the west and north of the MPAC, where bulldozers are daily at work, tearing down vacant warehouses and the last few rickety wooden houses remaining from the early days of Miami's expansion.

To ecstatic city officials and arts supporters, the development wave augurs fulfillment of a vision some skeptics once scoffed at -- a dynamic, artsy urban district comprising lofts, condos, stores, offices, restaurants and nightclubs, with rising property values and tax revenues, all with the MPAC as its beating civic heart. Not least of all, such a thriving district would put thousands of new, affluent residents at the MPAC's doorstep to help ensure the success of the $446 million public and private investment it represents.

But the headlong rush to develop troubles some.

It is occurring with no comprehensive development plan in place. Even as the city's Community Redevelopment Agency, nominally in charge of guiding the Omni district's revival, spent three years and $716,000 preparing a 250-page master plan for the area, the City Commission has approved one massive project after another, rendering moot some sections of the CRA's plan before it was ready. The city's vaunted new, neighborhood-friendly development rule book, Miami 21, is months behind schedule and may not be in place until fall.

Even some in the real estate business question whether stacks of high-priced condos -- with few provisions for new parks, public spaces or other public amenities, much less affordable housing or a solution to the area's persistent homeless problem -- are what the MPAC district really needs amid signs of a possible condo glut.

''It has to be more than a series of towers on the water,'' said Henry Harper, developer of the completed Parc Lofts and the forthcoming Filling Station Lofts, both west of the MPAC. ``I don't think it is totally disorganized and chaotic, but it's not inspired. There will have to be a certain level of proactivity by the city.

'When inundated with projects, you have to say, `This is crazy.' ''

It's by no means certain that all, or even most, of the proposed development will actually get built. Boosters say redevelopment is unstoppable given the area's easy proximity to downtown, the water, South Beach and Miami International Airport. But as bankers leery of Miami's high-rise condo boom cut back on construction financing and sales slow, skeptics abound.

That, conversely, gives rise to another fear: scattershot development that fails to deliver the critical mass of residents necessary to support the cohesive, pedestrian-oriented, mixed-used neighborhood everyone wants.

''The people who drive this are the people with the money to build, as it should be,'' said Frank Rollason, the Omni CRA executive director. ``But there's a balance between too dense and onerous, and being too sparse and not having any sense of security. You need to develop some mass of people on the street.

``If it becomes another Brickell, it'll be beautiful to look at. People will be up in their castle, and so what?''

To be sure, no one expected this much potential development so soon.

An economic-impact study commissioned by the MPAC just five years ago predicted the center's construction would generate at most 6,000 nearby residential units over 25 years.

Yet the number of residential units in the projects now underway or in the planning stage add up to nearly 13,000, concentrated in a cluster of condo towers as tall as 72 stories, along with three major shopping centers containing hundreds of thousands of square feet of retail space: in effect, a dense new high-rise city-within-a-city packed into some 40 square blocks running from the Interstate 395 overpass north to Northeast 20th Street, and between the bay and the FEC railroad tracks, the Omni CRA district's boundaries.

Those numbers don't even include the six mammoth condo projects planned along the west side of Biscayne Boulevard south of the I-395 overpass, which many say the MPAC helped attract.

A PLAN TO DEMOLISH OMNI

The largest single project is in the very early stages: a plan to demolish the fortress-like Omni Mall, including its still-operating hotel, and replace it with a mega-development of six towers comprising 4,350 condos. Two new streets would cut through to reconnect Biscayne Boulevard to North Bayshore Drive.

''Lincoln Center turned Hell's Kitchen into one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Manhattan, but that took over 20 years,'' said Robert Heuer, director of Florida Grand Opera, one of MPAC's resident companies, which plans to build its new $34 million headquarters -- including a 500-seat recital hall and a restaurant -- next to the center.

''Has it happened too fast without planning? Probably. That's Miami. But for better or worse, that's how it's happened,'' Heuer said.

City planning director Ana Gelabert-Sanchez did not respond to repeated requests for an interview. Neither did Commissioner Johnny Winton, whose district includes the MPAC.

In the past, city officials have described a grand vision for the area that calls for weaving it together with Bicentennial Park to the south, the proposed home for new art and science museums, the downtown waterfront, and a series of interconnected entertainment districts in the adjacent Overtown and Park West districts. The key: a proposed baywalk and the possible reconstruction of the outmoded I-395 that would elevate the roadway on stilts, allowing for green space and pathways beneath it. That concept, however, remains far from realization.

In the meantime, MPAC supporters say initial apprehensions about the scale and bulk of surrounding development, which they feared would obliterate views of buildings meant to be civic and architectural landmarks, have been allayed. To permit the I-395 redesign, the state paid $78 million to buy up properties between the MPAC and the highway where a developer planned two condo towers, securing clear vistas from the center south and east to the bay and the proposed Museum Park.

Consultations with architects and developers of other nearby projects have assured MPAC sponsors that the center will not be overshadowed, while crucial views of the MPAC down Biscayne Boulevard will be preserved, even enhanced, said MPAC President Michael Hardy.

For instance, 1490 Biscayne, an approved mixed-use project

across Northeast 14th Street from the ballet/opera house, would have two 65-story towers set well back from the performance hall. On the northwest corner of 14th Street and Biscayne, the building would be elevated on 20-foot-tall columns to accommodate an open-air restaurant and afford dramatic views of the hall to motorists and pedestrians, said its designer, Arquitectonica's Bernardo Fort-Brescia.

''You want the new buildings to frame the PAC. Very orderly, with very defined rectangular blocks. And suddenly, you arrive at the difference -- the Performing Arts Center, which has its own expression, like sculptures. And it becomes the event that it deserves to be,'' Fort-Brescia said.

Architects and CRA and MPAC officials say careful review of individual projects by city planners has ensured that all new buildings conform to sidewalk-friendly guidelines, which require that parking garages be hidden behind living units and commercial spaces, while ground floors are open and accessible, lined with shops and restaurants.

The new buildings, they say, will be far different from the nearby auto-oriented buildings of the 1970s and '80s, like Omni, Plaza Venetia and The Grand, whose big suburban-style driveways and broad blank facades make for awkward pedestrian access and little street life.

''Having all shops facing the sidewalk and fronts that are consistent and hug the sidewalk creates real city blocks,'' Fort-Brescia said. ``The planning department, working with the architects, has done a really good job in creating a real cityscape in that neighborhood. Things fell into place.''

In fact, when Arquitectonica's initial design for City Square, the shopping center proposed for The Miami Herald's parking lots struck planners as walled-off and Omni-like, they requested a redesign that made it more ''transparent,'' in part by keeping 14th Street open as a pedestrian mall, with a glassy bridge overhead linking two halves of the 10-story shopping center.

''We're very happy with the way things are going,'' MPAC President Hardy said. ``We were very much focused on shops, people on the street, places where people will feel comfortable walking and create active street life. When people plan to go out for a show or a concert, it's a package.''

Moreover, MPAC backers say, a CRA plan to rebuild streets and sidewalks, and add distinctive lighting, sidewalk paving and landscaping -- already under construction on the blocks immediately contiguous to the MPAC -- will not only beautify the area but help pull the district together.

`SIGNS OF OVERBUILDING'

Some skeptics, however, are not persuaded, citing the number and bulk of proposed buildings and their impact on narrow neighborhood streets already plagued by heavy traffic.

''The PAC was going to be a 100-year property, a unique landmark. It better be for $450 million,'' said veteran Miami real estate analyst Michael Cannon. ``You don't want to crowd the building. But that area is showing signs of overbuilding. The street configuration can't handle that much density, even though the zoning allows it. Can you imagine what the traffic is going to be like?''

Cannon and others are particularly skeptical of the Omni redevelopment's colossal scale. Prominent developer Tibor Hollo, who co-developed the Omni and believes it may still be financially viable, says the new plan is unrealistic. Officials at Argent Ventures, the New York firm planning the new project, declined to comment.

Hollo is a believer in the district: He's building the Opera Tower condos and an adjacent 350-room hotel just north of the Omni. The condo tower is sold out and he sees no bust coming. But he thinks the Omni market can absorb only 1,500 condos a year.

''It can't absorb more,'' Hollo said.

Other city goals seem likely to be frustrated. The CRA district was created to capture taxes from new development and reinvest in neighborhood improvements. Some of that money is going to street reconstruction, beautification and new infrastructure.

But sharply rising land costs mean that a proposal in the CRA's Omni plan for incentives to encourage development of housing affordable to office workers, teachers and police officers west of the boulevard is now unfeasible, the CRA's Rollason concedes. One purpose in setting up the CRA was capturing tax revenues and providing subsidies to encourage mixed-income development.

Rollason wants to expand the CRA area west of the railroad tracks to encompass cheaper land for such ''workforce'' housing.

As land is snapped up by developers, there is little left over for parks or public spaces. The one large park in the neighborhood, Margaret Pace Park, will soon be overcrowded, the CRA plan concluded, adding that creating a ''system'' of green spaces throughout the district is ``imperative.''

Some participants lament planning was not in place before development came knocking.

''It's an important quality-of-life issue,'' said Raul Rodriguez, architect for the new opera headquarters and coauthor of an early MPAC

district plan that was never adopted. ``Chances are not everything proposed here will get built. But if it does, no one alive today will live to see it come down."

 

Swampland purchase was costly but wise

By C.T. BOWEN, Pasco Times Editor of Editorials
Published April 27, 2006

Who says Florida swampland isn't a good investment?

More than 40 years ago, the state sold 600 acres at Trouble Creek Road and Strauber Memorial Highway in Holiday to a Minnesota man named Robert E. Maxwell. Mostly marsh land, it cost less than $50,000 in 1965, according to news accounts in the Times archives.

In 1990, Maxwell's estate donated the land to his alma mater, Dartmouth College, which tried unsuccessfully to entice the state or federal government to acquire it for preservation. Instead, the Ivy League college sold it eight years later to a Riverview partnership for $210,000 after it obtained a rezoning allowing seven canal-front homes to be built on the 22 acres of uplands.

It is a common tactic. Plan a development to make the land more valuable.

The partnership, B.R.J.M. Development LLC, whose principals are the officers of Kearney Development Corp., asked $750,000 for the land in 1999, or triple the value established in a government appraisal. The county and state made an unsuccessful pitch at obtaining a federal grant to help bankroll a purchase.

At the time it seemed like an attempt at opportunistic gouging at the public's expense. But, updated appraisals indicate the purchase price was not out of line. Here's another barometer to consider: Then, the owners talked of developing high-end homes costing $200,000. Today, starter homes cost more.

Tuesday, the partnership's representatives and Pasco County commissioners agreed to a deal in which the county will acquire the land for just less than $3.2-million, of which the state will contribute $1.35-million or 27 times more than it received in the 1965 sale.

The markup might be hard to swallow for some, but the county and state acted appropriately to preserve a piece of unspoiled coastal land. Booming real estate prices on waterfront property are well documented and the owners' real estate agent, Mark Swartzel, said the partnership had a competing contract for $4-million.

County Administrator John Gallagher said appraisals have valued the land from $1.7-million to $5-million and the state agreed to pay half of a $2.7-million purchase. Commissioners increased the county's contribution to complete the sale, but the cost to the county of just under $1.85-million still is less than half of the estimated market price.

A history lesson from Swartzel also helped seal the deal. Without using names, he recalled how the county lost out on a waterfront park in Hudson nearly 25 years ago.

Swartzel didn't name names, but we will. The deal was scuttled after then-Property Appraiser Ted Williams traveled to Tallahassee to lobby against it, saying the negotiated price was too high. The state nixed the transaction and the land sold to a private entity almost immediately afterward for $3.2-million, $500,000 more than the price agreed to by the government. Today, the Gulf Island condominiums sit upon what could have been a public park facing the Gulf of Mexico.

Commissioners were wise to avoid a potential repeat. The uplands in Holiday will be used for low-impact recreation with a launch for canoes and kayaks. The importance of the county's actions are magnified also by the state's inability to develop its own coastal park north of Port Richey.

Besides recreation, the preservation benefits the ecosystem and the public through protected green space and improved water quality by reducing runoff from urban areas. It also boosts protection for several endangered or threatened species. The state previously identified Pasco's coastal areas as an important resting and feeding station for migratory birds because so much of the coastline to the south in Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota counties is developed.

Pasco's coastal marshlands don't face the same intensive development pressures as the sandy-beached counties to the south. Regardless, preserving a part of pristine Pasco from becoming yet another housing development is worthwhile, despite the price.

Reach C.T. Bowen at bowen@sptimes.com or at 727-869-6239.

Oldsmar closer to getting its own water

A permit from the Southwest Florida Water Management District allows the city to remove brackish water from its wells.

By TAMARA EL-KHOURY
Published April 27, 2006

OLDSMAR - The city achieved the first step toward producing its own water this week when the Southwest Florida Water Management District approved a water use permit.

The permit will allow the city to withdraw an average of 2.7-million gallons of brackish water a day from city wells.

The next step for the city is obtaining a permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to allow disposal of the treatment facility's discharge water, said John Mulvihill, director of public works.

With the permit, the city is allowed to continue buying water until Oldsmar's proposed $15-million drinking water treatment plant is permitted and built.

The goal is to start construction in 2007 and have the plant running by 2009. Currently the city is buying 70 percent of its water from St. Petersburg and 30 percent from the county.

In August, the Oldsmar City Council approved a 6 percent water rate increase to keep up with the rising water costs. Rising water costs pushed the city to seek its own water source.

"Our goal would be to be able to stabilize the rates by producing our own water," Mulvihill said. "Right now, we're subject to rate increases."

By Oct. 1, the city will buy all of its water from the county, Mulvihill said. The county's rate is cheaper than St. Petersburg's by 95 cents per 1,000 gallons.

The city budgeted $1.63-million to buy water this year.

Mulvihill said it's too early to tell whether producing its own water will result in lower rates for customers.

[Last modified April 27, 2006, 02:19:43]

North Port approves fee hike

Despite opposition from builders, the city raises impact fees and adds a road rehab tax.

NORTH PORT -- Unswayed by intense opposition from the building industry, the North Port City Commission has approved a fourfold increase on city fees for new construction.

By adding about $13,000 in fees to every new single family home, the cash-starved city could garner more than $60 million each year to pay for new ballfields, improve roads and purchase new fire trucks and patrol cars.

The increase will make North Port's building fees among the highest in the three-county area.

Builders say they will have no choice but to pass the costs onto consumers, raising costs for homes in what has been Sarasota County's most affordable area.

North Port's city staff is looking for other routes to soften the impact to those who qualify for low-income or work force housing.

"I think it's becoming more and more of an issue and the commission's recognized that," said City Manager Steven Crowell.

Crowell said it could just be a matter of education. There are many assistance programs, including one offered by Sarasota County and another by Habitat for Humanity, he said.

Faced with lack of parks and sewer lines, deteriorating roads and other infrastructure needs, the city hired a consultant to study whether to raise its impact fees.

On Tuesday, the commission unanimously approved the consultant's recommendation, which called for impact fees three times the current rate.

Under the new fee structure, $9,664 will be added to the construction of a 2,000-square-foot single-family home. In addition, builders are charged a $2,032 impact fee charged by Sarasota County schools and a $217 charge for the county's library system.

The commission also voted 3-2 Tuesday to create a road rehabilitation fee that will charge builders $1.25 per square foot of living space for every new home. Commercial and multifamily establishments will pay $1.75 per square foot.

The fee, expected to bring in $9.6 million each year, will be used to repave the city's 813 miles of neighborhood roads. Under the fee, it will take the city eight years to bring the entire city's roadways back to the condition they were before construction began.

"The longer these roads deteriorate, it's going to be more to fix them," City Commissioner Fred Tower said.

City commissioners Vanessa Carusone and Richard Lockhart voted against the motion. Carusone said she wanted to see the fee lowered to $1 per square foot for single family homes. Lockhart said he thought the fee should be coupled with another funding source, such as a bond.

North Port is the first city in the area to enact a road rehabilitation fee. Unlike an impact fee, which can pay for new enhancements, like road widening and more firetrucks, the road rehabilitation fee can pay for maintenance, said Rob Robinson, the city's attorney.

But builders warned the city that higher fees will directly affect new home buyers attempting to qualify for financing. For every $1,000 added to the cost of a home, 100 residents can't qualify for funding, said Paul Morgan, chairman of the Government Affairs Committee of the North Port Contractors Association.

Todd Menke, a commercial developer in North Port, said raising the cost of home construction could deter businesses from locating in the city.

"There's a lot of commercial development that is about to come, and a lot of the commercial development is coming based on rooftops," Menke said. "Please consider all of your funding sources."

While builders and developers opposed the increase, the North Port Citizens Alliance lobbied hard in favor of it, saying developers -- not current residents -- should bear the cost of getting North Port's roads into shape because construction trucks have caused much of the damage.

"It certainly cannot be loaded on the backs of the tax payers. It absolutely can't," said Steven Liljegren, president of the citizens alliance.

Liljegren said enacting a road rehabilitation fee on builders is simply the cost of doing business in North Port. On average, one home under construction can bring in 35 single-axle loading trucks carrying building supplies. The weight of the trucks peel the remaining asphalt from the roads.

But Lawrence Anderson, executive vice president of the Home Builders of Sarasota County Inc., said the roads weren't built properly when General Development Corp. first paved the streets in the 1960s. Higher traffic volumes are causing the roads to deteriorate.

"It's really unconscionable to tax those people coming in," Anderson said. "This is a communitywide problem."

 

Apr 26, 2006

Retirement homes to be built this fall

By MICHAEL D. BATES
mbates@hernandotoday.com


BROOKSVILLE — The developer of Treiman Oaks, Hernando County’s first upscale senior condominium complex, is wasting no time getting his new community off the ground.

Only two weeks after getting approval from the county’s planning and zoning department, seniors are being invited to reserve one of the 288 units. Construction should begin in a few months with the first occupants tentatively set to move in around fall 2007.

Treiman Oaks will be located on 44 acres off State Road 50, half a mile east of the new Brooksville Regional Hospital. When completed, there will be three four-story buildings, each with 96 two-bedroom condominiums. Homes are expected to start selling from $260,000.

GCMB Partners LLC of Seminole plans a resort-style, 6,000-square-foot community activity center with heated pool, hot tub, patio area, tennis courts, putting green, sauna, steam room, fitness center, lounge and entertainment center.

Today’s retirees are swapping single-family homes for the convenience of condominiums, said Ginger Garnett, owner of Garnett Realty and marketing agent for Treiman Oaks.

“It’s a lifestyle that older people enjoy because they can lock their door and travel,” Garnett said.

The proximity to the hospital is also a plus, she said.

Treiman Oaks will be gated and have accesses off S.R. 50 and Wiscon Road. The developer will build a frontage road that fronts S.R. 50. Eventually, the frontage road will connect to the hospital, probably after the parcel between Brooksville Regional and Treiman Oaks is developed.

Slated to go in there are pharmacies and professional offices, Garnett said.

GCMB Partners LLC has developed similar retirement communities throughout the country.

Marvin Flam, managing partner with GCMB, said he plans to market the age-restricted complex to empty nesters and seniors who like to travel much of the year.

Flam was able to overcome objections to his project from planning and zoning staffers who originally recommended zoning denial in their report

Planning staffers said the project was too intense for the rural nature of the area, did not adequately provide enough open space and was inconsistent with the county’s comprehensive plan, which regulates growth.

GCMB revised the plan twice, each time reducing the scope of the homes. The complex was originally intended to contain 500 units. But even after almost halving that number, the project didn’t pass muster with planners.

Planning commissioners expressed reservations, but voted unanimously for approval after getting assurances from the developer’s representative that the design of the units will conform closely to the lay of the land in that area.

Reporter Michael D. Bates can be contacted at (352) 544-5290. 

Babcock Ranch deal could face trouble

By ANDREA FANTA
Associated Press Writer

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Gov. Jeb Bush is concerned that the House is tinkering too much with a deal to spend $310 million on a large swath of land called Babcock Ranch, saying Wednesday that changes could interfere with the state's conservation plans.

Bush and his Cabinet recommended buying the 74,000-acre swath of land in October. They want to add the southwest Florida property, home to panthers and black bears, to the state's collection of natural spaces. But changes made last week to the bill (HB 1347) that bankrolls the purchase could frustrate original plans by allowing tree harvesting and tenant farming.

"We thought we had an agreement, and the agreement that we thought we had, we were very pleased with. It had broad support," Bush said. "That's changed a little bit, and I'm hoping it will get back on track because the money is attached to the bill."

Environmental and gun groups also oppose changes to the bill, sponsored by Rep. Trudi Williams', R-Fort Myers. They say Williams is deviating from their original deal - and if her bill continues, they'll pull their support for the purchase.

One Lee county official said he'll urge his peers to withdraw their $40 million contribution if Williams' bill gives the state agriculture commissioner, and not a board of trustees, ultimate say in how the land is used. Because Babcock straddles Lee and Charlotte counties, local governments there plan to chip in for the bill that totals $350 million.

"It tilts the balance in favor of policy that could be favorable only toward agricultural uses, to the detriment of the environment," said Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah. The 90-year-old ranch located on Babcock already farms and harvests, but Judah doesn't want those activities to spread into environmentally sensitive areas in his county.

Meanwhile, environmentalists say they're angry that Williams' bill could allow cyprus harvesting to continue on the ranch. They say the original deal called for a temporary stop to harvesting until forests - which provide canopy and shade that some fragile species need to survive - can regrow. They also don't want the ranch to continue tenant farming, too much of which could ruin soil and disturb waterways. The original agreement would have phased the practice out, while Williams' bill allows it to continue.

Marion Hammer, who represents Florida's National Rifle Association, said she's concerned about the bill's plan to keep Babcock's private hunting reserve. If the state pays millions of dollars for land, it should be open to all hunters and not just the wealthy, she said.

Williams sees things differently: Florida is buying a giant property that's remained pure because it's been farmed and harvested for decades. If the state stops these activities, it will have a bankrupt, overgrown jungle on its hands.

"How can you be sustainable if you take everything away? We're buying it because it's pristine and beautiful. In order to maintain it that way, you have to continue doing what you've been doing for a hundred years. You can't just let the land go," she said.

A compromise might come from Sen. Michael Bennett, R-Bradenton, who's sponsoring the Senate version of the bill (SB 2102). He said he'll try to bring the legislation more in line with the state's original agreement, while still giving credit to Williams for the months she's spent working out the purchase.

More of same: Home sales fall

Existing home sales in state drop sharply, but prices remain strong - at least for now.

By HELEN HUNTLEY, Times Personal Finance Editor
Published April 26, 2006

Here's more evidence that the hot Florida real estate market has lost its sizzle: Sales of existing homes fell 22 percent in March, the fifth straight down month, the Florida Association of Realtors said Tuesday. While prices are 17 percent higher than they were a year ago, they have leveled off in recent months.

Nationally, the inventory of unsold homes hit a record 3.2-million units in March, while sales were flat.

"We were in a market where someone sold something for $400,000, the next person put it on the market for $450,000 and the next person listed it for $475,000," said Realtor Carolyn Kling of Tierra Verde Realty Inc. "That kind of rapid acceleration in price is not happening any longer, but people who are properly pricing properties are selling them."

She called the slowdown a return to stability after an incredible year.

However, rising numbers of unsold homes likely will hurt consumer confidence, which already is feeling the impact of higher gasoline prices, said Chris McCarty, director of survey research at the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research. The bureau reported Tuesday that its Florida consumer confidence index dipped two points in April, even as the national index rose two points to its highest level in almost four years.

McCarty said he expects most of the state to see a return to single-digit appreciation in home prices, but some parts might see a decline in prices for high-end homes. He said homeowners who hoped to tap their home equity will feel the impact.

Statewide, 18,881 homes sold in March, down from 24,091 in March 2005. The median sale price of $248,200 was 17 percent higher than in 2005 and double the median price of $121,600 in March 2001. However, it is little changed so far this year.

In the Tampa Bay area, sales fell 26 percent, while the median sales price of $222,800 was up 24 percent over last year, but flat so far this year. The Miami market was the state's strongest in March, with sales up 21 percent.

"It's like a stock market correction," said Virginia Lomagno, who manages St. Petersburg offices for Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate. "I think what we've lost are the speculators."

In Pinellas County, listings have tripled in the last year. The imbalance between sales and listings is particularly striking in the condo market.

"The huge surge of apartment conversions has increased that inventory so drastically that we are seeing some softening of prices," said Clearwater Realtor Phil Rogers of Realty Executives Suncoast.

"In this transition we're going to see a little more time on the market and properties certainly not going up at the appreciation rates we've seen in the past," Rogers said. "It's basic supply and demand."

Sales of existing condominiums fell 10 percent in the Tampa Bay area and 23 percent statewide. The median price was $172,300 in the Tampa Bay area and $214,200 statewide.

David Lereah, the Realtors' chief economist, said he was still looking for a gradual slowdown in housing that would result in a drop of around 6 percent in home sales this year and a slowing in price gains to around 6 percent, compared with the double-digit gains in prices in recent years.

This year's rise in mortgage rates is dampening sales of both existing and new homes and forcing builders to cut back on construction of new homes. Housing has been one of the standout performers in the current four-year-long economic expansion.

Information from Associated Press was used in this report. Helen Huntley can be reached at hhuntley@sptimes.com or 727 893-8230

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Leaping fish slams boater on Suwannee

By DEBORAH BALL

Sun staff writer

One minute, they were cruising down the Suwannee River near Bell, in Gilchrist County, basking in the day.

The next, Dawn E. Poirier, 31, of Kenneth City, near St. Petersburg, was knocked off her feet, apparently after a 3-foot-long Gulf sturgeon jumped into her fiance's boat, hitting her in the face, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.

The impact of the bony plates of the fish caused Poirier to suffer several facial injuries and fractures requiring plastic surgery, said her father, Ed White, 63, of St. Petersburg.

Poirier was recovering Monday from the freak accident that occurred Saturday at 5 p.m. near Bell, said Karen Parker, spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.

Poirier's father called the accident "an act of God."

"She was in the wrong place at the wrong time," White told The Sun from his daughter's bedside at Shands at the University of Florida on Monday.

The boat, which was being operated by Poirier's fiance, Johnston R. Staples III, 39, of St. Petersburg Beach, was traveling south on the river at about 30 to 35 mph in "safe operating conditions" when the sturgeon jumped into the boat and hit Poirier before striking the boat's motor cowling, Parker said.

"It's like she slammed into a brick wall," White said.

Staples took Poirier to a nearby home, and residents called 911, Parker said. Staples was not injured. Poirier was then airlifted to Shands at the UF, where doctors listed her in fair condition. In addition to her facial injuries, Poirier suffered a spinal fracture, had numerous stitches to her lips and right wrist and had abrasions on her shoulders.

The fish caused $1,000 in damage to the rear seat and motor cowling of the 19-foot Summerford boat, the FWC reported.

The fate of the sturgeon was unknown, Parker said.

This isn't the first time sturgeon have been known to jump out of the water and injure boaters, Parker said.

"This generally happens once or twice a year on the Suwannee," Parker said. "We've had people who have gotten hurt by the fish."

At least four reports of injuries as a result of leaping sturgeons were reported in North Central Florida in recent years. In July 2002, The Sun reported about the painful encounter a 19-year-old Perry man had when a Gulf sturgeon slammed into him as he was doing 45 to 50 mph on the Suwannee River. The man only suffered a concussion, but paramedics told him if the blow had been only inches higher, his neck would've been broken.

On Memorial Day weekend in 2002, a Gainesville woman suffered a collapsed lung and five broken ribs when a sturgeon jumped from the Suwannee River into the family boat.

Gulf sturgeons, coveted for their caviar, can jump as high as 8 feet in the air. They can be as long as 8 feet, and can weigh up to 200 pounds, Parker said. The fish typically live in the Suwannee River and the Gulf of Mexico and are considered a threatened species under federal law, Parker said. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the sturgeon's body is covered with bony plates and the snout is greatly extended and blade-like.

For Poirier and her family, the road to her recovery will be a long one, her father said. If any good can come from his daughter's painful ordeal, White said he hopes other boaters respect what could happen on the water.

"If people are fishing and boating on the Suwannee River, they need to be aware of their surroundings and know that these fish can and will jump," White said.

Deborah Ball can be reached at (352) 338-3109 or balld@gvillesun.com

Oxford Drive condos rejected

Sarasota County says no to the proposal for 95 units in Englewood.

By KEVIN DALE

kevin.dale@heraldtribune.com

SARASOTA COUNTY -- The County Commission Tuesday unanimously rejected a development that would have placed 95 condominiums next to an established residential neighborhood along East Dearborn Street.

The proposed site of the eight-building River Pointe West resembled a puzzle piece inserted amid three single-family homes.

"I don't know that I've seen a petition that was surrounded by such differing density," said Commissioner Nora Patterson.

"The configuration of this parcel leaves a lot to be desired," said Commissioner Shannon Staub, who represents the Englewood area.

The western edge of the development would have bordered South Oxford Drive, a two-lane road of older homes on spacious lots.

Nearly 40 area residents, many of them from South Oxford Drive, attended Tuesday's public hearing to oppose the development. They wore stickers that read: "Vote no on 05-32," a reference to the number of the rezoning petition.

"We're just so thrilled," said Kathleen Riggs, a South Oxford resident who helped organize residents after they learned of the development late last year. "We've been eating and breathing this for months."

While many residents pointed to the incompatibility of the project, others warned it could cause traffic problems, especially if the area had to be evacuated because of a hurricane.

The area's main evacuation route is River Road, a two-lane, flood-prone road that Commissioner Paul Mercier described as "fairly terrible." Patterson said the development might be more appropriate when River Road becomes a suitable evacuation route "and isn't just called that."

The development was represented by Englewood engineer Sandra Newell, lawyer Dan Bailey and Brian Lichterman, a former county planner turned consultant. During the past several months, the developer altered its plan in an attempt to win approval.

A controversial entrance off South Oxford Drive was eliminated; building heights were capped at 53 feet; and the condo buildings were moved farther away from the homes on South Oxford Drive.

The developer also offered to sell 15 percent -- or about 15 units -- as affordable housing, making the units available only to buyers who made Englewood's median income or less. According to the 2000 census, the median income for Englewood was $31,800 a year.

The compromises didn't appear to impress the commissioners. Commissioner John Thaxton said the developer should have designed a plan with fewer overall units and a larger percentage dedicated to lower-income buyers.

OCALA - Residents of Ocala's Autumn Oaks subdivision did not like the idea of apartments planned across Northeast 14th Street from their neighborhood.

A site excavation firm's plan to build an industrial complex along Southwest 13th Street concerned the neighbors there.

West of Interstate 75, residents of the Country Oaks subdivision objected to the prospect of retail development along the 4400 block of West State Road 200.

Those three projects drew public opposition Monday night, when nine land-use-change applications went before the Ocala Planning and Zoning Commission, an advisory board to the City Council.

Along the north side of the 2000 to 2100 block of Northeast 14th Street, Land Investments of Ocala Inc. has applied for a change that their attorney Steve Gray said would allow construction of an approximately 150-unit upscale apartment complex on a partially wooded, roughly 10-acre parcel. About 50 residents from Autumn Oaks showed up in opposition, concerned about the possibility of cut-through traffic speeding along their neighborhood streets.

The city advisory board recommended the proposed project be whittled down to 12 apartments per acre, about 120 total, and that the developers submit a site plan when they apply for a zoning change.

A short distance away, property owner Laura Louise Toms has applied for a change to allow as many as 264 apartments on 22 acres located about 500 feet west of the 1700 to 1900 blocks of Northeast 19th Avenue. The advisory board gave that application a thumbs down.

Board members said they believe the land should keep its medium industrial designation because it abuts railroad tracks, and they voiced safety concerns because an undeveloped tract of industrially zoned land lies directly to the east and shares road access.

James Owen, who lives nearby, feared the combination of the two nearby apartment complexes could bring gridlock to area roads.

"These are very near one another," Owen said. "You could throw a rock from one to the other."

Several residents along Southwest 13th Street showed up with concerns about heavy truck traffic if a limited liability corporation connected with a Margate paving company wins approval for a medium industrial land use across the street from their homes. Approval would have allowed the storage of limerock on the land. The advisory board unanimously recommended denial of the company's application.

On the 4400 block of West State Road, limited liability corporation Ocala Investments received a favorable recommendation after whittling its request for the more intense retail services land use designation, which would allow car lots, down to the neighborhood business use, designed for small shops and offices. Several residents in the neighboring Country Oaks subdivision argued the State Road 200 corridor already is saturated with retail development.

"If you're going to start bringing in neighborhood businesses, we're the residents and we don't want them," said Jerry Bulger, a Country Oaks resident. "Who else are they going to sell to?"

The City Council is scheduled to vote May 23 whether to forward the land use change applications to the Florida Department of Community Affairs for review. If approved by DCA, the applications would have to go before the City Council for a second land use vote and then for zoning changes before the projects could move forward.

_______________
Christopher Curry may be reached at chris.curry@starbanner.com or (352) 867-4115.

Dade City delays vote on project

Leaders want feedback from the state before considering plans for a high-density residential development.

By MOLLY MOORHEAD, Times Staff Writer
Published April 26, 2006

DADE CITY - After three hours of pleading from impassioned residents, a divided City Commission voted Tuesday to delay action on a development proposed for a rural area west of downtown.

The 4-1 vote - which came after numerous failed motions - means the city will wait to send a proposed development for 112 acres off St. Joe Road and 21st Street to the state Department of Community Affairs. That agency weighs in on large land use changes in communities. Developers want to build a maximum of 4.6 homes per acre in a neotraditional neighborhood with alleys and back-loading garages.

The property is surrounded by large home sites on multiple acres. It was the high density that drew objections from residents and commissioners.

"This is far too aggressive for us here in Dade City," said St. Joe Road resident Gail Greenfelder. "We are one of few surviving small towns in Florida."

Commissioner Scott Black, the lone dissenting vote, said he did not support the high density but favored getting feedback from DCA.

"Sending to Tallahassee is not approving anything," he said.

Commissioner Steve Van Gorden first moved to deny sending the project to Tallahassee outright. That motion failed, and he then moved to wait until a later transmittal.

"If we're not inclined to approve it when it comes back," Mayor Hutch Brock said.

Van Gorden completed the thought: "then why do it?"

Commissioner Bill Dennis, who earlier in the night favored transmitting the project, relented and agreed. Commissioner Eunice Penix also switched sides.

Brock praised the quality of the project but not the location.

"It's not in the right spot, and because it doesn't fit I can't vote for it," Brock said.

The vote was a relief to residents of the area who mobilized during the weekend and showed up wearing buttons with the words "Preserve northeast Pasco." They cited concerns about traffic and overtaxed utility service.

The commission also approved for transmittal to DCA two other land use changes that are a preliminary step toward development. The changes, along with annexation into the city, could come back before the commission as soon as July for final approval.

The properties are:

288 acres (which include 62 acres of wetlands) at Old Lakeland Highway and Morningside Drive. Developers plan a maximum of 500 houses and townhomes.

51 acres east of U.S. 301 at Clinton Avenue, slated for about 175 homes.

In other news

Commissioners directed City Attorney Karla Owens to continue exploring amendments to the city's noise ordinance. Because of increasing complaints about noise violations, the city will look into setting maximum levels in commercial and residential districts and how the rules can be enforced.

The city presented Dennis with a certificate of appreciation for 16 years of service on the board. Tuesday was his last meeting, as Dennis lost his seat in this month's city election to Camille Hernandez.

"You have literally been the example that we can all learn from," Brock said.

Having read all of these emails I can only say this: When you ask a question and don't like the answer you get, you are not supposed to shoot the messenger. Commissioner elect Hernandez has to possess clairvoyance to be able to determine management style by a few written exchanges. The emails from Owens and Sample answered the question that was asked and were succinct and to the point. Some of Hernandez' responses to those emails verge on the surreal. In them she answers her own questions and complains that she didn't get the kind of response she was looking for...  some kind of theoretical email tennis match.

My advice?

If you want an intellectual exchange, take a course in philosophy. The Sunshine Law isn't theoretical. It's pretty cut and dried.

E-mails scold two Dade City administrators

By MOLLY MOORHEAD, Times Staff Writer
Published April 26, 2006

DADE CITY - Two weeks before taking office, newly elected city Commissioner Camille Hernandez is questioning the skills of the city's top administrators.

"Where is the talent running the City?" Hernandez wrote to City Manager Harold Sample on Monday.

In the e-mail, Hernandez called Sample's management style "extremely concerning" and said City Attorney Karla Owens has failed to explain her reasoning behind a legal opinion.

The three have been engaged in a sometimes-tense e-mail exchange since last week, when Hernandez questioned whether Florida's Government-in-the-Sunshine (open meetings) Law applies to her before she is sworn in May 9. She won election earlier this month, unseating Commissioner Bill Dennis.

Hernandez initially asserted that she was free to communicate with other commissioners before taking office - a position Sample and Owens disagreed with. After reading two attorney general opinions on the topic, Hernandez came to agree that she was bound by the law, which prohibits elected officials from discussing public business outside public meetings.

The commissioner-elect's e-mail Monday chastised Sample for how he responded to her Sunshine Law question, in which he told her that compliance was her responsibility and not a city issue.

"Your words are exclusionary and from a cultural organizational perspective they are divisive. Recall that in my campaign, I said that this commission was exclusionary. If as our chief executive officer this is the esteem you afford a first term commissioner, I can only imagine how you must treat city employees," Hernandez wrote.

"Your management style is extremely concerning. The consequence of which reduces my orientation to city government to self discovery. Shame on you."

Hernandez could not be reached Tuesday and did not respond to written questions from the St. Petersburg Times. But her e-mail seems to indicate she has little faith in Sample's ability to lead the city.

She wrote: "Here is the fundamental question, Mr. Sample. If after almost a quarter century in management/executive positions in governmental service, you find no value in management style that is supportive and inclusionary, the real question is will you ever? This is extremely concerning."

Sample, city manager since mid 2003, refused to comment on the e-mail Tuesday.

Hernandez also wrote she was disappointed that Owens consulted the state Attorney General's Office for advice on the Sunshine Law question because Hernandez was interested in understanding how Owens herself interpreted the law.

"It was disappointing then, but it is concerning now," Hernandez wrote. "This places the Dade City Commission at a disadvantage in the conduct of the people's business."

She wrote 308 words of "imaginary counsel" on how she thought Owens should have handled her questions, including suggesting an orientation for Hernandez at City Hall.

Owens declined to comment on the e-mail.

Hernandez also questioned how quickly the news media obtained her e-mails to Sample and Owens. The Times requested copies of all correspondence between Sample, Owens and Hernandez, which are public records.

She urged Sample to post her e-mails on the city's Web site, "as I intend to conduct the people's business under the full spectrum of Sunshine," Hernandez wrote.

Apr 25, 2006

Time to slow growth?

By MICHAEL D. BATES
mbates@hernandotoday.com


BROOKSVILLE — Although the term “moratorium” was not mentioned, a few members of a citizens committee on capital improvements said Monday it may be time to put the brakes on development in Hernando County.

Their reasoning: growth in this county has risen too fast and infrastructure is not able to catch up.

Hernando County is growing so fast that new roads, parks and other infrastructure improvements will be needed. The county is estimating a $246 million shortfall in capital improvement projects over the next 10 years.

The 25-member Citizens Advisory Committee has been meeting bi-weekly for several months, looking at the need for capital improvements and ways to fund them.

“You’ve got to be flexible,” said Committee member Wayne Dukes.

Dukes said the number of homes for sale in Hernando County has exploded in only one year — a clear indication, he said, that investors are not making a return on their investment.

“We need to slow (growth) down a little,” said Dukes, who stopped short of calling for a moratorium on continued commercial and residential permits.

Committee spokesman Len Tria said any slowing of development would be self-defeating because it would stop needed revenue from coming into county coffers. That money is used to help pay for infrastructure improvements, such as roads, Tria said.

“It’s a catch-22,” he said.

County Commission Chairwoman Diane Rowden said she is not afraid of using the “m” word, even though it seems to scare some people.

“I think that we shouldn’t avoid talking about that,” Rowden said. “We should definitely bring it to the table.”

Rowden said roads in this county are either at or over traffic capacity and developers’ projects are being approved without careful consideration of the consequences to infrastructure. Rowden said tougher questions need to be asked of developers before they are granted rezonings.

Rowden said there is no such thing as “slowing growth down,”

“How do you do that?” she asked. “How do you slow it down, other than stopping it?”

Committee member Bob Kanner believes growth in Hernando County will slow down of its own accord in the next two years because of rising fuel costs and “outrageous homeowners insurance” prices.

“Anybody who is thinking of building a new home or moving to Hernando County will be thinking twice before they make the actual move,” Kanner said.

Then, who is going to pay for the growth, especially when growth is one of the main ways the county receives its income?” he asked.

“I’m not in favor of a moratorium, nor am I in favor of raising taxes,” Kanner added. “I am in favor of separating the wants from the absolute needs of the county because of the way expenses are going up.

“It’s not a priority at this time to be building parks with swimming pools,” said Kanner, referring to a proposal by the county parks director of a public swimming pool at the soon-to-expand Anderson Snow Park.

County Deputy Administrator Larry Jennings said the committee has done a good job of soliciting public comment.

“I think it’s been productive,” Jennings said.

Although created by the county commissioners, that board is not bound by any recommendation the committee presents to them, Jennings said.

Committee members will finalize a list of recommendations at their May 22 meeting and present them to county commissioners for consideration.

Reporter Michael D. Bates can be contacted at (352) 544-5290. 

Sarasota County considers more impact fee increases

By DOUG SWORD

doug.sword@heraldtribune.com

SARASOTA COUNTY -- Just months after raising impact fees on new homes, the county is looking to charge even more to pay for new roads, fire stations and other public projects.

This summer there will be public hearings on a proposal likely to call for big increases in impact fees for roads, parks and libraries. By year's end, the county may create new impact fees to pay for new jails, courts and other buildings, county commissioners said during a workshop Tuesday.

"Growth has not paid for itself, in my estim00ation," said Sarasota County Commissioner Shannon Staub.

The county estimates it will be $200 million short in funding to build the new parks and recreation facilities needed by new residents in the coming decades, she said. Other estimates put the county's shortfall for new road construction at well over $1 billion.

Sarasota County isn't alone in leaning on impact fees to pay for growth and the demand for services that it brings.

Several local governments have voted for major hikes in the last year. Among them:

Last August, Manatee County increased its array of fees by more than 50 percent, to nearly $15,000 for a new home.

In March, Charlotte Charlotte raised fees by more than $5,000 -- a near tripling -- for a 2,000-square-foot home.

In January, Sarasota County approved an increase of nearly $400 per home for its road impact fee and hired Duncan Associates for $150,000 to study bigger increases.

In recent weeks, both Punta Gorda and North Port also have considered large impact-fee increases.

On Tuesday, consultants hired by the Sarasota County Commission suggested a number of ways to legally justify fee increases.

One way is to update traffic studies -- one being used by the county is 16 years old -- to get a better picture of how growth impacts road use, said Clancy Mullen, with the Texas firm Duncan Associates.

The head of a Florida builders group scoffed at Mullen's suggestions, saying they're merely ways to justify an increase in impact fees.

"Duncan Associates is a very reputable group, but they get paid to find more money," said Doug Buck, lobbyist for the Florida Home Builders Association. "Nobody hires them to lower impact fees."

Buck acknowledged that new homes generate more trips on local roads, but said existing homeowners are also driving more, yet the burden on paying for roads is placed on new home buyers.

Signs of the struggle to keep up with growth are evident throughout the county, where road-widening projects totaling $80 million consume much of this year's improvements budget.

And escalating land costs mean it's getting more and more expensive for governments to widen roads because they have to buy the right-of-way, Mullen said.

"Ten years ago, projects were easy," he said. "You've kind of used those up."

There are better ways to support open government

A Times Editorial
Published April 25, 2006

Dade City Commissioner-elect Camille Hernandez should hold a town hall meeting. Or maybe she and other commissioners can share ideas with the public in a visioning session to chart the city's future.

Either would be an appropriate way to start the tenure of an elected public official who ran on a campaign of a more inclusive and open city government.

Such a public session also would be a better christening for an open-government advocate than Hernandez's e-mails last week to City Manager Harold Sample, questioning the legal advice to obey Florida's Government-in-the-Sunshine Law. That state law prohibits two or more elected officials from discussing public business privately, and both Sample and City Attorney Karla Ownes said Hernandez had to follow the law even though she won't be sworn in as commissioner until next month. Hernandez didn't buy it, at least initially.

"My intention prior to our conversation was to continue politics as a commissioner-elect unencumbered by concerns related to Sunshine," Hernandez wrote to Sample April 17.

Hernandez contended the law did not apply to her because she was not an incumbent, but she correctly backed off her stance after reading two opinions from the State Attorney General's Office.

Hernandez never did say what she wanted to discuss or with whom. Monday, in an e-mail response to questions from the Times, she said her e-mails to Sample never stated she wanted to meet privately with he*r soon-to-be fellow commission members.

Maybe not. But here is what one of her e-mails stated:

"Unless there is other written material that contradicts my understanding, consider advising the commissioners as to my untethered freedom, this will allow me to communicate with them freely."

That sentiment certainly invites the opportunity for private meetings and conversations. It also invites legitimate criticism that Hernandez wanted to act contrary to her campaign platform for a more open government and her postelection statement that the days were gone when city business was carried out in private offices by a few people.

What is allowable under the law is for an outgoing official to meet with his or her successor, but Hernandez said she planned no such meeting with defeated Commissioner Bill Dennis. Too bad. His 16 years of experience is a resource that should be tapped by anyone in public office.

Hernandez still champions a more open government. On Monday, she asked the city manager to post her e-mails on the city Web site, if permissible, "for all to enjoy as I can not imagine a better forum to discuss the city's business."

We can think of one better: a public meeting.

County nears deal to buy coastal land

County planners envision a low-impact park, boat dock and observation tower for the 600-acre property.

By GARRETT THEROLF
Published April 25, 2006

HOLIDAY - A deal is in the works that would place one of the last pieces of undeveloped Pasco coastland in public hands.

A vote by county commissioners today to approve the $3.2-million deal would bring a successful conclusion to two years of negotiations that appeared to be heading toward failure just weeks ago.

"This thing," said Commissioner Ann Hildebrand, "has just come together in the past few days. Hopefully, we have a deal."

The property is 600 acres of marsh and scrubland just south of Gulf Harbors and west of Strauber Memorial Parkway. Indian mounds, eagle nests and flocks of spoonbills are all found there. County planners hope it will soon be the site of a low-impact park, boat dock and observation tower for the property. Negotiations, led on the county side by Hildebrand, had their breakthrough late last week when the owners said they would accept a proposal that is lower than a competing private offer because they wanted it to go to public use, Hildebrand said.

The competing proposal, which has not been disclosed publicly, would have exercised the owner's right to place up to seven homes on the property, Hildebrand said.

BRJM Development, a Riverview partnership which is selling the land, could not be reached for comment.

The county and state governments have pursued the property for two years, but they hit snags as both levels of government appraised the property at different values. The county consistently placed a higher value on it.

Because the final state appraisal put the land at $2.7-million, the $3.2-million deal requires the county to abandon its plan to pay for the property with a 50-50 match from the state. The state will pay only 50 percent of its appraisal, and the county would have to come up with the rest.

None of the county commissioners except Hildebrand have promised to vote for the deal to be discussed at today's meeting at the county government center in New Port Richey.

Commissioner Pat Mulieri, however, said she sees the acquisition of coastal land as a high priority.

"I think," Mulieri said, "you have a board now that truly wants to preserve as much open space as we can."

Garrett Therolf covers Pasco County government. He can be reached at 1-800-7505, ext. 6232, or in west Pasco at 869-6232. His e-mail address is gtherolf@sptimes.com

Dade City hotel developer on hot seat

The city manager wants the man hoping to build the Hampton Inn to explain the lack of progress on the project.

By MOLLY MOORHEAD, Times Staff Writer
Published April 25, 2006

DADE CITY - The developer of the city's long-awaited hotel has received building permits and is ready to start construction of the Hampton Inn on U.S. 301 south of downtown.

But City Manager Harold Sample said he thinks there is no way the hotel can be built by the deadline set in an agreement the city entered with developer Piyush Mulji. That agreement, which would reimburse Mulji up to $150,000 in property taxes, says the hotel must be completed by September.

"Unless there's an extension to the agreement, I believe he's in default," Sample said Monday.

He plans to recommend that the City Commission, at its meeting tonight, compel Mulji to lay out the reasons the agreement should not be nullified.

Mulji's attorney, Leonard Johnson, said there are many.

Hampton Inn has asked for tweaks in the hotel's design. Architects and engineers are hard to come by in the frenzied development climate.

But Mulji is still committed to the project.

"While there's not a lot going on on the ground, there has been more money spent," Johnson said. "This is a big project. There are a lot of moving parts that go along with a $5-million deal."

As planned, the hotel will be three stories with 64 rooms and conference space on 2.7 acres next to KFC on U.S. 301.

Johnson acknowledged that the September deadline probably cannot be met.

"We were probably all too aggressive in that time frame," he said.

The city first signed a deal with Mulji in January 2005, but he missed the deadline to close on the property. Commissioners gave him a one-time extension, which he met. He held a ceremonial groundbreaking in August that was attended by numerous local officials and dignitaries.

n a memo to commissioners, Sample said the only site work that has been done since then is clearing of surface vegetation and installing some temporary fencing.

Commissioner Steve Van Gorden said he would favor extending the agreement.

"My opinion is Mr. Mulji is a very honest man. I believe he's going to have something started in three to four weeks," Van Gorden said Monday. "He has invested his time. He has relocated his family to Lake Jovita. I think he means business."

If the deadline is not met, Mulji can still build the hotel. He just wouldn't receive the incentives unless the agreement is extended.

Sample has said he would not offer incentives to another developer because the market no longer demands it.

But waiting for another developer, Van Gorden said, would be a detriment to the city.

"You're looking at 18 to 24 months to get to the position we are in now," he said, and likely two to three years before a hotel is up and running.

Molly Moorhead can be reached at 352 521-6521 or toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6521. Her e-mail address is moorhead@sptimes.com

Interior nominee Kempthorne worries environmentalists, state

Two weeks before the start of his confirmation hearing in the Senate, Dirk Kempthorne, the nominee to take over the Department of the Interior, has environmentalists worried.

Nowhere is that concern more acute or the stakes over who runs the Interior Department greater than in Florida, the front line in the fight to expand offshore oil drilling.

With $75-a-barrel oil and prices at the pump exceeding $3 a gallon, whether and where America boosts its oil production is arguably the most complex and divisive issue the Interior Department's new secretary will face.

Observers expect Kempthorne to stay the course charted by predecessor Gale Norton, whose administration made a series of moves to position the once-off-limits eastern Gulf of Mexico within the oil industry's reach. While a bill sponsored by Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., that would allow drilling in areas not covered by a presidential moratorium has many anti-drilling forces concerned, some experts say a bigger and more immediate threat to Florida's coastline could come from Interior Department maneuvering.

Under Norton, the Interior Department redrew territorial boundaries in the Gulf of Mexico, putting drilling-friendly Louisiana in charge of eastern Gulf waters that formerly fell under Florida's purview.

And a new offshore leasing plan released by the Interior Department includes waters as close as 100 miles to Florida's coastline and contains a provision to lease even closer if a presidential moratorium that covers most of the eastern Gulf is lifted.

"The signal is nothing is sacred off of Florida, and a lot of this is secretarial discretion," said Richard Charter, co-chair of the National Outer Continental Shelf Coalition. "Interior can do it themselves, and so there is growing concern that the next secretary will determine the fate of Florida's tourism economy."

Kempthorne, who is the governor of Idaho, refused to be interviewed for this story in "deference to the Senate hearings," said Mike Journee, Kempthorne's spokesman.

Confirmation tactics

Though Kempthorne's status as a former senator all but assures his confirmation, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., has threatened to place a hold on the nomination to gain leverage in the offshore debate. A hold basically works like a filibuster, and Kempthorne should not have a hard time getting the 60 votes necessary to move the confirmation forward.

Nelson previously used the tactic to gain an important offshore drilling concession for Florida. In 2001, he placed a hold on the nomination of J. Steven Griles for an Interior Department undersecretary position in exchange for Norton's pledge to keep an area not protected by the moratorium known as Lease Sale Area 181 out of the offshore oil drilling plan for 2002-2007.

Nelson spokesman Bryan Gulley said the senator will decide whether to follow through on the threat after he meets privately with Kempthorne next week.

Regardless, the confirmation process does present an opportunity for Nelson and Sen. Mel Martinez, a Republican who sits on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee who will conduct the confirmation hearing, to gain an offshore deal palatable to Florida.

"We intend to ask (Kempthorne) whether he shares the administration's plans for drilling off the coast of Florida and in Alaska," Gulley said. "...I wouldn't say this is our last chance to secure anything for Florida. This discussion about to take place in the Senate leaves us room to work with Sen. Martinez and hopefully other coastal senators to make a difference."

A spokesman for Martinez said the senator "puts a high price on the president getting his choice for cabinet positions" but that he expects the confirmation hearing to be contentious.

"Gov. Kempthorne will face a variety of tough questions, not just from Florida," said Martinez spokesman Ken Lundgren.

Balancing act

As a U.S. senator, Kempthorne twice voted for measures that would have opened the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling and voted against increasing funding for renewable energy research in 1994.

On at least three occasions, he was a proponent of plans to sell off some of the same federal lands he will be entrusted with managing if confirmed as head of Interior. Pitched as new revenue streams for paying down the national debt, the land sell-offs were similar to a plan President Bush has pushed for in recent months. Conservationists have railed against the idea, saying such a sale would open up vast tracts of previously protected land to the mining and logging industries.

"(Kempthorne) is closely allied with the extracting industries and I would never consider him a friend of the natural environment," says Mark Ferrulo, chairman of the Florida Public Interest Research Group.

In 71 environment-related pieces of legislation during his term in the Senate, the League of Conservation Voters agreed with Kempthorne's vote just once.

Environmentalists hope the hearings will provide a chance to highlight their concerns about not only offshore drilling but a host of other Bush administration policies.

The Interior Department manages the national park system, more than 500 national wildlife refuges and the Bureau of Land Management, an agency that manages 262 million acres of lands, mostly in the western United States. Altogether, the Interior Department manages more than 500 million acres, about 20 percent of all the land in the United States.

Partly because of its vast swaths of responsibility, the agency has long been marked by a struggle to balance the competing goals of protecting and conserving public lands and managing their assets. As a result, the Interior Department often finds itself taking hits both from environmentalists rarely satisfied with the agency's conservation efforts and from big industries that view federal lands as resources to be mined, drilled and logged.

Industry gained the upper hand in that battle under Norton's administration, which has advocated a variety of pro-business measures, from allowing snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park to the public lands sell-off to a plan that would allow states to build roads through national parks.

"We don't expect anything to come out different with him in charge," said Athan Manuel, an environmental lobbyist with PIRG in Washington, D.C. "From our perspective, this is a case of meet the new boss, same as the old boss."

Lawmakers look at limiting power to seize property
By Aaron Deslatte
CAPITOL BUREAU

Spurred by a June 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision, lawmakers are moving toward passing a law that bars community redevelopment agencies, cities and counties from using eminent domain power to seize slums and blighted areas for economic development.

Instead, local governments would be allowed to use the condemnation power only to build roads or sidewalks or to lay wire or pipe for utilities.

"It's a hard-line stand, but it's a good stand," said Sen. Daniel Webster, R-Winter Haven.

States across the country have reacted to the Kelo v. City of New London ruling by passing similar legislative rebuttals. In Kelo, the court said that local governments could take private land from one owner and give it to another for economic development projects.

The Florida Senate version, along with a proposed constitutional amendment stripping eminent domain powers from the state Constitution, cleared its last Senate committee stop Monday, but not without complaints from one city official.

"Let us complete this rescue mission," said Riviera Beach Mayor Michael Brown. His city is in the midst of $2.4 billion waterfront redevelopment that he hopes will raise property values and create new jobs in one of Florida's most impoverished and crime-ridden cities.

Members of the Senate Community Affairs committee took Brown's side Monday, amending the bill to allow some eminent domain projects still in court to proceed regardless of the new playing rules the bill would enact.

That riled property rights advocates in the audience, and Webster hinted he would work to remove that provision on the Senate floor.

Andrew Brigham, a property rights lawyer fighting eminent domain proceedings in Florida, complained the compromise would create a "Kelo incubator" where local governments would race to press forward with condemnation projects.

But Kraig Conn, with the Florida League of Cities, argued the restriction would prohibit local governments from taking land for legitimate public purposes such as building affordable housing, mass transit systems and ports.

The Florida House has already passed a version of the eminent domain bill, along with constitutional changes that voters would have to approve. But several senators said Monday they couldn't support such a sweeping plan on the Senate floor.

One of those was the Community Affairs Committee chairman, who voted for the constitutional fix but said he wouldn't support it on the floor.

"We create this, and there's no way out of it," said Sen. Michael Bennett, a Bradenton developer.

"We can carve out situations where it's true blight and true need," he said. "And yet, we can't take someone's home and then give it to Wal-Mart." n

Road's opponents pitch greenway

By CINDY SWIRKO

Sun staff writer

Millhopper Road residents opposed to a plan to build a cut-through street from NW 39th Avenue have pitched an alternative - a bicycle/pedestrian greenway.

David Flagg, a former state representative and Gainesville city commissioner who lives near the proposed street, said a greenway will preserve the scenic nature of Millhopper Road, provide a transportation alternative and protect a wildlife corridor.

"What is now a designated scenic road will no longer be scenic if the (new road) is built," Flagg said. "This may be the last opportunity to maintain it as the unique roadway that it is. It is a sincere idea of offering a compromise."

The proposed road is linked to SpringHills, a planned development of regional impact that will have more than 2,000 homes plus commercial space, including several big box stores.

Gainesville attorney Patrice Boyes, who represents the SpringHills developers, said the company was asked by the county to pay the cost of extending NW 83rd and has agreed.

"We think it is a wise decision for the long-range transportation planning for that sector of the county," Boyes said.

Millhopper Road's shady trees and scenery make it popular with bicyclists and runners. It is also flanked on both sides by San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park.

The county has right of way for the extension of NW 83rd Street from 39th Avenue to Millhopper Road. County officials said the extension would add to the street grid, providing an alternative route for some motorists.

That could ease congestion at several points including the east end of Millhopper and at the Millhopper Road/43rd Street and 43rd Street/39th Avenue intersections.

SpringHills developers plan to build an extension of NW 98th Street eastward over Interstate 75 that would connect with the 83rd Street extension.

Alachua County Principal Planner Steve Lachnicht said the 83rd Street extension would be about 1 miles long.

Proposed changes to the county's comprehensive plan related to SpringHills are under state review.

The extension is in the plan, so it would take a plan amendment to instead create a greenway.

"I think the extension to Millhopper is substantially important to their whole traffic study. It lets them disburse their traffic more. Without it, all of the traffic would have to go on 39th Avenue," Lachnicht said.

Flagg said he understands that the SpringHills plans are already well under way and wished he had thought of the greenway sooner.

While new streets can be beneficial, Flagg said, a better location for a cut-through would be in the more urbanized eastern end of Millhopper.

Other Millhopper Road residents said they oppose the extension and favor the greenway.

"A lot of us on Millhopper are going to be negatively affected. The whole reason we moved out here was to be in nature on a quiet, scenic road. The cut-through is really going to change that on the western part of Millhopper Road," Sally Lawrence said. "There's a lot of wildlife, too, that would be affected."

Other individuals and groups, particularly environmental and bicycle/pedestrian advocates, said they also favor a greenway.

"Greenways and trails are a wonderful idea because everybody can use them and they provide connections to schools, neighborhoods and shopping," said Gainesville resident Linda Crider, coordinator for Bike Florida.

Cindy Swirko can be reached at 374-5024 or swirkoc@gvillesun.com

Home buyers pay plenty to have view of fake lakes

The Associated Press

Mughis Chaudhry wanted a house on the water and an easy commute to his office -- just like many people in the Orlando metropolitan area.

But unlike most home seekers, Chaudhry, 36, was willing to pay nearly $600,000 for a lakefront lot, even though it is a fake lake being carved out of the ground.

Residential developments have long dressed up retention ponds and presented them as lakes, but because of a diminishing supply of waterfront property, the practice is reaching new heights in west Orange County.

Chaudhry, a builder, purchased nearly an acre lot on Swan Lake in the new Savona luxury-home community being built on South Apopka-Vineland Road. Savona's waterfront lots, which range up to nearly $900,000, appear to be the highest-priced ever in this area for homesites on a manmade lake, according to Beverly Pindling, president of the Orlando Regional Realtor Association.

"Developers and builders can't find any natural waterfront to build on, so their alternative now is to get the land and make their own lake," Pindling said.

With the supply of open lakefront lots drying up, developers of even top-dollar homes are digging their own fake lakes and sprucing them up or developing land on previously shunned bodies of water such as heavily polluted Lake Apopka.

Then, they are adding amenities to lure high-end buyers content to just watch the water without dipping a toe.

"We have little kids, so we don't do watersports," Chaudhry said. "Our main goal was to be on the water, and with all the other amenities and the location, I think it was the best deal out there."

Chaudhry was one of the first to buy into Savona, a "concierge community" being built around the 12-acre manmade lake, which will be the lushly landscaped centerpiece of the 56-acre development with 37 homesites.

Located just east of Lake Down on nature's own Butler Chain of Lakes, Savona is not the only new high-end development planned around manmade lakes in the booming area.

A few miles to the west, developer Kevin Azzouz plans to create The Gardens at Village of Windermere, a 120-home development built around two manmade lakes on property he owns within the Chaine Du Lac gated community, which will be renamed, according to Azzouz, who lives on Lake Butler.

"I think there is a market for homes on manmade lakes if you create a sense of place," said the developer.

His new community will be landscaped like a botanical garden with Tuscan-style homes. Three-quarter-acre lots will be offered at $600,000 to $800,000.

"This tells us that once we run out of lake sites here, they'll just start building more lakes," said Gary Bruhn, mayor of Windermere, where waterfront lots routinely sell for more than $1 million.

Excavator Jon Kidd of Consolidated Contractors International will dig and haul out more than 7,300 truckloads of dirt to create the 25-foot-deep Swan Lake. It is being gouged out of a former auto-salvage yard and adjoining nursery land a few hundred yards off Florida's Turnpike.

Buyers already have purchased more than a dozen of Savona's premium-priced lots on the manmade lake. The rest of its homesites have been sold to Brentwood Custom Homes for resale to its clients.

Frank Pizzica, owner of Brentwood, intends to build mansions valued at $2 million to $6 million in Savona. The veteran homebuilder snapped up the Savona lots because prime land -- lakefront or otherwise -- is increasingly difficult for custom builders to find in west Orange, he said.

The diminishing supply of waterfront homesites has forced both builders and home buyers to either dig their own lakes or create developments on waterfront property they shunned in the past, he said.

"The biggest eye-opener for me was the Bella Collina project on Lake Apopka," Pizzica said. "I remember driving around there years ago and seeing that lake's brown water, and now they are building $12 million homes on it. It is kind of a mind blower."

Real-estate agent Mark Leongomez, who works with Savona's developers, said they have "created value" for their community by adding high-end amenities, just as the Ginn Co. did to market 1,900-acre Bella Collina's 800 luxury homesites.

Waterfront lots in Bella Collina are selling for more than a million dollars on Lake Apopka and also on Lake Siena, which area residents refer to as "Lake Hyponex" because it is a former peat mine that became a 300-acre lake when a dam broke.

"Bella Collina is on a natural lake, but it was known as the most-polluted lake in Central Florida, so they created value by marketing it as a golf and equestrian community," Leongomez said.

Savona's allure will be enhanced by the promise of exclusivity, security and 24-hour concierge service, said co-developer George Kalivretenos.

Kalivretenos, who is also involved in The Lexington luxury condo-hotel project in downtown Orlando, purchased three separate parcels for about $10 million to develop Savona.

Milton Hess, who sold Kalivretenos 35 acres from his 56-acre Landscape Nursery for $7.5 million, has fended off real-estate agents and developers for years but finally decided that his potted plants were sitting on gold.

"It is on the turnpike and has big water tanks and cell towers around it, but it was still one of the best pieces of land left around here," Hess said.

Kalivretenos plans to put another $4 million into creating the subdivision, which he described as "a great in-town location with an estate feel."

For a $1,400 monthly homeowner's fee, residents will be able to call their on-site concierge service to provide a catered dinner, take out the cleaning, make dinner reservations or arrange for a car to be washed, waxed and detailed.

"It's similar to what Isleworth and Lake Nona residents have and many say it is one of the biggest attractions of living there," Pizzica said.

Savona residents will live within a brick-walled compound with the only entrance and exit guarded by a 24-hour security post. There will also be a perimeter jogging trail, tennis courts, a putting green and a community park area.

The new subdivision, which is still being excavated, has attracted interest from current Isleworth and Keene's Point residents as well as celebrities and professional athletes. LPGA tour pro Se Ri Pak of Orlando is among one of the first to purchase a Swan Lake lot, according to the developers.

Fred Guitton, an Orlando mortgage banker currently living in Baldwin Park, bought one $500,000 Savona lot for himself and picked up a neighboring lot for resale, he said.

"If you want to be on the water in Windermere, you have to have a few million to drop, and it is also more expensive in Isleworth, so I thought this was a pretty affordable opportunity," he said.

The fact that Swan Lake is a faux lake is not a problem, he said.

"I don't even call it a lake. It's a retention pond. But it is water, and it means you don't have a neighbor right behind you."

Polk Builders Sue to Cut School Impact Fee
Arguing that the latest school impact fee forces homeowners to pay for the state's class-size amendment, the Polk County Builders Association filed suit Tuesday in the Circuit Court of the 10th Judicial Circuit to reduce the fee.

The builders association's suit contends that only $2,838.26 of the current $8,596 school impact fee is justified and that the fee should be decreased accordingly. The group said Tuesday that $5,757.74 of the current fee is tied to the amendment and, therefore, unconstitutional.

 

MPO calls for new vision of I-75

Local officials urge state to avoid piecemeal widening, create a master plan

Road engineers and designers speak of a day when Interstate 75 in Southwest Florida could eventually have toll lanes for express traffic, a light-rail system in its median and other features to move people faster.

But those state officials aren't incorporating the ideas into any long-range plan, and instead focus on simply widening I-75.

It's a strategy that some local elected officials consider shortsighted.

"I just think we need to have a master plan," Manatee County Commissioner Joe McClash said Monday, after he and other elected officials heard an update about the proposed widening of a 21-mile stretch of the highway. "We can do better."

The Florida Department of Transportation is working on designs to upgrade interchanges and add lanes to several sections of Interstate 75 in Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte and other counties.

Yet several members of the Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization told the FDOT that they now find fault with that piecemeal approach.

Several MPO members say they lack a mental picture of what could be I-75's full potential, other than becoming just a wider highway.

"This board hasn't had that discussion," Manatee County Commissioner Jane von Hahmann said.

The future of I-75 came up as the MPO reviewed the FDOT's designs for a $400 million project from North River Road in south Sarasota County to Kings Highway in Charlotte County.

If federal dollars become available for construction, the FDOT hopes to widen that stretch of I-75 from four lanes to six around 2020, to eight lanes by about 2032 and to 10 lanes sometime after that.

FDOT officials explained that some of the additional lanes could be built in a 114-foot-wide median and perhaps be reserved as toll lanes for express traffic. The tolls would help pay for the project.

The remaining 64-foot-wide median could still accommodate a future light-rail system.

Yet MPO members noted that the express lanes and light-rail ideas are not included in the designs that they agreed to forward to the Federal Highway Administration. Such ideas would have to be coordinated with other counties that use I-75, they added.

Apr 25, 2006

Residents: New Tollway Cancels Out Need

By CHRIS BUTLER
cbutler@highlandstoday.com


SEBRING — Golf Hammock residents said they might have new ammunition in their quest to keep the county from extending County Road 635.

The proposed route would possibly go through their neighborhood, forcing them to leave their homes.

A proposed north to south tollway, designed to accommodate an expected surge in traffic through Highlands County, would end the need for any C.R. 635 extension, about 40 residents said at a private gathering Sunday night.

The neighborhood meeting was held in preparation for Wednesday’s Long-Range Transportation Committee meeting, scheduled for 10 a.m. on the second floor of the Highlands County Annex Building, located at 501 S. Commerce Ave. in Sebring.

Golf Hammock resident Lesa Morey, who organized Sunday’s meeting, and has been vocal in her opposition to the C.R. 635 extension, said she will attend, and is hoping her neighbors will follow her example.

An extension of the road would connect State Road 66 to S.R. 64.

C.R. 635 would either go through the Golf Hammock subdivision or the nearby Highlands Hammock State Park.

But Morey said such an extension, designed as a a parallel for U.S. 27., will result in Golf Hammock residents losing their homes.

Golf Hammock resident Deanna Lewis, who hosted the Sunday night gathering, said even the promise of a CR 635 extension beyond the distant future will always remain a threat.

“There are a lot of us who won’t live to see the road, but it will still leave our children with an awful mess to contend with,” Lewis said.

Golf Hammock resident Pete Broksch was the first to ask Morey about the possible north to south turnpike. He said the possible turnpike is a more practical solution when coping with higher volumes of traffic than any C.R. 635 extension ever will be.

Morey, however, said the Long Range Transportation committee has yet to address that issue.

Who Spurred This On?

Florida Turnpike Enterprise officials previously said plans for the north to south tollway, known as the Heartland Parkway, “aren’t yet etched in stone,” adding construction on the road could begin no earlier than 2026.

If the current proposal is ever approved, the north to south corridor road will be 100 miles long, spanning the distance from I-4 in Central Florida to S.R. 80 in South Central Florida near Fort Myers. It will be located west of U.S. 27, going through Hardee County, and east of U.S. 17.

Morey said county staff keep pushing for the C.R. 635 extension, and has also said they might be supplying Highlands County Commissioners with misleading information on the subject.

Highlands County Administrator Carl Cool and Jim Polatty, the county’s development services director, whom Morey has cited by name as being in favor of the extension, said last month that they are sympathetic to residents’ concerns. They also said a C.R. 635 extension isn’t a final solution.

But both men said it might be the only possible course of action to take in the face of continued population growth.

Highlands County Commissioners twice voted against any C.R. 635 extensions in 2001.

Cool and Polatty said any talk of county staff still trying to push the idea of a C.R. 635 extension onto resistant county commissioners, or even those not understanding what they’re voting on, is nonsense.

Members of the county’s Long-Range Transportation Committee, composed of county residents, and not county staff, were the ones who revived the idea, both men said.

The two men said such an extension could benefit Golf Hammock residents with children in that they will have easier access to Hill-Gustat Middle School on Schumacher Road.

The Golf Hammock Owners Association unanimously voted to oppose any county proposal to extend two miles of C.R. 635 between Hammock and Thunderbird roads last month.

Highlands County Commission Chairman Bob Bullard, meanwhile, has previously said acquiring land from nearby Highlands Hammock State Park to extend C.R. 635 is the “best option” to combat the county’s anticipated long-range transportation needs.

But Bullard said such an option hasn’t been selected, nor researched at this time.

Morey said Sunday night that she also opposes any extension of the road through the park, even if it won’t endanger Golf Hammock homes.

“In that case, I’m afraid I’ll be the one passing the Grey Poupon to the cars as they pass by my home.” Morey said.
Home today, gone tomorrow?

Alturas Residents Talk City Life

By Suzie Schottelkotte
The Ledger

FORUM Should Alturas become a city?

ALTURAS -- When more than 200 Alturas residents came together Monday night to talk about incorporating their rural community into a city, they discovered that not everybody is on the same bandwagon.

"I moved here because I wanted less government," said Wendell Daniels, who's lived in Alturas for more than 30 years. "I wanted to live in the country and be freed from the city life."

"If we start a city here, it's not going to slow down development," he said. "It can't be done."

Though some of Daniels' comments drew applause from the group gathered at the First Baptist Church of Alturas on Monday, most in attendance wanted to move ahead with the effort to incorporate their community.

They decided to meet again next Monday to form a citizens' committee that will develop proposed boundaries and a preliminary budget, which will determine whether the group should proceed.

Alturas native Scott Young said the group needed to focus its efforts.

"I don't think we can proceed without some sort of legitimacy," he said. "It's just going to get into a shouting match and get out of hand."

The issue surfaced in recent months as residents watched Winter Haven, Bartow, Fort Meade and Lake Wales creep into their collective backyards. Then state transportation planners announced plans earlier this month that they are considering building two tolls roads that would intersect a stone's throw from Alturas.

Anticipating a growth boom, residents stopping by Miller's General Store in Alturas expressed a desire to do something. Robert Miller, the store's owner, started gathering information.

The first step involves a feasibility study, he told the group, and most proposed cities hire consultants to do it. Miller suggested that residents pull together and gather the data themselves rather than spend an estimated $50,000 on a consultant.

While most communities evolve into cities so they can provide their own services or avoid taxes, Alturas residents want to preserve their identity.

"We must become a city in order to keep it the country," said Michelle Grosse, who's lived in Alturas for more than 25 years.

"Eventually, we are going to be part of a city," said Mike Hammond. "We just don't know what city."

Miller said city administrators now say they have no plans to annex into Alturas, but that's today. "Do we wait 10 years to see a little clearer handwriting on the wall?" he asked.

Polk County Commissioner Randy Wilkinson, who's district includes Alturas, said incorporation would give the community more control over its own destiny.

"It's easier to control if you control it yourselves," he said. "This is gorgeous land, and once you get the development ball rolling, it can get out of hand."

Miller said Alturas could control development by restricting the density in residential communities.

"We're getting crowded out here, and we want to do things the way we have always done them," he said.

Local regulations couldn't stop someone from buying an orange grove and plowing it under, but they can control what would go there in its place, he said.

Suzie Schottelkotte can be reached at suzbiz@yahoo.com or 863-533-9070.

Commissioner, rural Democrat seeks House seat

By CINDY SWIRKO

Sun staff writer

Newberry City Commissioner Debbie Wright Boyd on Monday announced her candidacy for the state House District 11, becoming the lone Democrat in the race.

Boyd, 48, said her rural background combined with her experience on the commission gives her the necessary tools for the state House.

"I was encouraged to run and thought about it seriously. I thought this was a really good way I could represent the whole district," Boyd said. "People frequently tell me how concerned they are about the partisan bickering and the lack of civility among elected officials. It doesn't need to be that way. In Newberry, we've tackled difficult environmental, telecommunication, public safety and other issues without making someone feel like they've lost."

District 11 is now held by Rep. Dwight Stansel, D-Wellborn, who is term-limited. Republicans David Pope and Ray Walker have signed up to run.

Boyd is a sixth-generation Floridian who graduated from Newberry High School and Santa Fe Community College.

Now a Realtor, Boyd recently retired after a 30-year career with the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

Boyd, who lives on a family farm with her husband, Tommy, said the character of the district is changing with the growth in rural areas.

"We need someone in Tallahassee who understands those changes and can help people work through the special problems and inevitable conflicts that such changes bring," she said.

Pope has $111,928 in campaign contributions and Walker $99,558.

Boyd acknowledged she has a lot of ground to make up but added she is starting the task already.

District 11 includes Suwannee, Gilchrist and Lafayette counties, the southwestern part of Columbia County and parts of western Alachua County.

Cindy Swirko can be reached at 374-5024 or swirkoc@gvillesun.com

A Supreme Court ruling giving the government more power to take private land for economic development has property owners across the state on edge and lawmakers debating ways to rein in eminent domain

Tim Barker and Christopher Sherman
Sentinel Staff Writers

April 24, 2006

It was a court ruling that spread fear and anger throughout the nation -- the idea that government can take your land and give it to someone else who can make more money with it.

The U.S. Supreme Court may have sided with New London, Conn., in its battle against Susette Kelo and a group of entrenched homeowners. But the rest of the nation cried foul, prompting lawmakers in Florida and other states to look for ways to curb the use of eminent domain.

Florida's Legislature is now debating several measures that would severely curtail the government's power to condemn private property. Similar debates have played out in statehouses in 46 other states, with more than a dozen passing new laws.

What upset so many people was the fundamental change in how eminent domain can be used. Traditionally, it has been a tool to condemn land for things such as roads, schools and public buildings. But in the Kelo decision last June, the high court went a step further, saying eminent domain can be used to foster economic development.

Put simply: If a developer wants to replace your home and neighborhood with a shopping center, the government can take it from you.

It also means that property owners -- facing the threat of condemnation -- may find it difficult to negotiate fair prices for their land when dealing with government-favored developers.

"Eminent domain takes away your right to say, 'No thank you' when someone is being unreasonable on the other side of the table," said Andrew Brigham, a Jacksonville attorney who represents property owners.

'Ridiculous'

That puts people such as Peter Colt of Daytona Beach on edge.

Colt owns a handful of rental properties on land coveted by developers and targeted by the city for redevelopment. After watching what happened to the Daytona Beach Boardwalk, Colt thinks he could be next.

"In Daytona, the developers have discovered us, and they are coming by the truckload," Colt said.

In the case of the boardwalk, the city fought for years to evict a trio of businesses to make way for a $120 million condo project. All that's left is for a court to decide how much the final holdout -- Darrell's Oyster Bar and Restaurant -- will be paid.

As was the case with those boardwalk businesses, two of Colt's properties are in an area declared by the city to be blighted and therefore targets of eminent domain.

"Blighted" sounds awful. But critics say Florida's laws offer considerable freedom in applying that term. For example, an entire neighborhood can be declared blighted even if less than half of the homes are deteriorated. Other things that can count against a neighborhood: dead-end streets, lagging property values and faulty lot layouts.

"The way that blight is defined in Florida law is, in a word, ridiculous," said Dana Berliner, senior attorney for the Institute of Justice, the nonprofit law firm that backed the Connecticut landowners. "It doesn't require there to be anything wrong with the property to take it."

Economic progress

The use of eminent domain for economic benefit is found more often in cities up and down the coast, where the most valuable pieces of land are found.

Cities such as Port Orange see opportunities to inject jobs and money into their economies. And, they say, it allows them to clean up less-desirable areas.

On the mainland side of the Halifax River, Port Orange has dreams in the form of an old Florida-style riverwalk, with condominiums and a new marina. Though the city has about 70 percent of the needed land under its control, dozens of residents, many in aging clapboard homes, are in the way.

So far, the city has not tried to use its powers of eminent domain. But that doesn't mean it won't -- the city recently hired an attorney specializing in land takings.

'I don't like it. I don't ever want to use it if we don't have to" said Mayor Allen Green. "But there's always an exception to everything."

Farther south, the city of Hollywood is trying to take a one-story art-deco building that has been owned by the Mach family for 35 years. It would be replaced by a parking garage that would serve a $100 million condo project.

With little chance of stopping the city, the Machs are watching the Legislature and the possibility that lawmakers will halt actions such as this.

"That's our hope. To delay it long enough that it's illegal in the state of Florida," said David Mach, whose father bought the property in the 1970s.

Compromises

With two weeks remaining in the legislative session, most signs point toward something happening. The question is: What?

It's the outcry over the Kelo case -- and the fact that many legislators face re-election this fall -- that virtually guarantees action of some sort. To do otherwise would ignore the general-public belief that the Supreme Court ruling gave too much power to government.

Earlier this month, the House passed a package of bills that would take away the ability of local redevelopment agencies to force sales of property to eliminate slum or blight. Instead, condemnation could be used "to eliminate an existing threat to public health or safety that is likely to continue."

If the House has its way, that change would be made permanent through a constitutional amendment. But while Gov. Jeb Bush has expressed support, the Senate has not.

A measure moving through the Senate takes a more radical approach by limiting the use of eminent domain to very specific instances. Anything not clearly defined in the law would be prohibited.

The challenge facing the Legislature is finding common ground.

Brigham, the Jacksonville attorney, likes aspects of both bills but worries they could be watered down in an attempt to win consensus.

He's also concerned about a proposed Sept. 30 deadline that would give local governments a grace period to begin condemnation proceedings before they become illegal under the new law.

"If it's wrong, why are we allowing a period of time for government to continue doing what it's trying to do?" Brigham said.

Still, there are those who worry that reform efforts -- both at state and local levels -- may go too far. Cities do have a legitimate need to deal with truly blighted areas, critics argue.

"Most people don't like the idea of government taking private property. And I don't either," said Winter Springs Mayor John Bush. "There are some cases where it's in the best interest of our citizens for something to be done."

Tim Barker can be reached at 407-420-5022 or tbarker@orlandosentinel.com. Christopher Sherman can be reached at 850-222-5564 or csherman@orlandosentinel.com.

Cocoa's oldest building finds new home

118-year-old Sur le Parc to be renovated

BY BRITT KENNERLY
FLORIDA TODAY

Artist Charlotte Griffin cried just a little as the time-ravaged house was hoisted from its foundation of 118 years.

Then, she aimed her camera and celebrated with other locals as Sur le Parc, the city's oldest existing wooden commercial building, was moved from 415 Delannoy Ave. to a site on Florida Avenue. There, new owners plan to restore it as a commercial and residential property.

"I'm glad it's being saved but it was really sad to see it lifted up and starting to go," said Griffin, who moved her studio into Sur le Parc in 1982 and taught art there for 22 years.

"It's a wonderful place. I enjoyed my time there," she said. "That old building was perfect for an art studio, just perfect, with lots of good vibes."

Built in 1888 and owned then by a Miss Julia Roberts, the city's dressmaker, the two-story house has survived fire, hurricanes and a slew of varied occupants to become part of the continued redevelopment of Cocoa Village.

It was recently purchased by Sean and Ashley Roberts of Orlando, who said they'll begin work on the 1,800-square-foot building during the next few months. Sean Roberts, a Brevard native, has restored about 20 homes, including another building on Delannoy and several in Orlando.

For many, including the Robertses, Sur le Parc seems a natural fit for the redevelopment going on in Cocoa Village. The tall building is now situated in the heart of improvements city officials hope will push the ambience of the village west toward U.S. 1.

"It's nice timing, definitely," Sean Roberts said. "About 10 years ago, I bought a place on Delannoy next to the little chapel and renovated it. And I always admired this building. There's so much local history associated with it."

Sunday's four-block move, Roberts said, literally brought many of those stories to the street, as people watched the fragile structure on its journey.

As FPL and BellSouth workers lifted cables high in the air so movers could take the structure beneath them and across Florida Avenue, many locals videotaped or photographed the move.

"So many came and told me their stories about the house," Roberts said. "One man's parents had a shoe shop in it. Another, a guy in his 80s, said, 'When I was a boy, my parents used to bring me to the doctor's office in that building.' "

The Delannoy site, which holds another building, will be developed, but owners have not announced plans, Roberts said.

Former Cocoa council member Aleck Greenwood was among onlookers as workers slowly moved the house west on Orange Street.

Greenwood used furnishings and fixtures from the old Brevard Hotel when renovating the building that houses Murdock's on Brevard Avenue. He said he appreciates this latest nod to the city's past.

"We're talking about the city's oldest building being renovated," Greenwood said.

"This is a very significant day."

Contact Kennerly at 360-1016 or bkennerly@flatoday.net

The public disgust for trees was overwhelming. The Legislature had to act.

Or maybe it was an outpouring of affection that inspired lawmakers. Florida drivers do love their 20,674 roadside billboards. Nothing makes a commuter's heart sing like a pithy commercial message blotting out the dull horizon.

Senate Bill 0566 (also known as House Bill 0273) represents a confluence of these two great public concerns. It would put a stop to that irritating practice by irresponsible local governments who would dare obstruct the view of our beloved billboards with those hated trees.

Rep. Randy Johnson, a Republican from Celebration, championed the bill to require tree-crazed city and county governments to honor a 500-foot ''viewing zone'' in front of freeway billboards. Johnson explained to reporters that the state's tourism industry ``depends on billboards, not trees.''

POP ART

Johnson proffers an economic argument, but public support for his bill is obviously based on aesthetics. Billboards are greatly appreciated works of art. Trees, well, they're just leafy nuisances and it's high time the state revs up its chain saws and rids this green clutter from public right of ways.

Oddly, letters to the editors in The Miami Herald and other newspapers across the state haven't quite reflected widespread support for Johnson's bill.

Instead, most of the letters have been from tree lovers, dripping with cynicism, as if the billboard bill demonstrated that big money and corporate interests and powerful lobbyists could trump the public interest.

Similar letters from the silent majority, billboard lovers, haven't been pouring into the editorial offices.

Although Charlotte Brand, president of the Florida Outdoor Advertising Association, did write the St. Pete Times to note that the proposed bill would not outlaw all vegetation in the sacred billboard viewing zone.

''In fact,'' she wrote, ''any local government is welcome to plant beautification projects'' in the viewing zone, ``as long as they consist of low-growing flowers and shrubs.''

Brand, however, was trying too hard to be diplomatic. The public surely hates low-growing flowers and shrubs with at least the same intensity that it hates full-grown trees. There is little difference, in the public estimation of ugliness, between a live oak tree and a lowly pansy. If anything grows between the roadside and the billboard, don't discriminate. Stomp it all out.

POWERFUL LOBBY

Bill Johnson, president of that famously subversive outfit, Citizens for a Scenic Florida, admitted Monday that his group was no match for outdoor-advertising lobbyists, who have apparently managed to convince legislators to simply erase city and county-owned air rights along roadway rights of way.

Johnson, who also serves as a Clearwater city commissioner, called it ''stealing'' the public's air rights, but he didn't have much hope that the legislation could be stopped.

''It has incredible momentum,'' he said.

Johnson, a Republican, seemed particularly confounded that a Republican-controlled Legislature, ostensibly dedicated to small government and local control, would support a bill that would usurp local government's power. But when local governments plant trees in front of our billboards, they cultivate their own undoing.

Similar bills have been percolating through legislatures this spring in Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky and Wisconsin.

The outdoor-advertising industry has also been pushing state laws making it prohibitively expensive for local governments to get rid of billboards.

We've come a long way since the U.S. Highway Beautification Act was passed in 1965, supposedly putting an end to the ''clutter'' of billboards.

From that tiny seed, planted 41 years ago, the definition of roadside clutter has grown to a mighty tree.

 

Gadsden County considers an additional 1,100 homes
County, state in for possible clash; residents debate development
By Bruce Ritchie
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

QUINCY - Edward Colley says recent growth in Gadsden County has been all good. But Linda McGriff says growth has resulted in too many students for some school classrooms.

"There are some problems," McGriff said. "There are more children, you know. I really think (growth) has increased humongous."

Gadsden County is experiencing a wave of growth, and county officials and some local residents are not the only ones to have noticed.

Six years ago, the county adopted a policy calling for 1,350 new homes by 2010 to handle population growth in unincorporated areas. Yet in just three years, from 2001 to 2004, land-use changes allowing up to 1,115 homes were approved.

In 2005, requests allowing an additional 3,028 homes had been approved or were being considered, according to county officials. The county's 2003 estimated population was 46,491.

State planners are objecting to seven proposed land-use changes requested by landowners in Gadsden County. The changes would allow more than 1,100 homes on almost 1,300 acres, according to an Apalachee Regional Planning Council analysis.

The development, according to the Florida Department of Community Affairs, could result in urban sprawl, creating pockets of development that are far from jobs and shopping opportunities and lacking in services, such as central water and sewer. State planners also have raised concerns about possible groundwater contamination from septic tanks and traffic congestion and have said more information is needed about the possible effects on schools.

In response, county officials say some of the proposed development would go into areas where similar growth already has occurred. A public hearing and final vote on the requests will be held Tuesday.

If the county approves the requested changes and the state moves to block the measures, they will go before a state administrative law judge. The issue eventually could be decided by the governor and Cabinet.

Earlier this month, the Department of Community Affairs moved to block seven land-use changes approved by Wakulla County that would allow more than 1,000 new homes to be built. DCA said the approved changes create or worsen urban sprawl and fail to protect natural resources, including Wakulla Springs.

Concerned about the pace of development, the Gadsden County Commission in January voted to impose a six-month moratorium on new land-use change requests.

"It's really catching fire over here," said William McCord, Gadsden County's growth-management director. "We had oodles of (requests) come in last year, possibly more cumulatively than over 10 years."

Gadsden County imposed the moratorium so that county commissioners could listen to residents and write new growth policies and maps, County Commission Chairman Ed Dixon said. A series of public hearings has not been scheduled yet, but the moratorium is set to be lifted June 30.

With the growth has come hundreds of jobs as businesses have relocated from Leon County to Gadsden County and Midway. But some residents are concerned that growth threatens the county's groundwater supplies, streams and its rural character.

While shopping in downtown Quincy, Colley said the growth for Gadsden County has all been good. He said it has brought a new Wal-Mart and other shopping opportunities to the region.

"Gadsden County has had some growth since I've been here. And it has improved a lot," he said. "We got quite a lot here."

Dozens of homes are being built in Midway in the Rustling Pines subdivision south of Interstate 10 off Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Martha Cardenas said her family bought a new home in Rustling Pines because it was more affordable than homes in Tallahassee.

"I didn't want to live in Tallahassee and pay more taxes," she said. "I didn't want to live in the city. And I feel like I live in Tallahassee - we're 10 minutes away."

But Cindy D'Entremont said Gadsden County isn't prepared for the growth, including proposed new homes on septic tanks that are being considered for approval. She lives in the Farms of Quincy subdivision next to where the owners of 325 acres of agricultural land want to change the designation to rural residential.

She said the Gadsden County Commission doesn't give enough weight to the concerns of residents and the county's planning commission, which recommended that the 325 acres remain agricultural. The planning commission also recommended denial of a land-use change request for another 369 acres that now faces state objections.

"If (Gadsden County commissioners) have made up their minds about this, what are we doing up here but spinning our wheels?" D'Entremont said. "I'm frustrated with the process, and I'm not alone."

Marion Lasley, chairman of the environmental group Gadsden United, said land-use changes usually are prompted by developers' requests without planning for the needed water, sewer and other government services.

Lasley and planning commission member Larry Gainus say the Gadsden County Commission should extend the moratorium so it can hold public hearings and complete writing new growth policies.

"It would be really great if we could just stop and talk about everything," Lasley said. "Because what they are going to do is set up all these sprawl situations in the county, and there is no way they are ever going to be able to fix them."

Dixon said the commission can decide in June whether to extend the moratorium. He also said there is no timetable for proposing new growth policies and maps that may result from the upcoming hearings.

"We don't have all the answers up front - I will give you that. But we are certainly looking for the answers," he said.

And he disagreed with critics who say the commission is siding with developers rather than residents. He said landowners have a right to ask for land-use changes.

"You have to give him a concrete reason why you can't (approve the change)," Dixon said. "It's not cut-and-dry, yes-no yes-no like some people think."

David Gardner, executive director of the Gadsden County Chamber of Commerce, said he doesn't support the call for extending the moratorium.

Gadsden County should address the need for additional infrastructure, such as water and sewer lines, Gardner said. But he also thinks there is plenty of room in Gadsden County for more growth.

"I see no reason to hit the panic button yet," he said

Change On the Way for Alturas

By Suzie Schottelkotte

The Ledger

IF YOU GO A meeting to discuss incorporating Alturas will begin at 7 tonight at First Baptist Church of Alturas, 7690 Poinsettia Ave.

ALTURAS -- Wanda Jean Young remembers a time when she could drive for miles without seeing the first subdivision.

"Now, it's 6.2 miles to the first gated community," said the lifelong Alturas resident whose grandfather built the roads into town nearly a century ago. "That's getting too close."

Young is among many residents in this rural southern Polk community who want to preserve the place they've always called home. Recent annexations have brought neighboring cities almost to their doorstep -- a trend that has furrowed more than one brow in Alturas.

"Twenty years from now, we're liable to be a suburb in Winter Haven or Bartow," said Robert Miller, owner of Miller's General Store at the community's crossroads.

"A lot of people have been coming through here saying we need to do something. We need to be able to control our own destiny instead of waiting for some other city to swallow us up. We need to do something now, while we still can."

So that's what they're doing. At 7 tonight the community is holding an organizational meeting at First Baptist Church to consider incorporating Alturas as a city.

"If we are going to be recognized," Miller said, "we need to be recognized as a city. This isn't anti-anybody, this is pro-Alturas."

Edwin Seger, who's lived in Alturas for 67 years, said he supports the idea.

"I've lived here all my life, and I think the community would be better off if we had a little more control," he said. "I see where they're planning these two new toll roads, and it looks like they're going to cross right between Alturas and Fort Meade. That's going to have a big impact on whether Alturas stays like a country town or becomes commercialized. We need to be ready for that.

"As for me, I'd like to keep Alturas like it is. I don't want to see it become too commercialized. That's my main concern because it's already getting too crowded out here."

Plans for a north-south toll road and an east-west parkway are still on the drawing board and years away from construction, but transportation officials are giving the concept serious thought. The new roads could speed the flow of commerce, relieve traffic congestion and aid hurricane evacuation.

Miller, who moved to Alturas a couple years ago, said talk of the roads spurred discussion about incorporating. "If those roads are built, they're really going to change things," he said. "We aren't going to be the same place."

Miller said he called the Florida League of Cities to see what needed to be done.

Cities become incorporated through a special act of the state Legislature, according to Lynn Tipton at the League of Cities. The first step is a study to determine whether the area can financially support itself. "Will there be enough revenue to do what you want to do?"

The document, usually prepared by a consulting firm, includes population estimates as well. But a small number of residents doesn't always mean that the proposal won't fly.

"We have a city in Jackson County with only 300 residents," Tipton said. "Of the 409 cities in Florida, the median population is about 5,400 residents. Most of our cities are small, and they've been around for a long time."

The Polk Property Appraiser's Office says the 36-square-mile area around Alturas has 476 houses and 601 mobile homes, a total of almost 1,100 dwellings.

For proposals in counties with more than 50,000 residents, the Legislature likes to see at least 5,000 residents in the area to be incorporated, Tipton said, but that isn't carved in stone.

"That can be waived," she said. "It's up to the legislative delegation from that county to seek a waiver, and that has been done."

On Friday, state Rep. Baxter Troutman, who represents the Alturas area, said he hadn't heard about the community's interest in incorporating.

"I'm certainly interested in what they have to say," he said, "and I want to know more."

Troutman would have to introduce the measure during a legislative session, along with the support of the Polk legislative delegation.

If the Legislature approves, the issue goes to the voters in the area to be incorporated. A referendum is held, and voters must pass the measure by a simple majority to enact the charter, Tipton said.

Voter approval actually creates the incorporated city or town, but the work isn't finished yet. The voters must adopt a charter and draft a comprehensive plan for future development, among other duties.

For most communities, it takes about two years to navigate the process, Tipton said.

Leland Young, who moved to Alturas as a toddler in 1935, said he recognizes that the community won't be able to stop progress.

"This area is perfect," he said. "The land is high and dry with no environmental problems. We don't have any swamps or any of that mess. It's just a matter of time before people find out what a gem we have here, then it's going to be all over."

Young said he's not so sure that incorporation is the answer to protect the community's heritage, but he's willing to see what the community can do.

"It's been a unique community for a long time," he said. "I hate to see it changing."

Suzie Schottelkotte can be reached at suzie.schottelkotte @theledger.com or 863-533-9070.

Alturas Borders Not Yet Squeezed

By Suzie Schottelkotte
The Ledger
ALTURAS -- Tucked between Lake Wales, Bartow, Fort Meade and Winter Haven, residents in rural Alturas are feeling the squeeze as those cities inch closer.

But is there really a threat that Alturas will become a part of Winter Haven or Lake Wales? City managers in those cities say no, at least for now.

Winter Haven has no plans to venture south of State Road 60, City Manager David Greene said.

City Manager Joe DeLegge said Bartow is stopping at 80 Foot Road, a good mile west of the Alturas community.

And in Fort Meade, City Manager Katrina Powell said that city's northeastern limits are at least a dozen miles from Alturas, and that's as close as it will get for now.

Lake Wales may pose the greatest threat, but it's not imminent. The city's long-range plans reflect a desire to annex as far west as the Lake Garfield area, northwest of Alturas. The line then drops southeast to Lake Pembroke, skirting the edge of downtown Alturas, according to City Manager Tony Otte.

"That's the area we've drawn on a map that we would like to serve at some time, but it's down the road yet," he said.

Eventually, residents in that area would have to annex into Lake Wales if they wanted water and sewer service, Otte said.

Most Alturas residents have wells and septic tanks.

But city services aren't the issue that's driving Alturas residents to consider incorporating their community into a city or town. It's more the community's identity, and the threat of losing it.

Robert Miller, who's organized a meeting tonight to discuss the community's options, said Alturas residents want to keep their rural lifestyle.

"None of us wants to live in the city," he said. "We want to be able to control our own area instead of having somebody 20 miles away doing it. We know we're not going to be able to keep growth away, but nobody knows better than we do what kind of growth is best for Alturas. Maybe we can control how fast it happens."

DeLegge said Bartow's annexations in the last decade have been voluntary, and it's not the city's policy to forcibly bring property owners into the city.

"I wouldn't tread into that area unless they wanted us to," he said. "And right now, it's just not on our radar."

DeLegge said he can't think of a reason why Bartow would oppose the Alturas community's efforts to incorporate.

"There are people in Bartow who have strong attachments with Alturas, and we've always worked well with that community," he said. "We recognize that it has its own identity, and we respect it for that."

Development Encroaching on Historic Citrus City

By Suzie Schottelkotte
The Ledger

ALTURAS -- When the railroad reached Alturas in 1915, New Englander A.C. Nyedegger drafted a design for the fledgling community with rows of quaint houses between Star Lake and Perch Lake.

The land bust in the mid 1920s ensured that those plans would stay on the drawing board.

Instead, Alturas developed into a colorful enclave wrapped in orange trees and pristine lakes.

"Nyedegger's plans never went beyond paper, and maybe that's a good thing," said Scott Young, the fourth generation in his family to live in Alturas. "This area is the best-kept secret in Polk County. Alturas got its name because it's Spanish for `high point.' This was the high point on the railroad line."

In the early 1900s, timber drove the economy in Alturas.

"A man named Roux built a sawmill near Lake Garfield for all the heart pine around here, and people brought lumber in from across the state to be milled here," said Young, who knows the community's history. "It kept everything going until the citrus took hold."

Wanda Jean Young, Scott Young's mother, recalls her grandfather's role in building Alturas.

"He'd come down here from Georgia, and he went to work for a construction company in Plant City. He was sent over here and built the first paved roads into Alturas."

Citrus drove the local economy for decades, until freezes and economic pressures put the squeeze on the industry.

"Things started to really change in the 1960s," Scott Young said. "And now, it's unbelievable how fast it's all changing."

Groves are disappearing. Ten years ago, owners couldn't get $10,000 an acre for citrus-laden land, he said. Now buyers are willing to pay four times that so they can rip up the trees and plant houses.

"It's hard to say no to that kind of offer," he said.

This worries Wanda Young, who loves the smell of orange blossoms in the spring.

"I can't imagine where it's going to go," she said. "It makes me sad. This community has such a rich history, and I'd hate to see us lose that."

Project puts Riviera Beach in eminent domain spotlight

The city wants to seize a record amount of land for a $2.4-billion revamp of the marina district.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published April 24, 2006

RIVIERA BEACH - When Mayor Michael Brown envisions the future of this hardscrabble city, he sees no poverty, no drug dealing and no prostitution.

Brown sees hope and high-paying jobs. But progress doesn't come without sacrifice.

The city's multibillion-dollar effort to remake itself could send to as many as 6,000 residents packing in potentially one of the nation's largest eminent domain seizures, leaving many wondering who defines progress. The project has placed Riviera Beach at the center of a nationwide battle over whether government should be allowed to force people from their properties for construction of private development.

"You can't just take away from people what they've worked so hard for," said Princess Wells, 54, whose home and salon are slated for removal under the city's plan.

The proposed $2.4-billion project to revamp the marina district in one of Palm Beach County's poorest cities includes high-end condominiums, houses, shops, offices and yacht slips. About 1,700 homes and businesses are slated for condemnation to make way for construction.

Brown sees it as a catalyst for prosperity that will bring opportunities - and millions in tax revenue - to the rest of the city, in which a quarter of the 31,000 residents live in poverty.

"(Italian philosopher Niccolo) Machiavelli said it best: The hardest thing to do is to sustain and change the order of things," Brown said. "I will use every ounce of energy I have to fight to make a better life for these people. There will be no more lower class.

"For all those who don't like it, tough."

Traditionally, governments have used eminent domain to build public facilities like schools, parks, prisons, airports and roads. But the Supreme Court ruled last year in a Connecticut case that local governments can use eminent domain to seize property for private developers if it will be used to raise the city's tax base and benefit the entire community.

The ruling left open the option for states to devise their own regulations.

An amendment and a bill are working their way through the Florida Legislature to severely limit condemnations of personal property for any private use.

"From the barbershops to the courthouse, all I've heard was "Please don't let them take our property,"' Rep. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, said after the House recently passed a restrictive eminent domain bill (House Bill 1567) by a 116-0 vote.

The measure now goes before the Senate.

"I don't think people's property should be taken for private use, period," Gov. Jeb Bush said after the vote.

In February, South Dakota became the first state to enact a law that prohibits government from seizing personal property through eminent domain for private use. Indiana, Georgia and other states have since enacted similar laws.

Dana Berliner, a lawyer for the nonprofit Institute for Justice in Washington, D.C., said Riviera Beach's plan is the largest current project in the country where a city is trying to recreate itself with the threat of eminent domain seizures.

"Once you allow eminent domain to be used for private development and for increasing taxes, you don't have limits anymore, and that means that people can lose their homes repeatedly," said Berliner, who represented the Connecticut homeowners in the Supreme Court case.

"This land is very valuable, and the attitude is "Why should we waste this prime real estate on low-income people?"' she said. "It's a terrible thing."

Wells is holding her ground, refusing to sell. The developers who have offered some residents twice the market value for their homes have not approached her, leaving few options but to eventually accept the city's offer of about 30 percent above appraisal, plus relocation assistance.

"What? Little people aren't important anymore? America is made of little people. Small, hardworking people," Wells said angrily. "Stability means a lot to people, and to have that swept away, that's just devastating."

Brown, a lawyer who is serving his fourth term as mayor, said Riviera Beach is on the brink of bankruptcy and needs redevelopment if it is ever to thrive in Palm Beach County, home to some of the world's wealthiest people. He said young adults in particular will benefit from the expanded economy.

"In order to be a vibrant city, the people who live here have to have decent jobs," he said. "Why should we continue to allow these kids to be guaranteed an early death or continued poverty?"

[Last modified April 24, 2006, 01:40:15]

Article published Apr 20, 2006

The ugliest lake

District leaders promise they'll help fix problems

By ROBYN JONES

robyn.jones@heraldtribune.com

LAKEWOOD RANCH -- Residents in the Country Club neighborhood bought their homes expecting a pristine lake in their backyards.

Instead, they found an algae-friendly lake that has killed plants. Most of the year scum floats to its top; the water level remains low half the year.

One community leader who used to live by the lake nicknamed it "the ugliest lake in Lakewood Ranch."

Lake 304 has been the source of complaints since at least 2003. Back then, residents asked community government leaders to do something. Late that year, workers put in a littoral shelf, a habitat for plants. The plants died within two weeks.

But the residents living near the lake along Desert Inn Way in the Gleneagles subdivision have not given up. Last week, two of them made a presentation to community supervisors, asking for a "sustainable solution" to the lake's problems.

Community Development District 2 supervisors, who oversee the Country Club South and Edgewater neighborhoods, said they would try.

During the presentation, Dave Trickett and Doug Kremski showed picture after picture of the lake. In some places, the water level was so low that 12 feet of lake bed was visible.

"I hope you get tired of looking at these because we're tired of looking ourselves," Trickett said.

There are few problem lakes in Lakewood Ranch. For instance, the lake across from 304 looks just fine.

The residents have several theories as to why 304 is this way, including that it may not have been created properly.

Louis Lawman, Lakewood Ranch's director of operations and maintenance, said the lake is the last one in a chain and is a resting place for storm water and other lakes' deposits. Those deposits cause the algae; there are no plants to suck up the deposits.

A nearby wetland also sucks water from 304, which usually remains low from December to May with or without significant rainfall, Lawman said.

Regardless of theories, District 2 Chairman Dick Bohan promised that he "will be a champion of Gleneagles to get this thing rectified. A sight like that should not happen."

The Nature of Things
	To Help Environment, Understand the Issues

By Tom Palmer
tom.palmer@theledger.com

One of the mainstays of the first Earth Day observance in 1970 was the teach-in. The idea behind Earth Day was to mobilize the public to demand better environmental protection.

But before you can call for a solution, you need to know what the problem is and to understand what is needed to solve it.

I recently ran across a report published by a group called the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation, which is based in Washington, D.C., and promotes environmental education in the classroom. (This happens to be National Environmental Education Week, by the way.)

One part of the foundation's report contained the results of a poll done by Roper, a professional polling company, that revealed there's still some teaching to be done.

The following are some examples. Nearly half of those polled using multiple choice questions thought the most common source of pollution of lakes, rivers and streams was industrial pollution. In fact, stormwater runoff from streets, parking lots and yards is the most common form of surface-water pollution.

Although at one time industrial plants and municipal sewer plants used rivers and lakes for sewer disposal, such pollution is rare today.

The majority of poll respondents also thought the majority of America's electricity was produced either by hydroelectric, nuclear or solar energy. Fossil fuel-fired power plants actually make up the bulk of U.S. power production.

Some other environmental myths that arose in the poll included a widespread belief that disposable diapers make up a large amount of the garbage that goes to landfills, that spray cans still contain CFCs -- chlorofluorocarbons -- that affect the earth's protective ozone layer and that plastic six-pack rings are the most serious cause of wildlife entanglement.

Disposable diapers make up a minuscule percent of municipal garbage, CFCs were banned in 1978, and improperly discarded monofilament fishing line is the main tangling hazard for marine wildlife.

The six-pack rings are now made of a type of plastic that photodegrades -- it comes apart when exposed to sunlight -- and is no longer a major threat. However, that doesn't mean it's OK to leave this or any other litter lying around. Wildlife can be harmed by ingesting plastic waste.

The report, as reports of this type do, focused on gaps in education.

However, in reading the report's appendix, it is clear that all of our environmental education has not gone for naught.

For instance, 74 percent of the people polled understood that habitat loss is the most common reason for species extinction (the other choices were pesticides, hunting and climate change.)

Also, a majority understood that the primary value of wetlands is to help to clean water before it enters rivers and lakes.

Interestingly, 41 percent remembered that the word to describe the situation in which different kinds of plants and animals live in many different types of environments is biodiversity.

I think this is pretty good news because I take this to illustrate the idea that people generally understand the big picture, even if they may not have upto-date information on the specifics.

The study pointed out that a lot of what the average person knows or doesn't know about the environment is at least partially connected to images they get from the media.

That sounds logical, given the number of images to which most people are subjected on an average day.

That is why it is important for us in the media to provide accurate and up-to-date information about environmental issues.

This weekly column is certainly one approach, but there are others.

During Saturday's Water, Wings and Wild Things Earth Day celebration at IMC Park in Bartow, there will be a number of booths containing educational materials.

Take time to pick up and read the literature. If there's an environmental question that has been on your mind, don't be afraid to ask it.

If there is one thing that I've learned in my years of covering and writing about the environment, it is that the questions and the amount of things left for me to learn are endless. So, I keep learning and keep asking questions.

I urge you to do the same. Happy Earth Day.

Tom Palmer can be reached at tom.palmer@theledger.com or 863-802-7535.

County wants millions more for parks

County commissioners blaming delays

BY JEFF SCHWEERS
FLORIDA TODAY

Trisha Mulligan practically grew up at the Wickham Park equestrian center. As her parents did when they were kids, she and friends would ride the hot, dusty horse trails, then jump into tubs of water to cool off.

Two years ago, the 48 ramshackle wooden stables were demolished to make way for new stalls promised in a voter-approved parks and recreation bond referendum. The boarders scattered to other stables across Brevard County, but they didn't mind the temporary inconvenience.

"I was happy," said Trisha, now 15. "They said they were going to give us new ones."

Trisha, her friends and family still are waiting for those new stables. If they're lucky, the county will build half as many stables as they knocked down -- for $1.6 million, twice the original price.

Six years after residents in three of the four park districts narrowly voted themselves a small tax increase to borrow $73 million, all but $7 million has been spent, yet 28 of the 54 projects remain unfinished.

The equestrian center is just one example of the dozens of unfinished county park projects stalled by design changes, labor shortages, the weather and swelling construction costs.

When they promoted the referendum, county officials put out pamphlets listing the proposed projects and specific costs for each. Now, commissioners want to sell another $36 million in sales tax bonds -- what they say it will cost to finish everything that has been promised.

Cost overruns and delays are inevitable, officials said, when undertaking a large, complex and expensive project during a long period with deadlines that keep getting pushed further off.

"A lot of things have changed in six years," said Assistant County Manager Don Lusk, who was put in charge of parks in September after Chuck Nelson was removed as director because of commissioners' dissatisfaction with his oversight of the referendum projects.

Costs go up

Conditions have changed so much since officials calculated the original cost of the projects listed in the referendum that they say those prices have no bearing on reality. The cost of asphalt has doubled. Concrete has gone up 30 percent. Fuel costs are soaring. Land values are astronomical. And competition for labor is fierce.

"All the prices have gone up due to supply and demand with all the hurricanes," said Mark Robinson, a supervisor at Don Bo Concrete in Palm Bay. "What's really affecting prices now is fuel cost."

He charges $120 a yard for concrete, compared with $80 a yard three years ago. Pouring a slab floor for an 18,000-square-foot community center would cost close to $27,000 at current prices, he said.

Lusk said changing plans also increased the cost of the park projects.

For example, bids to build four community centers at four regional parks came in at $7.3 million more than the $15.75 million budgeted because the county redesigned the buildings to withstand hurricane conditions, said Jack Masson, who was brought back as deputy director of parks a month after he retired.

On top of that, Masson said, state building codes have changed since the referendum, requiring the county to redesign community centers. He said even the county's new lighting ordinance forced them to meet a higher technical standard.

Land price explosion

Land acquisition was another huge expense. The costs increased the price tag on some projects, too -- from $7.5 million to $8.7 million.

For example, Chain of Lakes in Titusville more than doubled in cost -- from $4.9 million to almost $12 million -- mostly because land acquisition went from $750,000 for 90 acres to $3.6 million for 114 acres. The county is supposed to get $2.8 million of that back from Parrish Hospital and the St. Johns River Water Management District.

Likewise, the land cost for Rodes Park in West Melbourne almost tripled, along with the size of the purchase -- from a budgeted $1 million for 40 acres to $2.7 million for 107 acres.

And the price of land for Mitchell Ellington Park on North Merritt Island rose from $1.6 million for 80 acres to $2.1 million for 114 acres.

Money transfers

Some delays are beyond the county's control, such as weather, sports schedules.

And other government agencies.

About $2.3 million in improvements to the causeway, Marina Park and Sand Point Park in Titusville are postponed until the Max Brewer Causeway Bridge is replaced. The bridge is closed for temporary repairs, but the state isn't scheduled to replace it until 2010.

Meanwhile, the money earmarked for those projects has been transferred to other projects that went over budget, such as Chain of Lakes and Holder Park.

All told, parks and recreation transferred $5.365 million from delayed projects to other projects it can work on.

Keeping promises

Despite all the delays and cost overruns, Lusk said, nobody's telling him to stop. And he's going to keep spending money until what remains is gone.

"People don't want the county to stop building," he said. "They've asked for more."

To do that, Lusk and his staff in November looked at all the projects, figured out how much money has been spent and what it has been spent on, then figured out how much more they'd need to finish what was promised.

They took that figure to the county commission, which unanimously approved the additional bond sales. Commissioner Ron Pritchard said he didn't like being put in that position, but the county had an obligation to see the projects through.

"We're not going to do any more than what the public wants," Commissioner Truman Scarborough said.

Delays cost money

Some residents, though, are calling for another referendum to ask voters whether they want to spend millions more, or they want to scale back on the park plans.

"This is the biggest fiasco we've ever had in this county," said Jim Rosasco, who was an original advisory board member for several referendum projects. "If we're in such dire straits that we can't afford to build our roads, how can we justify spending another $36 million without voter approval for parks?"

Clerk of Courts Scott Ellis agrees. He has refused to sign off on the bonds, forcing the county to get a court order to validate the sale. Both sides argued their case before County Judge George Turner on Friday. He's expected to make a decision this week.

Meanwhile, the cost will only continue to rise.

"Every delay costs money," Lusk said.

Contact Schweers at 242-3642 or jschweers@flatoday.net

Palm Bay task force provides direction

Group charts course for roadwork

FLORIDA TODAY STAFF

Anyone who drives Palm Bay's roadways knows that traffic is getting worse. The roadways aren't keeping up with the growth in the city, which recently saw its population climb above 100,000.

So, commuting around town can be a nightmare, especially during peak hours.

That's why the city council earlier this year created a roads, drainage and public safety task force.

More than 50 residents volunteered to serve. The task force met with facilitator Lyle Sumek of the consulting firm Lyle Sumek Associates Inc. on March 4 and March 18 for several hours to discuss outcomes, challenges, policy issues, projects and potential funding sources for each category (roads, drainage and public safety).

The group is scheduled to present findings to the council at 7 p.m. May 11.

Residents came up with a wish list to make driving easier. It included:

Decreasing traffic congestion.

• Rebuilding roads to acceptable standards.
• Maintaining roads.
• Increasing road capacity that is linked to developments.
• Improving east/west and north/south flow.
• Synchronizing traffic signals to help traffic flow.
• Requiring developers to install roads before they start building homes.

  The group also outlined its three major obstacles -- lack of funding, lack of public support for a road tax and the fact that growth is outpacing road capacity.

  If the city could get the funding, personnel and equipment to keep up, these are the projects the task force said were needed.

   

• Beltway funded and completed
• New southern I-95 interchange
• Widen Babcock Street south of Malabar Road
• Widen Malabar Road west of Minton Road
• Replace bridge at Jupiter Boulevard and Minton Road along with intersection improvements there
• Extend Palm Bay Road to Jupiter Boulevard
• Pave all roads.

  So how does the task force suggest Palm Bay get there? Increasing impact fees, which the city council discussed last week; synchronizing traffic signals; getting a fuel tax; and planning are essential.

  Residents who do any amount of driving understand the urgency in the task force's recommendations. With the explosive growth being experienced in the city, the roads aren't keeping up.

  Some work is under way. The widening of Emerson Drive, for example, should ease congestion.

  But more needs to be done, task force members and residents agreed

 

Proposal Would Turn Down The Volume In Dade City

By JO-ANN JOHNSTON jjohnston@tampatrib.com

Published: Apr 24, 2006

DADE CITY - Now, hear this: Dade City wants to modernize its 50-year-old noise ordinance and muffle aural insults.

The city commission and interested residents will discuss the proposed new regulations at a workshop at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, an hour before the regular meeting. The workshop will be at commission chambers at 14150 Fifth St.

The changes propose specific volume limits for residential and industrial activities, depending on the time of day, the day of the week and proximity to homes.

For instance, after 10 p.m., apartment and condominium residents couldn't turn up the volume on stereos or television sets louder than an average dishwasher. Boat engines would have to be quieted at night to the level of normal human conversation.

All-terrain bikes and other off-road vehicles couldn't be revved up to run louder than a motorcycle in the daytime. After 10 p.m., bikes would have to run as softly as a sewing machine. Altered or straight mufflers on cars wouldn't be allowed at all because of their racket.

The use of construction equipment would be limited to between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and the noise would have to be contained. The limits would apply to noise generated in the city and noise reaching the city from bordering properties.

The draft ordinance doesn't specify penalties for violations.

Condo-hotel would be an unwelcome intrusion

Letter to the Editor
Published April 24, 2006

---

Re : Battle over historic hotel requires common ground, editorial, April 20.

 

I'd like to respond to the editorial urging us all to work out the differences in order to preserve the old Fenway Hotel in Dunedin.

To begin, restoring or preserving some mythic charm of the old 80-room Fenway Hotel is not even part of the new plan. The new plan intends to convert this outdated structure from an 80-room hotel to a 236-room condo-hotel with a multistory parking garage. The front of the building will need to have two wings attached (thereby using up much of the beautiful front lawn) to help achieve the increase in the number of rooms. Many more open spaces on the property will be lost to accommodate new construction to achieve the 236-room number and to build the parking garage.

The only thing that is going to be "preserved" is the Spanish-style architecture and the facade, if that. I have been informed that the building does not even qualify for the national historic registry.

This 236-room condo-hotel with multistory parking garage is proposed in the middle of a residential neighborhood. The current land use designation is residential, not resort or commercial. Imagine how delightful it will be for the children who live on, and ride their bicycles on, Broadway Boulevard in Dunedin to compete with the traffic coming from the multistory parking garage to be built in front of their homes.

Take a ride along Edgewater Drive (Alt. U.S. 19) in Dunedin. It is a two-lane road that borders St. Joseph Sound and is designated a scenic corridor. You can enjoy the sunset on your left as you head into "delightfully different Dunedin" for dinner at one of our many restaurants, shopping, buying supper at the fish market or any number of a hundred other wonderful things you can do in our quiet little city.

Now, imagine having Alt. U.S. 19 widened from Union Street to somewhere around Lyndhurst or President streets to accommodate the traffic lanes for the new Fenway Hotel and then funneling down to two lanes again as you near the marina and park. Won't that be fun?

We do not want to see the existing zoning and land use changed to further this project, or any other project that seeks a commercial intrusion, attempting to put hotels, motels or resort establishments in old residential neighborhoods.

-- Patricia Jody, Dunedin

Facts missing from editorial

Re : Battle over historic hotel requires common ground, editorial, April 20.

After reading the editorial I was compelled to share with you facts about this situation you omitted.

--The developer should have checked on the existing land use and zoning in place before he purchased the property. The property has an R60 designation (residential since 1939).

--You never mentioned the density proposed by developer George Rahdert: 50 units per acre. The entire property is zoned for 28 residential units.

--The general theme of your editorial is that it all needs to be worked out. The property owner should have done his homework before making such a purchase. The citizens of Dunedin cannot be burdened with his problem.

--The hotel has been nonoperational for over 40 years. Thus, it isn't a historic hotel.

--Lastly, Edgewater Drive is designated a scenic corridor by the state. That means no commercial interests located along that corridor.

The statement of opinion by your editor seems to support Mr. Rahdert, an attorney employed by the Times .

Thank you for allowing Save Dunedin Neighborhoods to express its concerns.

-- Maryellen and Mark Tilly, Dunedin

The editorial opposed Rahdert's plan as he originally described it.

-- Keep Dunedin's beauty unspoiled

Re : Neighbors prepared to fight hotel plans for "years,' story, April 16.

We'd like to add our support to the Save Dunedin's Neighborhoods group. We visit Dunedin two or three times a year and have done so for many years. We drive along Edgewater Drive and admire the homes there and then go to Main Street for lunch and shopping.

A 250-room hotel and three-story parking garage would be a huge blemish, depriving that lovely neighborhood of the wonderful character it now possesses. Let commercial businesses stay where they belong, and that's not in residential areas.

There are so few places left in Florida that can compare to the beauty and atmosphere of Dunedin. Don't allow that to disappear so some developer can make another buck. Once that door is open, you can bet this won't be the last property to go commercial.

To resident Cathy Shaw ("It's progress, you know"), we say: Progress doesn't necessarily equate to improvement. As far as property values go, we'd pay a lot less for your home were a hotel to be built anywhere near it.

-- Dale and Carol Fullington, Rochester, N.Y.

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Ready to roll up their sleeves

Volunteers will plant red mangrove seedlings along the shoreline of the Homosassa River.

By BARBARA BEHRENDT, Times Staff Writer
Published April 24, 2006

HOMOSASSA - Along the shoreline of Citrus County are the leafy reminders that this geographic spot is a kind of botanical boundary.

To the south, subtropical plants can flourish.

To the north, they can't.

Freezes and the 1993 no-name storm took their toll on the red mangrove, an important tree species that grows up to this area, but not north of it.

Now the Homosassa River Alliance and the Crystal River Buffer State Park are about to begin an experimental project to replant mangrove trees at the mouth of the Homosassa River.

Saturday, dozens of volunteers from such groups as the Native Plant Society and the Master Gardeners will pile onto pontoon boats in Homosassa and travel to the shoreline of Dog Island near the old Crow's Nest at the end of the river. There they will plant mangrove seedlings collected last fall.

Those pencil-shaped seedlings, known as propagules, have been growing on the state-owned shoreline of Roberts Island in Crystal River. They were planted there to grow for a while after volunteers collected them in October as they matured on the mangroves. The tree species is more prevalent along the Crystal River shoreline.

"A couple of hours of planting will hopefully help Mother Nature," said Dan Hillen, who is the project manager for the River Alliance.

He said that such a hands-on project is just what the group tries to do each year. Such roll-up-your-sleeves activities help the waterway and educate the volunteers and the community.

And there is plenty about mangroves that people should know, Hillen said.

The trees drop their propagules into the water, and the tide distributes them along shorelines. They float until they root along the edges of a waterway and then begin to grow in their telltale style with tall, arching roots hiked up out of the water.

That labyrinth of roots holds in the soil, minimizing erosion, protecting against the force of storm surges and holding together the shore, Hillen said. "They rise out of the water and stand on the roots," he said, noting that as their leaves fall around them, the trees provide their own humus for growing.

"They shelter the small fish and crustaceans, the perfect hiding place from predators," he said. As the trees mature, they also provide habitat for all kinds of birds.

"They are excellent nesting sites," he said.

With the area's growth and an increase in boating activity, such protected shorelines are needed more than ever, Hillen said.

While some of the volunteers are on the planting project, others will be busy pulling up and destroying a species that has taken over Dog Island - the exotic Brazilian pepper.

The project will receive up to $3,000 from the Southwest Florida Water Management District, or Swiftmud. The mangrove project is considered experimental because River Alliance officials are not sure how well the seedlings will take. They plan to monitor the trees' growth in the years ahead.

Nick Robbins, who manages the state lands where the seedlings were planted, said he sees the project as a good one.

"Anywhere we do this, it is going to be beneficial," he said. "Mangroves are the island builders. They provide habitat for all kinds of animals."

--Barbara Behrendt can be reached at 564-3621 or behrendt@sptimes.com

Student Career Day To Focus On Construction Industry

Published: Apr 24, 2006

SUN CITY - Middle and high school students from six Tampa Bay area counties will converge for three days beginning Tuesday to learn about employment opportunities in the construction industry.

The Florida Department of Transportation and other sponsors will hold the seventh annual Construction Career Days at the South County Career Center.

Organizers said they want students to realize there's more to the construction trades than ditch digging.

Students will have the chance to operate construction equipment, learn about computer drafting, project financial management and more.

The program is presented by the Florida Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, the Florida Transportation Builders Association, the Suncoast Utility Contractors Association and the National Association of Women in Construction.

Students from Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Manatee and Hernando counties will participate.

Tom Brennan

Michael Braga

Landlords make $1.5M on complex

Thomas Eggers and Colin Hebson, who have earned a reputation for being tough landlords, have sold one of their four Southwest Florida apartment complexes at a $1.5 million profit.

The Illinois-based partners bought the 18-unit Silkwood Apartments for $2.5 million in January 2005 and sold the complex this month for $4.05 million.

The buyer was Silkwood Court LLC, a limited liability company controlled by Sarasota real estate agent Warren Hickernell and the RBS Cos., a Brighton, Mich.-based development corporation.

The intention is to convert the apartments, which are near Westfield Sarasota Square mall, south of Sarasota, into condominiums starting at $329,900.

"Our goal is to have the least expensive property in expensive neighborhoods," Hickernell said. "Nearby homes in this area are selling in the $500,000 to $600,000 range."

Last month, Hickernell and RBS bought The Seaspray, a 16-unit vacation rental complex on Siesta Key, for $4.35 million and are selling the units to individual buyers for about $350,000 per unit.

They're doing the same thing with the 46-unit Bermuda Apartments on Osprey Avenue in Sarasota, which they bought for $5 million last year and are selling for $290,000 apiece.

"The pace of sales has slowed in recent months," Hickernell said. "But we're starting to turn the corner."

Meanwhile, Eggers and Hebson continue to own and operate the 41-unit Three Fountains Apartments on Webber Street, the 22-unit Indian Beach Rentals near Tamiami Trail and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way and a 14-unit complex at 2050 Hillview Ave.

This year, the partners tried to evict all of the residents at Three Fountains, giving them 30 days to clear out their belongings.

Some residents complied with the demand. But a group of eight tenants fought back, arguing that Eggers and Hebson had broken their lease agreements.

With help from an attorney with Gulfcoast Legal Services, it appears these residents have forced Eggers and Hebson to accede to their demands.

Tenants contacted by the Herald-Tribune said they got what they wanted. But as part of their settlement, they can't reveal what they received.

Mobile home associations press for peace

Two organizations representing owners of manufactured homes and the parks they sit on have come together to defuse growing tension between their members.

Over the past few years, an increasing number of Florida mobile home parks have been purchased by developers looking to convert them to alternative uses.

The trend has spread fear among mobile home park residents, causing them to mobilize to protect their way of life.

In response, park owners have been lobbying legislators to ensure mobilized residents don't infringe on their property rights.

Now, the Federation of Manufactured Homeowners of Florida, or FMO, which represents homeowners, and the Florida Manufactured Housing Association, or FMHA, which represents park owners, are advocating "alternative dispute resolution" as a way of avoiding "costly and disruptive court litigation."

"We're optimistic homeowners and community owners will embrace this program in a spirit of cooperation and good will, and believe it serves as an example of the good things that can happen when two potential adversaries agree to work together," said FMO President Charles Gallagher.

Some owners of manufactured homes, however, say the time for embracing adversaries is over.

"This call to create harmony doesn't wash," said Charles Plancon, a Pinellas County resident whose mobile home park is being threatened with redevelopment. "The FMO has no record of representing homeowners. It has been getting into bed with the FMHA in order to assure through legislation that laws currently protecting homeowners are watered down."

Plancon insisted that manufactured homeowners have rights that are not being protected by the FMO or county governments. That's why he recently filed a lawsuit against Pinellas County for permitting a rezone of his home park, the Golden Lantern.

A development company called Triax wants to build 333 apartments and condominiums on the property.

Plancon argues that the county's action to rezone the mobile home park "adversely affects his health and safety by forcing him to leave his home and lose his equity in personal property, without any fair and reasonable alternative for replacement housing."

And what has the FMO been doing while his home has been been threatened by developers? Plancon asks.

They have been busy cuddling with the FMHA -- the organization that represents park owners, he said.


To contact Michael Braga, call 361-4877, fax 361-4880 or send an e-mail to michael.braga@ heraldtribune.com

Visitors get taste of 'real Florida'

Turnout is large at kickoff of Oscar Scherer State Park's 50th birthday.

OSPREY -- With Florida's development boom, paved roads, high-rise buildings and scattered green space, it's hard to imagine what Sarasota County looked like 50 years ago -- unless, of course, you see Oscar Scherer State Park.

It's "the real Florida," some say.

That's what Elsa Scherer Burrows, the wife of the original landowner, had intended 50 years ago, that the area be a preserved natural sanctuary for the public to enjoy and celebrate.

The public celebrated Sunday when more than 1,600 people flocked to Oscar Scherer State Park to kick off a yearlong observance of the recreational area's 50th birthday and observe Earth Day.

For some it was a day of kayaking, face painting, eating, swimming, fishing contests and hiking. For others, such as Laurie Black and her mother, Claire Fornshell, it was a day to appreciate the tree canopy's natural shade away from the sun's scorching rays.

"You just come in here, and it's a little piece of old Florida with the trees and the shrubs. With all the building that is going on, it's nice to have a park like this," said Black, an Osprey resident who walks her dog, Riley, on the park's hiking trails.

The park's six hiking trails are part of the property that began as 460 acres when it opened in 1959 and expanded in 1991 to nearly 1,400 acres.

Burrows left the land to the state when she died in 1955, with the condition that it remain natural, unspoiled and named after her father, Oscar Scherer.

"She saw it as a wildlife sanctuary for the public to enjoy," said Laurel Schiller, president of the Friends of Oscar Scherer, the nonprofit group that supports the park.

About 130,000 people visit Oscar Scherer State Park each year for its camping, swimming, hiking, canoeing and guided tours.

"With all the development in the area, most of what was natural and native to Florida was removed," Schiller said. "People have put in foreign plants, lawns and paved driveways.

"When you drive into Oscar Scherer, you are driving into what is natural and what remains of Florida."

Zephyrhills Growth Pushes The Limits

By NICOLA M. WHITE nwhite1@tampatrib.com

Published: Apr 23, 2006

 

ZEPHYRHILLS - For the past two years, propelled by rising home prices in Tampa, developers jostled to lay tons of concrete for family-friendly subdivisions in this once-sleepy retirement haven.

The city reviewed and approved the plans faster than you could say "housing boom."

Since then, the demand for homes in Zephyrhills and the surrounding pastureland has slowed as developers have staked out the available land and city officials started asking more questions.

"We have natural boundaries," said city planner Todd Vande Berg, noting that the city can't build farther east because of the Green Swamp or farther south because of the Hillsborough River. Go too far north, and you hit Dade City.

The last undeveloped areas of any size lie northwest and northeast of the city limits - places city officials aren't quite sure they want to see development because of the lack of infrastructure, such as water and sewer lines.

"That'll be a major issue," Vande Berg said.

Besides such practical issues, there's the question that people have been asking at city meetings or privately: How much growth is too much?

For City Councilman Danny Burgess, the growth can't slow down quickly enough.

At recent city council meetings, Burgess has made the largely symbolic gesture of voting no on large-scale housing developments and proposals to rezone agricultural land for residential growth.

"I think it's now more than ever that people are starting to wake up and realize this town is growing at a very rapid pace," he said. "Now we're seeing these places coming. It's starting to scare people. I'm one of them."

In the past few years, developers have submitted plans to build more than 3,500 housing units here. Those subdivisions and town house communities eventually will replace many of the orange groves and dairy farms once a hallmark of life here.

After those families finish unpacking their boxes, the city's population of 11,000 could double.

Despite residents' complaints about the growth, the city can't deny a project just because people don't like it.

Unless they want to end up defending themselves in court for saying "no" to developers, city officials must have good reasons, such as land-use compliance - planner-speak for "Does this project best fit the surrounding area?"

Zephyrmere Proposal

Recently, the city iced a developer's request to build more than 1,000 upscale houses on a rock mine, near the burgeoning city airport.

During the review process for that project, City Manager Steve Spina said the city had made questionable growth decisions by allowing other residential projects so close to the airport and the city's industrial corridor, Chancey Road.

"I just don't think we should compound what we've already done wrong," Spina said at the time.

The project, Zephyrmere, remains under review. Although the city's site plan review committee panned it, city commissioners still could approve the 1,080-home development.

If approved, the community would sit south of Chancey Road, east of Yonkers Boulevard on what is now a lime rock quarry.

In addition to concerns about maintaining an industrial corridor, critics say the project doesn't fit with the surrounding area - despite the two senior citizen communities, Emerald Pointe and Majestic Oaks, built on that same stretch of road in the past five years.

City officials say residents there often complain about truck traffic noise from nearby industrial parks.

Now, city officials are trying to learn from such mistakes.

"The two major ones that set kind of a bad precedent out there were Emerald Pointe and Majestic Oaks," Vande Berg said. "Fast forward 10 years, we probably don't want to make that same decision."

Tough Decisions Ahead

Once developers figured out Zephyrhills was within commuting distance of Tampa and that land here was affordable, the city immediately adopted measures to encourage what officials here considered "smart growth."

The city council passed ordinances requiring minimum lot sizes for town houses and even landscape requirements.

But now, there aren't a lot of places for builders to go. Later this year, the city will review its comprehensive plan, its blueprint for growth.

During that process, Vande Berg said he hopes city officials will decide whether to allow growth to the northwest and the northeast.

In the meantime, the real estate market has softened.

According to Zephyrhills realtor Bill Nye, homes are sitting on the market three to six months - a sharp contrast to last year's hot market.

The young families everyone expected to flood Zephyrhills have not materialized. In Crestview Hills, a new subdivision at Wire and Pretty Pond roads, "for rent" signs sit in front yards - evidence of investors trying to unload the properties they snapped up quickly earlier this year.

"The demand immediately is not as strong as the number of housing units on the books," he said "How fast people are going to be moving into this area is anybody's guess."

Plan Could Help Road Extension

By JULIA FERRANTE jferrante@tampatrib.com

Published: Apr 23, 2006

NEW PORT RICHEY - The owner of the 4G Ranch in central Pasco appears willing to dedicate a portion of his ranch to preservation to push forward the Ridge Road extension project, County Administrator John Gallagher said Friday.

William "Ted" Phillips, the ranch owner, has told county officials he intends to seek approval for a conservation subdivision on the ranch property to allow for a combination of houses, commercial businesses and open space. Phillips has said he would set aside 804.3-acres west of the development as a "critical linkage corridor," which Gallagher said could compensate for wetlands destroyed by the road extension.

"They have said all along they would work with us on the Ridge Road extension," Gallagher said. "I don't have a deal consummated, but everybody loves it. All the regulatory agencies like it, and it would be a real benefit to the county."

The 4G Ranch, which includes pasture, crop land, reservoirs and freshwater marshes, is part of a critical linkage that connects the Conner Preserve, owned by the Southwest Florida Water Management District, with Al Bar and Cross Bar Ranches, owned by Pinellas County.

If constructed, the Ridge Road extension would connect U.S. 19 and U.S. 41, providing an additional hurricane evacuation route and an alternative to state roads 52 and 54.

The road has been planned for more than two decades, but it has been delayed many times because of permitting issues and opposition from environmentalists. The civic group Citizens for Sanity and others oppose the road extension because its proposed route bisects the 6,533-acre Serenova Preserve, which was set aside to compensate for wetlands destroyed by the Suncoast Parkway, a commuter highway between Tampa and Brooksville.

The project also has been stalled because of difficulty securing "mitigation" land to compensate for wetlands that would be destroyed by the road's construction. Swiftmud, which owns the Serenova, approved a permit for the road in 2003, but the approval was based on informal deals to buy and set aside land now slated for development or held by unwilling sellers.

Swiftmud and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is reviewing a separate permit, would have to approve any changes to the plans. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service also must determine whether construction of the road extension would hurt threatened and endangered species.

Examining Options

In a study completed for the county in January, Biological Research Associates of Tampa evaluated the environmental character of four potential mitigation sites. Michele Baker, the county's program coordinator for engineering services, plans to present the findings at a meeting starting at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the West Pasco Government Center, 7530 Little Road. She will recommend pursuing preservation of the 4G Ranch corridor.

Baker has said Swiftmud officials prefer preservation to restoration of existing conservation land. In a recent letter to commissioners, Baker explained, "there has been much controversy over the success of mitigation areas in recent years," and such projects typically cost millions of dollars and take many years to complete.

The environmental consultant found that the 4G Ranch would provide suitable mitigation, while restoration of Starkey 8, a 1,130-acre parcel previously set aside for preservation, could cost between $5 million and $12 million and take five to 10 years to complete.

Other options include preservation of the Pithlachascotee River Corridor, a riverfront area from S.R. 52 to Crews Lake. The county is considering buying the property through its Environmental Lands Acquisition Program. If that happens, officials could reimburse the preservation program with Capitol Improvement Program funds.

The consultant also looked at enhancement of a right of way through the 5-Mile Creek Corridor, west of U.S. 41 and east of the CSX railroad as well as enhancement of the Serenova Preserve.

County officials could decide to construct just the western-most portion of the highway, from Moon Lake Road to the Suncoast Parkway, using mitigation credits collected from nearby developments. Baker recommended against that option.

"To change direction at this point would be a waste of significant time, money and effort already expended on the permitting process," Baker wrote. "Additionally, when the decision is made in the future to proceed with Phase II, the permitting effort would have to be initiated from square one. Therefore, staff recommends permitting for both phases, regardless of future plans."

Deal On The Horizon?

Also Tuesday, county commissioners are slated to discuss possible purchase of the Dartmouth property, more than 600 acres west of Strauber Memorial Highway and Trouble Creek Road, for a possible county park.

The property owners in 2003 secured approval to build seven palatial homes on 10 waterfront acres for a development to be called Renaissance on the Gulf. A different 200 acres would become a preserve. At the prompting of a local Realtor, however, the property owners agreed to sell the land to the state or county for preservation.

The state conducted several appraisals on the property in recent months, Gallagher said, but the appraisals ranged from about $1.7 million to $5 million. The property owners wanted $4 million for the land, and the county made a counter-offer of less than $3 million. The parties now are close to reaching a deal for about $3.1 million, he said. The state would pay half of that cost.

Commissioners also are scheduled to review a settlement agreement with the owners of Sun West Mine in Hudson that would allow the owners to pursue development in exchange for giving the county land for a public park. The settlement would end a long-running lawsuit over property rights and mining rights

Senior commissioner is swing vote on county goals

By GREG HAMILTON, Citrus Times Editor of Editorials
Published April 23, 2006

From the firing of County Administrator Richard Wesch, to the rejection of plans for an RV park on an Inverness lake, to sending RealtiCorp's designers back to the drawing board, the new majority on the County Commission has telegraphed to residents and staff alike what is not going to fly in Citrus County.

So, what is going to pass muster? What sort of projects and initiatives will win the approval of Gary Bartell, Vicki Phillips and Joyce Valentino?

The three commissioners are not exactly in lock-step - witness the deep differences of opinion over the plans for sewer lines in Chassahowitzka. But more often than not, they see eye-to-eye philosophically.

Their collective view is at odds with that of Commissioners Jim Fowler and Dennis Damato, who have found themselves on the frustrating end of 3-2 votes lately. It is a position familiar to Bartell and Phillips, who have spent years as the minority bloc.

While it is dangerous to make such sweeping generalizations about five very distinct personalities, they have just made this dicey process a lot easier.

On Tuesday, the commissioners will review a revised list of the goals that the board set this year. Since then, the board has also jettisoned its county administrator, leaving the staff in need of some concrete direction.

In advance of this meeting, the commissioners have ranked the 23 goals in order of importance. The list is very telling, with a wide disparity that makes you wonder if they are all living in the same county.

Where Commissioner Phillips lists septic tank inspections as her main priority, fellow Commissioner Fowler considers this a virtual afterthought at 20. A zero-based budget every three years is Valentino's top issue, while it is last on Damato's list.

A water quality infrastructure fund is tops for Damato and Fowler, middle of the pack for Bartell and Valentino, and scraping bottom for Phillips.

The list is more than just a look into the minds of the commissioners. Consider it a crystal ball or a pack of Tarot cards that can predict the future for this board, at least unless there are some major upsets in this year's commission elections.

With county staff expecting to be told to start researching the top five goals and to provide estimates of time and costs, by looking at the list you can see where this board is headed.

Expect, for example, stronger language in the Land Development Code to prohibit attempts by developers to get around limits on density and intensity in coastal areas by using a tool called a Planned Development Overlay. Bartell, Phillips, Valentino and even Damato have ranked this among their top 10 goals (Fowler has it at 22).

Septic system inspections, zero-based budgeting and supplying emergency shelters with generators all will get staff's immediate attention. Erecting signs near active mines, expanding the Crystal River Airport runway to 5,000 feet, reducing setbacks for waterfront construction will have long waits.

Interestingly, all five commissioners managed to rank an item at No. 24, even though there were only 23 goals listed. While they all made the same mistake, each left out a different number, thereby reinforcing their independence, I suppose.

It is fair to say that the commissioners all agree that water quality - protecting and improving it - is the county's main concern. They just have widely different notions of how to handle this challenge.

The goals list breaks this down into a number of specific points including: reining in the use of fertilizers, developing a master plan for stormwater runoff, curtailing filling in flood plains, inspecting septic tanks and setting wastewater standards. Commissioners are all over the map on the relative importance of these issues.

Take the notion of having a fund, fed by property tax revenues, that would be used to offset the high costs of hooking into sewer and water systems. This has been a hot topic in Chassahowitzka, where residents at one point were looking at utility assessments of more than $11,000.

Fowler is pushing the idea of this permanent fund, which would cap at $5,000 the amount that any resident could be assessed for a sewer connection. He and Damato listing this as their main priority.

By contrast, Bartell and Valentino have it at No. 12, with Phillips giving it a 21.

Bartell, the commission chairman, explains his reasoning. This fund, he notes, already exists. It has been in the county budget for many years and has been used as intended, to collect money that is then used to secure matching grants from the state and federal government for utility projects.

While Bartell is sympathetic with the severe hardship that the rising costs of infrastructure and utilities is putting on homeowners, he thinks the best, and fairest, way to help is to buy down the costs at the front end through matching grants.

Putting a cap on assessments now is not only unrealistic given the explosive costs, but it is unfair to the thousands of Citrus residents who have had to pay high assessments without any help from their neighbors.

Bartell's views on this and all other controversial issues on the horizon are of utmost importance because he is likely to be the deciding vote on all of them. With his colleagues nearly always arranging themselves into neat pairs, Bartell - the senior commissioner with 16 years of service - settles the issue.

In effect, his vision for Citrus County will become our future. How does he feel about this?

"It's reality," the Swingman said adding, diplomatically, "We (the commissioners) are not as far apart as we appear on a lot of issues."

"I'm a moderate. I want everybody to play by the same set of rules. I want each (development) applicant dealt with fairly, but to be held to our community standards. If they don't like it, they can move on. I want to send the message to county staff: Just do your job and don't worry about the politics."

As for handling the various personalities on the board and calming the friction that is becoming more evident at commission meetings and which was on full display during the dismissal of Wesch, Bartell thinks he can maintain control.

"I recognize that each commissioner is an individual. All I can tell you is that I won't let personalities interfere with us getting the job done."

And how about being able to lead this disparate board where it needs to go?

"The citizens won't accept anything less. If we don't do it, they will put new people on the board to get it done."

That should be goal No. 1 for all five commissioners.

 

Study: Plan Now for Future Water Needs

By Tom Palmer
The Ledger

WINTER HAVEN -- If local officials want to ensure they have enough water for growth, they need to begin planning now, one of the authors of a recently completed study said Thursday.

"You need to do the shortterm projects now; you need to begin planning the mid-term and long-term projects now," Steve Elias of Envisors said at a forum that brought together city managers, water officials and engineering consultants.

Those projects are listed in a draft report done for the Heartland Water Alliance, made up of representatives from Polk, Hardee, Highlands and DeSoto counties, which will determine how these interior counties will find water for future needs.

The projects are divided into groundwater and surface water projects, which are longer-term projects that could take years to develop, and other projects, such as increased conservation, that could be implemented more quickly.

Groundwater projects include proposed wellfields at the edge of the Green Swamp and in scattered locations in rural areas in eastern Polk County. The estimated cost is $358.9 million.

Surface water projects involve tapping the Kissimmee River and storing water in reservoirs near Peace Creek and the Peace River. The estimated cost is $437.8 million.

Additional projects include expanding water reuse and conservation programs and taking over agricultural wells in areas where farmland has been replaced by urban development. Cost estimates are not available for those projects.

The Heartland Water Alliance study was initiated three years ago in response to an analysis of data in the Southwest Florida Water Management District's regional water supply plan that concluded Polk and other inland counties would run out of water in 20 years unless they found new supplies, said Jeff Spence, Polk's natural resources director.

A draft of a study prepared by Envisors and Black & Veatch for the water alliance found that Polk utilities need to find up to 28 million gallons a day of additional water by 2025. Add other water consumers -- ranging from golf courses to mines -and the total increases to

74 million gallons.

During Thursday's discussions, Ann Toney-Deal, the Haines City city manager, questioned whether the projected demand figures are accurate because they are based on projected growth rates assembled by state economists that may be lower than actual growth.

Dave Moore, Swiftmud's executive director, said permit requests will be evaluated based on actual demand cities and counties can document to deal with their growth, regardless of what the state economic projections show.

Projects listed in the report could provide as much as

169.3 million gallons of water a day, which appears to be more than adequate.

But Elias cautioned there may be political or financial obstacles to specific projects and the amount of water they eventually yield could be much less.

Jake Varn, the facilitator for Thursday's session, agreed, using a proposal to tap the Kissimmee River, which the study estimated could yield 35 million gallons a day, as an example.

"You're (Polk County) not going to be the only ones interested in the Kissimmee," he said, predicting utility officials in Osceola and Orange counties may also try to tap it.

Swiftmud's Moore said the actual yield from the Kissimmee River could be as much as

62 mgd and that could justify an alliance with other counties.

"There's a lot of need for water in Central Florida now," he said. "This may be an opportunity for a regional partnership."

Regional cooperation is an element of some of the projects that could involve transferring water from areas under the South Florida Water Management District's jurisdiction to areas within Swiftmud's jurisdiction.

To carry out these projects, local leaders are studying some sort of county water alliance that would coordinate water planning and permit applications to make sure everyone will be able to obtain enough water for their needs.

If the projects listed in the Heartland Water Alliance report are included in Swiftmud's updated regional water supply plan, which is due out later this year, they will be eligible for funding from Swiftmud and the state, which could cover much of the cost.

Moore said his agency is interested in dealing with projects involving countywide water plans.

The County Commission passed a resolution Wednesday supporting the alliance and the preparation of a county water plan.

Several city commissions around the county have also passed the resolution, said County Manager Mike Herr.

Tom Palmer can be reached at tom.palmer@theledger.com or 863-802-7535.

Apartments Envisioned Near Hospital

By NICOLA M. WHITE nwhite1@tampatrib.com

Published: Apr 21, 2006

ZEPHYRHILLS - A developer envisions a gated apartment community at the northwest corner of Daughtery and Wire roads, near Florida Hospital Zephyrhills.

With the scarcity of rental units in east Pasco County and the project's proximity to the growing hospital, city planner Todd Vande Berg said he thinks the project could be a good fit for the area.

"It's a good place for a nicer apartment complex," he said, noting that such projects appeal to young professionals. "There's not a lot of vacancies in existing apartments."

The developer, Oxford Properties of Atlanta, has proposed building 238 apartment units on the property's 17 acres.

Representatives for Oxford were not available for comment Thursday. The developer so far has submitted only preliminary plans to the city.

A more detailed proposal will go before Zephyrhills' site plan review committee in June. Ultimately, the city council would have to approve the project.

The proposed apartment complex is the latest residential project being pitched in this growing city, where at least 3,000 new houses are expected to be built in the next few years.

Many of the latest real estate projects involve single-family homes and town houses, some of which carry steep price tags.

According to real estate listings, one of the newest residential developments, Crestview Hills, off Pretty Pond Road, offers houses starting in the $200,000 price range.

Although city officials cannot dictate market prices, Vande Berg said the city is keen to provide a mix of affordable housing for its residents.

"A rental project makes a lot of sense," he said. "Not everybody can afford the rising housing prices."

Incoming commissioner agrees to obey Sunshine Law

At first, the Dade City commissioner-elect said the law didn't apply to her until she took office. The city manager and attorney didn't agree.

By MOLLY MOORHEAD, Times Staff Writer
Published April 21, 2006

DADE CITY - Camille Hernandez, newly elected to the City Commission but not yet sworn in, had politicking in mind before taking her seat on the board May 9.

As a commissioner-elect, she said she had "untethered freedom" to communicate with other commissioners.

But City Manager Harold Sample advised her to use caution when talking to them because of Florida's Government-in-the-Sunshine Law, which bars elected officials from talking to each other about city business outside public meetings.

What followed was a tense e-mail exchange this week between Hernandez, Sample and City Attorney Karla Owens.

"My intention prior to our conversation was to continue politics as a commissioner-elect, unencumbered by concerns related to "Sunshine,"' Hernandez wrote in an e-mail Monday to Sample.

New to local politics, Hernandez ran on a campaign calling for openness in government. In a news release after her victory April 11, she said the days are gone when city business is carried out in private offices by a few people.

Sample and Owens insisted that the new commissioner-elect is bound by the law, citing a 1973 ruling that "members-elect of boards or commissions are subject to the Sunshine Law."

Hernandez consistently questioned them, suggesting that provision applied only to incumbents who are re-elected.

On Thursday she changed her mind after reading two attorney general opinions on the topic.

"I now agree with your understanding," Hernandez wrote to Sample and Owens. "Thank you for your assistance. I will moderate my behavior correctly."

Reached Thursday, Hernandez said the issue was resolved. She did not say what she had planned to talk to other commissioners about.

"I just had a question about the clarification (of the law)," she said. "My whole dialogue with Harold and Karla was based on just simply what the clarification was."

Sample said he and Owens advised Hernandez based on their understanding of the law, which was confirmed by Assistant Attorney General Patricia Gleason, a Sunshine Law expert.

Beyond that advice, Sample said it's incumbent on elected officials to make sure they comply.

"This is not a city liability issue. This is an issue for the commissioners," he said. "We have given guidance; however, we do not represent them individually."

Sample and Hernandez shared with the other four commissioners copies of their last two e-mails, which also were obtained by the St. Petersburg Times. In her final note, Hernandez praised the transparency.

She wrote: "It's reassuring you shared this conversation with the other commissioners and the press as an open discussion is always healthy."

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Grove Owner Says Trail Plan Will Put Walkers At Risk

By ELIZABETH LEE BROWN ebrown@tampatrib.com

Published: Apr 21, 2006

TAMPA - Just as county managers are stepping up efforts to acquire key pieces for the extension of the Upper Tampa Bay Trail, a property owner on the trail's path warns that walkers and bikers would be dangerously close to his 25-acre citrus grove.

Maury Linkous, a horse veterinarian, owns a working grove with about 3,000 tangerine trees along Gunn Highway. The 7-mile recreational trail would hug the grove's southern and eastern edge near a planned trailhead on Gunn Highway, just north of Van Dyke Road.

Linkous warns the trail would be too close, exposing trail users to hazardous chemicals. Grove managers spray toxic and cancer-causing pesticides three to four times a year, but no signs are posted because the property is secluded with no neighbors nearby.

"This just isn't a safe thing," Linkous said. "I'm not sure why the taxpayers' money has to be spent along the trail here. More importantly, we're putting a lot of people at risk."

Depending on the chemicals, all registered for use on citrus by the state, the area would pose a health hazard anywhere between four hours to 30 days after the pesticide is sprayed based on re-entry times, Linkous said.

Re-entry times are the amounts of time it takes the chemicals to dissipate to a safe level for workers to return to the treated areas.

The Linkous property, not including the grove, is one of seven properties on which the county is beginning eminent domain proceedings to buy land for the trail. The project would extend the existing trail from Peterson Park Road to the Suncoast Trail at Lutz-Lake Fern Road. The county is beginning construction of the northernmost segment, from the Suncoast Trail to Gunn Highway, first.

Two weeks ago, county commissioners voted unanimously to move ahead with the public takings, which could take up to a year.

The move surprised Linkous, who said he thought the issue was dead and the trail route moved eastward after he brought the health risks to trail planners in a Feb. 9, 2005, letter. The county commission had finalized the trail route a month earlier.

Linkous said the county could keep trail users out of harm's way by moving the path to the east - an alternate route that is more direct but would pass through the environmentally sensitive Brooker Creek Headwaters Preserve.

In response to Linkous' letter, the county said its consultant, TBE Group, researched and evaluated the effect of grove spraying on trail users.

The county said the alternate route through the preserve would adversely affect wetlands and increase costs because the county would have to pay to offset the destruction of wetlands by buying uplands and creating wetlands elsewhere.

The report recommended placing a sign that says, "Trail Temporarily Closed Due to Grove Spraying, Travel At Own Risk" during the spraying and for at least four hours after the pesticide is applied.

In addition, the grove manager should contact the county about the spraying schedule and the type of chemicals used in order to have sufficient time to close the trail, the report said.

That recommendation is unrealistic, leads to putting people unnecessarily at risk and opens the county to litigation claims, Linkous said.

He said he usually doesn't get notice of the spraying because of the company's scheduling. The grove manager calls him afterward to tell him how long to stay out.

Linkous, who has owned and managed the grove for seven years, contracts the pesticide spraying to Ag Land Management, a company that uses specialized equipment.

The machine travels down the rows of trees, and a windmill-type sprayer with turbine blowers pushes the pesticides into the air, he said.

"When you come to the end of the rows, there's no way you can avoid getting spray on the trail," he said.

In addition, the toxic chemicals could puddle on the asphalt trail and could remain after the re-entry times, posing a health risk to children, pets and wildlife, Linkous said.

"It's just not a good thing to do. It's a very risky thing to do. They're taking a long way around and purchasing land they don't have to and putting people at risk," Linkous said.

DOT wins court round over parkway

The victory involving the extension of the Suncoast Parkway means that planning might soon resume.

By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET
Published April 21, 2006

Florida Department of Transportation officials may soon be able to resume planning for a possible $600-million extension of the Suncoast Parkway into Citrus.

In an order issued last week, Leon County Circuit Judge Terry P. Lewis sided with the DOT in the latest legal battle over Suncoast Parkway 2.

DOT officials "made a good faith effort" to comply with the terms of a mediation agreement with Citrus County property owners Teddi Bierly and Bobby Roscow, the judge wrote.

Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, a DOT division, is studying whether the existing tollway, which stretches between Tampa and U.S. 98 near the Hernando-Citrus county line, should be extended north and connect to U.S. 19 near the Citrus-Levy county border.

In 2003, a group of several local, state and government agencies - known as the Environmental Resource and Regulatory Agency Group - began meeting in private to discuss the possible extension.

Bierly and Roscow sued the DOT to open the meetings, and a judge sided with them in August 2004. The plaintiffs and the state entered into mediation and agreed to hold two "curative" meetings, which were held June 28 and Aug. 29.

But in a motion filed on behalf of Bierly and Roscow in October, Tallahassee attorney Ross Burnaman said the DOT breeched the terms of that agreement. He noted that several agencies did not send the "most knowledgeable person from the agency" to the public meetings, which the mediation required.

And all the agencies present at the private meetings did not participate in the public meetings - another violation of the agreement, Burnaman wrote.

He asked Lewis to sanction the department and to order officials to disregard information discussed privately between Jan. 7, 2003 and Aug. 6, 2004.

In response, DOT assistant general counsel Robert D. Vanhorne said the meetings "effectively carried out the letter and spirit" of the judge's ruling and met the terms of the agreement. He asked Lewis to deny the request for sanctions and close the case.

Lewis denied Burnaman's motion in his order last week, though he noted that Bierly and Roscow "have some legitimate concerns in terms of the inadequacies of the procedures to fully re-create what occurred at the meetings that were not held in public."

Burnaman said Thursday that exactly where things stand is unclear.

He said he planned to file a motion asking the judge to enter a subsequent order clarifying the status of the case. And he said he also wanted to make sure Lewis considered parts of Bierly and Roscow's motion that the judge's order does not address.

Regardless of the outcome, he said, further legal challenges to the possible toll road extension are likely on the way.

The Florida Turnpike Enterprise's tentative five-year plan includes more than $163-million earmarked for the project. That number included funding for engineering and acquiring right of way, but not for construction. Earmarking the money is not an indication that the state intends to extend the road. The state still hasn't decided whether it will build, Turnpike spokeswoman Joanne Hurley said.

"We were pleased with the judge's decision," she said. "This is a long process. ... We're going to work through the process and resume as soon as we are able."

Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at cshoichet@sptimes.com or 860-7309.

 

Sink may get a natural filter By NATHAN CRABBE Sun staff writer

The Alachua Sink is said to have more than half a million pounds of nitrogen poured into the sink per year, according to the state of Florida. The area surrounding the sink is flooded so visitors can only view it from dry land. Alachua Sink is still awash in water from the hurricanes of nearly two years ago, which have hidden the sinkhole under a plant-filled lake. Patches of invasive cattail and wild taro hint at the problems below. More than a half million pounds of nitrogen drain into the sinkhole each year, fueling vegetation growth and polluting the Floridan aquifer. "We call it a lake but you're really just looking at your drinking water," said JulieAnne Tabone, a park services specialist who led a tour Thursday near the sink. Located at the northern edge of Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, Alachua Sink essentially acts as a giant drain. Perhaps more than any other natural feature in the area, the sink represents the power of people to damage as well as restore the environment. The Camp family built dikes and canals in the 1930s to dry the prairie for ranching. But a canal leading from Sweetwater Branch to the sink also created a straight shot for Gainesville's pollution into the aquifer. Now officials hope to engineer wetlands that harness the water in a more natural way, cleansing contaminants as the water flows across the land. "We have our own Everglades restoration happening right here in Gainesville," Tabone said. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is forcing the effort as part of its program to clean polluted waterways. The department in February issued new regulations saying nitrogen pollution into the sink must be cut by nearly half. But cleaning up Alachua Sink means cleaning Sweetwater Branch. And cleaning that urban creek essentially means changing the way dirty water is disposed throughout the city. The creek's headwaters start at the Gainesville Shopping Center, heading south past residential neighborhoods near the Duck Pond, downtown businesses and Gainesville Regional Utilities' wastewater treatment plant. The treatment plant dumps 5.5 million gallons of wastewater into the creek each year, according to GRU. To meet new pollution standards, utility officials say they would have to spend a lot more money cleaning the water as well as dump a lot less. Upgrading the plant would cost $20 million to $40 million, said Brett Goodman, supervising utility engineer. The changes alone wouldn't meet the pollution standards, he said, which would require more water to be re-used for irrigation instead of being dumped. But finding a large-scale user to take all that water is easier said than done, he said. And such efforts only solve part of the problem. Stormwater runoff from homes, businesses and roads is also a major source of pollution. The stormwater park being constructed at Depot Avenue is part of the city's efforts to clean that water before it pollutes the creeks, said city stormwater engineer Alice Rankeillor. She said officials are looking at an engineered wetland as the biggest part of the solution. A study costing $500,000 is looking into whether constructing wetlands at the end of the creek could treat the water and allow it to flow in sheets across the prairie. "If we can do it, it's going to be good for everyone," said Jim Weimer, park biologist for the prairie. The effect on the park would be less concentrated bursts of nitrogen that fuels blooms of invasive plants. The effect on the drinking water supply is less clear. Once water flows into the sink it travels underground in a northwest direction, said Jeff Davis, a hydrologist with the St. Johns River Water Management District. Some water is likely pulled toward Gainesville's drinking water source at the Murphree Wellfield, he said, but most heads toward springs near Alachua and High Springs. The good news is that most of the water is naturally cleaned as it flows through underground rock formations, he said. Paynes Prairie could experience a similar effect above ground. Weimer said the engineered wetlands would act as a natural treatment plant. The flow of water would also come closer to replicating how the system acted before human interference, he said. "It's hardly Mother Nature, but it's as close as we can get," he said. Nathan Crabbe can be reached at 352-338-3176 or crabben@gvillesun.com.

Magnolia property could be preserve

Trust may buy contested land

BY RICK NEALE
FLORIDA TODAY

Thickly wooded, inhabited by threatened animal species, a 22-acre forest off Magnolia Avenue soon could be protected as a nature preserve.

In addition to great horned owls, indigo snakes, gopher tortoises and scrub jays, this land is home to recent City Hall controversy.

Presumably, the conservation deal would settle a feud between Melbourne developer C. Douglas Engle and residents of the adjacent Almar subdivision, which contains about 170 homes.

The plan, in brief: The nonprofit Trust for Public Land will buy the forest for $2.2 million from Engle, then sell the property to the city of Melbourne for the same price.

The Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands program will cover 55 percent of the cost, or $1.2 million. The state-administered Florida Forever program will pay the balance.

Magnolia Point Preserve someday might include hiking trails, information kiosks and a pavilion.

"How could I not be pleased? This is something that we had hoped for," said Peggy Snead, an Almar resident and outspoken opponent of Engle's development proposals. "I talked with some of my neighbors, and they were very pleased and we were all surprised.

"As far as we can tell, (the land) was logged out in the '20s and hasn't been touched since. To our way of thinking, it's very sensitive ecologically," Snead said.

On Tuesday, the Melbourne City Council voted to endorse the preservation plan and pursue the Florida Forever grant.

Messages seeking comment were left for Mike Knight, EEL program manager.

Engle bought the wooded property for $650,000 last June, according to Brevard County Property Appraiser's Office records.

Engle originally planned to raze the woods and build 80 two-story condominiums.

But neighbors circulated petitions last spring and said the forest shields their homes from the noisy Florida East Coast Railroad tracks, Apollo Boulevard and Melbourne International Airport.

Council members rejected the townhouse idea -- and Engle promptly countered by proposing an industrial park, featuring nine buildings and 340 parking spaces.

Council members approved that site plan in August, but work has not begun.

Magnolia Avenue resident David Bogenrief said the industrial park would generate too much traffic for the Almar neighborhood's road network.

Most houses were built during the 1950s.

"That's great news," Bogenrief said of the nature preserve. "It was never set up to be developed. You have to go through an old neighborhood."

Contact Neale at 242-3638 or rneale@flatoday.net

Palm Bay annexations would add 2,000 acres

Process would have many more steps before moves finalized

BY LINDA JUMP
FLORIDA TODAY

Four annexation requests aren't a surprise, but they would add 2,000 acres to the city's southeast and northwest corners.

Councilmen approved four annexation requests Thursday, the first step of a long process in taking 2,000 acres of land into the city's southeast and northwest corners.

The acres of annexation would add another 3.19 square miles to the city -- more than a third the size of West Melbourne -- and bring the city close to 77 square miles.

All the land is currently in unincorporated Brevard County.

A first hearing on an ordinance to annex the property is expected at the county's May 6 meeting, with a final reading on May 16.

The sites to be annexed include:

Willowbrook Coal Company, 1,403 acres east of Babcock Street above Micco Road. They have not submitted development plans to the city, but growth management director Dave Watkins expects about two housing units per acre. The city is waiting for state comments, which are required to change the city's comprehensive plan to add the properties.

 

 

• The Platt property, which includes 291 acres adjacent to Malabar Road east of the entrance to the Palm Bay Regional Park. The city already approved a preliminary development there -- called Chaparral -- with 730 units of townhomes and single-family homes.

   

   

• St. Johns River Water Management District has two parcels that total 350 acres west of the Palm Bay Regional Park. The district plans to trade property with Lennar Homes, developers of Chaparral, to get property the district needs for its flooding project. On the larger 290-acre plot, preliminary plans call for 876 units, most single-family, with a small commercial development. On the remaining 60 acres, preliminary plans are for 352 units of townhomes and a commercial area.

   

  "They are all vacant properties that owners want to annex," said City Manager Lee Feldman.

City seeking funds for land

Titusville moves forward with plan to purchase riverfront property

BY KAUSTUV BASU
FLORIDA TODAY

The city is going ahead with plans to purchase riverfront property near Harrison Street using funds from a 2004 referendum.

The three-acre area, which will be preserved as open space, costs nearly $4.5 million.

The city plans to apply to the Florida Communities Trust for a grant for nearly 75 percent of the purchase price. The trust helps local governments and nonprofits acquire parks and open spaces to enable outdoor recreation and protection of natural resources.

"I am fairly confident of the city's chances," said Ryan Ruskay of RMPK Funding, the company hired to process the city's application. "It is a good opportunity to recoup funds."

Applications are due May 10 and grant winners will be announced in September.

Besides the Harrison Road property, the city has bought riverfront land near Knox McRae Drive for $1 million and started eminent domain proceedings to acquire Rio Del Sol, a parcel near Coquina Avenue.

In 2004, voters approved a
$10 million bond to buy properties along the Indian River Lagoon.

Chuck Bogle, interim community development director, said the new acquisition could be used as a park or even a regional stormwater retention area.

"If you build condos on the riverfront, only 20 or 50 people get to see it," said Titusville resident James Liebl. "This gives public access."

Liebl, who likes to sail, said nearby properties might go up in value because of the riverfront project.

Contact Basu at 360-1018 or kbasu@flatoday.net

 

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Guess what? The land you live on was once a pasture

Letter to the Editor
Published April 20, 2006

I don't understand all the crybabies regarding development. People who own these properties have every right to sell to whomever is willing to buy the property, and the buyers have every right to develop their land as they like.

It's too bad for you if you moved next to cow pasture and now someone wants to develop it. If you want a view, buy the next 10 acres and move there.

Most of these crybaby letters to the editor are coming from the very people who bought a new home in a new development that once used to be a pasture. And, now that you are here, you want everything else around you to stay as it is. What planet are you from?

Quit complaining.
-- Mario Monteleone, Spring Hill

Hickory Hill subdivision will be too taxing for quiet, rural area

Re: How far to go in dividing rural tracts?, April 16 Times.

Our family moved to Hernando for the open, rural area and rolling hills, vs. the inner city, where you can reach out your bathroom window and touch your neighbor's house. I find it interesting that Hickory Hill developer Bob Sierra sees no problem in building a 1,750-home subdivision, thus taxing the infrastructure of the local community, but he has no problem surrounding himself with 500 private acres overlooking Lake Hancock.

Jake Varn, the attorney representing the development, said last week that Hickory Hill's impact would be minimal compared to larger developments to the east. I think the surrounding homeowners would disagree to the impact of 1,750 new homes in their neighborhood.

I drive Spring Lake Highway every day, and that two-lane roadway will never support the amount of increased traffic the project will create. And where are all these new families' children going to attend school?
-- Lori Lee, Brooksville

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Battle over historic hotel requires common ground

A Times Editorial
Published April 20, 2006

Just what North Pinellas needed: another Belleview Biltmore-style battle over a historic hotel building.

This time it is the most historic structure in Dunedin, the 1920s Fenway on the Bay hotel, which more recently housed some 200 students of Schiller International University.

The 6-acre Dunedin property has a new owner, attorney George Rahdert of St. Petersburg, who has an interest in historic preservation. (Rahdert represents the Times on First Amendment issues.) Since his reputation as someone with an appreciation for historic properties preceded him, Dunedin residents and officials were cheered by his purchase of the Schiller property.

Their cheer turned to dismay, however, as soon as Rahdert started talking about his plans for the property. The difference in expectations for the property was glaring. While Rahdert said he would restore the old hotel building, he also envisioned an upscale hotel resort like the Vinoy on St. Petersburg's waterfront. He talked about adding two four-story buildings at the front of the old structure to obtain 250 units on the property, building a 300-car parking garage and a fishing pier, as well as widening Edgewater Drive.

Residents, on the other hand, pictured something more on the order of a bed and breakfast in a beautifully restored building, with lots of the green space around the current structure retained.

In just weeks, residents of the Edgewater Drive area have organized themselves into a group called Save Dunedin Neighborhoods. They have produced signs opposing Rahdert's project that are popping up in yards all over the area. And they have hired influential land development attorney Ed Armstrong to represent them.

In an interview with the Times, Rahdert sounded shocked by the level of opposition, especially considering that he hasn't even presented a site plan to the city. Rahdert wouldn't have been shocked had he done more homework. He might have learned that:

A previous plan for redevelopment of the property - a plan that included residential units on the back of the property - led to similar outrage from neighbors.

The Belleview Biltmore story has primed North Pinellas residents to fight for the preservation of historic structures while opposing any associated increase in density or intensity of use.

Edgewater Drive residents recently have fought condominium development along the road that was of much less intensity than Rahdert's proposal.

There is a special feeling about the Edgewater Drive area, and not just among nearby neighbors.

Many people who live in North Pinellas know Edgewater Drive as one of the most scenic drives in the county. The two-lane road is lined with tall pines and green grass. On one side are beautiful single-family homes. On the other is St. Joseph Sound.

Rahdert and his opponents have nothing to gain by turning this into a battle royale. The fact is that the old building needs work. It is in a decline, and it will be lost as a historic structure if someone doesn't step up to save it. It also will become an eyesore that will harm property values of the neighbors. While they don't want a hotel resort in their neighborhood, it may be unrealistic for them to expect any developer to pay the high cost of waterfront land in Pinellas and not need some extra intensity of use to recover the investment.

Yet Rahdert's full-blown dream does not fit in that location, which is a neighborhood of homes on large lots fronting on a two-lane road that already has substantial traffic and is threatened by washouts in storms.

Somewhere, there is common ground. Both sides need to do the hard work to find it.

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Hollins agrees to scrap plan for houses

He still wants to expand mining and build boat ramps and a retail area on the 1,500-acre parcel.

By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET
Published April 20, 2006

INGLIS - Expanded mining operations are still part of Dixie Hollins' proposal for the 1,500 acres his company owns north of the Cross Florida Barge Canal.

But Hollins has extracted a portion of the proposal that drew staff criticism at a Planning and Development Review Board meeting this month.

A proposal to eventually build homes on some areas of the property once the mining has finished is off the table, said Honey Rand, a company spokeswoman.

Additional mining, a commercial port district, more than 20 public boat ramps, a marina and a waterfront retail area remain part of the proposal, which is now dubbed the Hollinswood Area Plan.

The board is slated to vote on the plan at a meeting that begins today at 9 a.m. in Room 166 of the Lecanto Government Building, 3600 W Sovereign Path.

Hollins decided to remove the residential part of the proposal after meeting with county staffers last week, Rand said. He also tightened language in the proposal and designated it as an area plan rather than an overlay district at the request of county staffers.

The possibility of single-family homes in the county's coastal high hazard area and within the 5-mile radius of Progress Energy's nuclear power plant drew criticism from county staffers at the April 6 Planning and Development Review Board workshop. The staff recommended against approval of the plan.

Senior planner Joanna Coutu said Wednesday that county staffers had just received the amended plan and had not yet reviewed the changes.

At the workshop, county staffers and more than a dozen Citrus and Levy county residents told board members that the proposed Hollinswood overlay district contradicted county policies and could threaten neighbors' quality of life.

The most vocal opposition from residents who live near Hollins' property has surrounded the issue of expanded mining operations. They said they were concerned about the damage that expanded mining operations would inflict on their homes and lifestyles.

Since then, Hollins and his consultants have been meeting with government officials, local business leaders and nearby residents to drum up additional support for the project and fine-tune their proposal.

Last week Hollins spoke to the board of the Economic Development Council, describing the project and its potential economic benefits for the county.

The council's board voted unanimously to write a letter supporting the project.

On Tuesday, Hollins released a good neighbor policy geared toward improving relations between the mining company and nearby residents.

He also invited reporters, Planning and Development Review Board members and county commissioners to a public blast to demonstrate the mining operation's effect on nearby residents.

Hollins, Rand and GeoSonics vice president and area manager Jeffrey Straw accompanied a reporter to the River Road home of Jerome and Donna Taudte, off River Road more than 3,000 feet from the blast.

As they waited for the blast, scheduled for