A once-small group of Floridians frustrated with their local elected officials over land-use decisions now numbers more than 300,000 citizens who have signed a petition supporting the Florida Hometown Democracy amendment.
The amendment is focused on reducing the number of local comprehensive plan changes by giving voters an opportunity to veto them. In letters to papers in Florida, the James Madison Institute, Florida Chambers of Commerce, and others have called the initiative "draconian," "impractical," "extreme" and "severe." If that argument doesn't work, then land-use decisions are called "too complex" for the general public to understand.
There is some merit in these responses, but not enough to dismiss the concept of Hometown Democracy outright.
Florida communities and environmental resources have suffered from permissive development policies heavily subsidized on the back end by taxpayer. We now have aquifer contamination and polluted springs, from Wakulla to Wekiva. The St. Johns River Water Management District is telling Jacksonville that its drinking water resource could pass its sustainable level after six years. The Southwest Water Management District, which includes 16 counties, has spent $200 million to help restore 3,000 acres of wetlands, forests and waterways. We're spending $160 million right here in Tallahassee to offset water contamination from previous and planned development.
Florida's sprawling development now has us consuming 400 acres of farmland a day and more energy than New York.
We're in a multi-billion shortfall with our transportation infrastructure, and one of the answers is to privatize more road building. Coastal developments can't get insured, so the rest of us are insuring them. Central Florida is expected to experience explosive growth, and a continuation of the land-use decisions there will overrun areas that shouldn't even be developed.
Sarasota County, in the midst of its Sustainable Sarasota initiative, has proposed to rein in growth by requiring super-majority commission votes on some large or intensive developments. The Marion County school superintendent says that, for schools there to catch up to the need for more facilities, the county would have to stop growing for the next three years.
We're talking an extreme and severe use of taxpayer money.
As a local planning commissioner, I dread a process that is bent toward approving development at a rate that is expensive for existing residents and communities. Instead of having to prove a certificate of need, a development can merely meet the letter of the law. This obligates a community to take on developments of questionable economic, social, and sustainable value. The "spirit" of the law is lost. If the effort to balance concerns such as economic development and environmental quality, and public needs with private interests, were truly working, we surely would not be spending our public tax dollars on cleaning up springs, adding portables to schools, and fighting over who pays for crossing guards.
The reality is that growth management in Florida is causing more communities to lose what makes them unique and to become more homogenized, more sprawled out and more costly. Any public gain is quickly swallowed by new public costs to support new residents.
The new and well-meaning secretary of the Department of Community Affairs, Tom Pelham, has expressed his intent to improve the planning process. He can do it, but not alone. In the background of our planning woes, efforts to weaken the public sector have been successful. Legislation has been passed that stops votes, cuts down on amendments, limits petitions and revokes signatures. The ranks of public servants, including land-use planners, have been thinned, outsourced and micromanaged at all levels.
This notion of less government has been well at work in Florida. We must be reminded, however, that whether it is based in good intentions or simply an infatuation with cutting taxes, there are costs from a loss of oversight and a cut in services.
There is no constitutional right to pollute, or to build for private gain that leaves public expenditures. There are two things you can accomplish by supporting the petition for a Florida Hometown Democracy Act: You can preserve your public involvement and right to petition, and you can send a message to local and state officials that the status quo with land-use planning is not good enough. Not by a long shot.
Sign the petition. This should give Mr. Pelham the public backing to make substantive legislative changes to Florida's comprehensive planning process before the amendment comes up for a vote. You still can vote No on the November 2008 ballot.
By Bill Rettew Jr. of Highlands Today
Published: December 17, 2007
LAKE PLACID — Eight grove owners north of town have banded together in a bid to trade oranges for homes.
At Monday's meeting, a professional urban planner presented town council with preliminary plans that call for the eventual construction of 4,600 homes on 1,500 acres.
Ground breaking for the proposed development, which stretches from the railroad bridge northeast to the shores of Lake Apthorpe, and on both sides of U.S. 27, is at least four years away, according to planner Augie Fragala, of Powell, Fragala & Associates Inc.
The citrus groves slated for development include: portions of the Smoak Family property; the Mason Groves; the Rogers Groves; Brian Paul Enterprises; the Malcolm Watters Groves; and the Marvin Kahn, Steve Davis and Lonnie Wells tracts.
The planner said the land owners involved are citrus growers and not real estate developers.
"They'll provide citrus as long as economically feasible," said Fragala. "They're stewards of the land and they'd rather grow oranges than roof tops, but they're prudent business people who want to maximize the land value."
Councilman Bill Brantley expects the historical district to stay downtown with a shift of the commercial district north of present town limits.
Fragala proposed 3 percent of the site for retail development, such as a supermarket and personal service businesses, including dry cleaners. Another 2 percent of the tract would become office space for physicians and other professionals.
"We all know change is inevitable," said Brantley. "The growth is coming and we're getting the reins on it."
Don Bates, Highlands County commissioner and Lake Placid resident, predicted on Friday that county residential land development will continue at the current level of 3 to 4 percent per year, as it has for the past 20 years.
"I hesitate to get too concerned about our quality of life," said Bates. "Over the long term, it will likely be phased in at a slow but constant growth rate."
No builders have yet been chosen and planning approvals are expected to take another two years, said Fragala. New major capacity water and sewer plants — with coverage inside town limits — would likely be financed in part by the grove owners, according to Fragala.
The planner said construction would likely start on the eastern portion of the property, with work progressing westward.
Because of established time limits, the planner projected 2,300 single family homes and multi-story condominiums for a 10-year time period.
Farms Lure Families for the Holidays
By ANNA JO BRATTON Associated Press Writer
REPUBLICAN CITY, Neb. (AP) -- With pitchforks and heavy coats, three teenage cousins brave below-freezing temperatures and learn how to pitch straw into a sheep pen - something their teacher, 27-year-old Matt McClain, has been doing since he was a kid.
Bleating sheep may not be the expected soundtrack for a holiday vacation, but some farm families in Nebraska and elsewhere are hoping to change that with an old-fashioned holiday celebration that includes chores, chopping down a Christmas tree, baking cookies and more.
"The way we look at it is, every farmer needs a supplementary income to support their farming habit," McClain said. "Nowadays, with the price of fuel and fertilizer and everything, you've got to be a major farmer to make ... it work."
His parents, Lorraine and Jerry McClain, invite families to their Republican City farm for what they call a "1900s Family Christmas Adventure."
"It's just like a family thing. There isn't enough things for families to do all together," said Lorraine McClain. "We also like to educate about what farmers do and ranchers do."
Dana Markel of Omaha found out about the McClain's vacation package on an Internet site called Country Adventures. The Kearney-based online catalog helps farmers and ranchers plan their packages, get insurance, and lure people to the farm to spend their vacation dollars.
Markel found that for $2,500, up to 10 people could spend two nights and three days at the McClain's farm. She convinced her two sisters and their families to come along.
Bill and Karen Stoverink brought their teenage children, 13-year-old Brian and 16-year-old Katie.
"We're from St. Louis. We don't see much country like this too often," Bill Stoverink said. "I thought farmers had it easy in the wintertime ... no crops, they had nothing to do. Now I realize they work harder in the winter than they do in the summer."
Such agri-tourism is gaining traction in Nebraska and beyond. Country Adventures has 160 listings in Nebraska, about a dozen in South Dakota and a few in Kansas and Missouri, said CEO Marge Lauer. Many vacation packages include hunting, fishing and lodging.
People can book a vacation pay online with a credit card or PayPal.
"They could stay at this bed and breakfast one night, they could go horseback riding the next afternoon, they could tour a dairy the following day, stay at another farm home," Lauer said.
Farmers in Nebraska and elsewhere are catching on, Lauer said. Country Adventures recently got a $72,000 USDA grant to expand to South Dakota and Utah.
"The concept is understood, but now it is actually convincing a farmer that a ride on a combine, a tour through an implement lot, the ability to pick grapes, to stay in a farm home is something that's attractive to a consumer, to a traveler," she said.
Lorraine McClain is convinced. She and her daughter, Vicky, dressed up in period clothing and taught their guests to make Christmas cookies. They used chicken feathers to paint them with frosting - "just like they would have in 1900" - and hang them on a live tree the family chopped down in a nearby field.
Jerry and Matt McClain showed the boys how to skin a deer.
"It's not as bad as I thought it would be," said Markel's son, 13-year-old Cale Rohwer, who grimaced as he pulled back the skin from the frozen carcass. He and his brother Gage, 16, have never been hunting.
"It's good for them to know where the meat comes from, where their milk comes from, and what we do out here to feed the world," Lorraine McClain said
Katie Stoverink, 16, who's a vegetarian, skipped the deer-skinning lesson, opting instead to feed the chickens.
"It's a little bit crazy," she said. "I guess I don't think of people eating deer. ... It's like, oh no, poor cute little deer!"
Once the holiday season passes, the McClains will keep leading hunting tours on their property and plan to put together another vacation package.
Lorraine "has a good business head," said Jerry McClain. "This is her dream, and I'm just trying to help make her dream come true."
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On the Net:
KAAPA Country-Adventures: http://www.country-adventures.com
The worst drought in years -- coupled with the water needs of booming Atlanta -- is leaving its scars on the people, animals and this shell-mound of a town's namesake stream, the Apalachicola River.
The politicians are in a bind, too. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist will host the governors of Alabama and Georgia at a meeting Monday about the waters of the river, formed at the junction of two other rivers that begin south and north of Atlanta and end at the Florida-Georgia line.
In the background of the talks: nearly 18 years of three-state water-war litigation over the management of the Apalachicola-Chatahoochee-Flint rivers system by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. If the course of the court fight is any predictor, the talks won't yield much.
That worries Bruce Rotella and the 1,100 oystermen here because time -- along with the water -- is running out as the corps reduces flows to historically low levels for the country's fifth-biggest river by volume to spill into the Gulf of Mexico.
''Except when hurricanes have hit, I've never seen it this bad. Things are good right now in a few spots. But they used to be good all over,'' says Rotella, ticking off the names of now-barren oyster banks where he remembers hauling up prize catches with each hefty basket clutched by his 10-foot, rake-like tongs.
The 107-mile river, its healthy waters and the shallow and protected bay into which it spills fuel the rapid growth of smooth-tasting oysters, the product of sunlight, river- and ocean-made flesh in the place locals call ''the Last Great Bay.'' About 10 percent of the oysters consumed in the nation and 90 percent of those eaten in Florida come from these waters.
The oyster's filter feeds and thrives with the tide and flow of both salt- and freshwater. The saltwater helps kill freshwater parasites and the freshwater blocks saltwater predators, like oyster drill snails, and parasites. If the water is the life's blood of the critters and economy, its flow is the pulse.
''You can't improve on that balance, on God's work. All man can really do is mess it up,'' says 50-year oysterman Bevin Putnal, a Franklin County commissioner who recalls catching oysters as big as a man's hand.
Putnal still goes out and tongs oyster, which are plentiful and profitable in some spots. For now. He says there will be enough for a few more years before things become as dire as they have for the shrimpers. The white shrimp are nowhere to be found. So the boats are tied up.
''No point paying for gas to look for something that ain't there,'' says shrimper Howard Horton, 62.
The people here noticed trouble in 2006 as the Army corps began cutting back freshwater flows to the river to ensure there was enough water in the system for cities, farmers and power-generating dams upstream. The flows, measured at the Jim Woodruff dam just south of the state line, were slashed between 50 and 75 percent starting in the summer months of 2006, according to Army corps data.
FLORIDA'S LAWSUIT
Florida sued, saying the minimum flow threshold of 5,000 cubic feet a second -- 2.24 million gallons a minute -- was too low. That's less than half the historic flow for this time of year, the dry season.
Florida also claims that a written opinion on the plan from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service allowed for too many endangered purple bankclimber and fat threeridge mussels downstream of the dam to be dried out and killed. Those mussels, along with the ancient Gulf sturgeon that spawns near the dam, are key to Florida's case.
The service and corps say that though the lower flow may harm the animals in the short term, storing the water in the system to ensure it doesn't run out entirely will help the species and all the other users in the long run.
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue has cast this as a man vs. mussels fight that poses a shellfish-or-children choice. Georgia says the corps and wildlife service have sent too much downstream from the premier recreation and drinking-water reservoir, Lake Lanier, which helps supply much of Atlanta's water and accounts for a maximum 62.5 percent of the total water in the Apalachicola-Chatahoochee-Flint system.
As the drought worsened, turning marina wet slips to dry docks, Perdue even asked President Bush in October to exempt Georgia from the Endangered Species Act to draw more water. Crist opposed it.
U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, who will also be at Monday's meeting, advanced a new emergency plan in a sit-down with Crist, Perdue and Bob Riley, the governor of Alabama, who has largely been on Florida's side. Alabama's stake: It taps into the water system and relies on electricity produced in some of the dams.
The new emergency plan reduced the minimum flow down to 2.14 gallons a minute -- and even lower in some circumstances -- a level Florida wildlife experts, officials and oystermen say is lower than too low.
Unknown to many: Flows fell below this lower-than-low standard for four out of the past six months. November had the lowest monthly flow, 2.06 million gallons a minute.
After the new flow standard was announced, Crist appeared to support it. The people of Franklin County were appalled, prompting Crist to quickly clarify that he opposed the new operating plan. In a later meeting with Franklin County officials, he said, ``I'm with you.''
But he hasn't shown up in town. A number of supporters, from county and city commissioners to one of the river's experts, Dan Tonsmeire of the Riverkeepers nonprofit advocacy group, say they're waiting to see what Crist does and how he'll handle Georgia's crafty governor, Perdue, who proved a tough match for Crist's predecessor, Jeb Bush.
Said Rotella: ``Charlie Crist needs to man up.''
`PRAYING FOR RAIN'
But Rotella isn't holding out much hope for a government solution and is ''praying for rain.'' After all, the problems with the river and bay are as much a problem with nature as they are with government. In the 1950s, government created the system of dams and gouged a navigational channel into the bay that oystermen say allowed more freshwater to escape. And government allowed Atlanta's growth to spill out with few limitations.
A University of Georgia study found that, from 2001 to 2006, metropolitan Atlanta added 55 acres of concrete, rooftops and parking lots daily as it sprawled outwardly and redeveloped inwardly with less planning for water-conservation, supply or reuse. The area led the nation in population growth from 2000 to 2006 by gaining 890,000 residents -- more than 80 times Franklin County's entire population. The birthplace of Atlanta -- at the head of a watershed rather than downstream -- is a more unfixable problem.
Though Gov. Perdue has imposed water restrictions and declared much of Georgia a disaster area, the measures probably won't be enough. Georgia's water planning has lagged for years and officials from two Georgia water-planning agencies said the state didn't have a good grasp on how much water Atlanta consumed from year to year since 2000.
''This isn't Georgia vs. Florida. This is Atlanta vs. the world,'' says Jerry Sherk, a water-law expert who once worked for Georgia and that state's city of LaGrange, which is more aligned with Florida's position. ``Atlanta has one negotiating position: We want more.''
FOR ATLANTA'S USE
Indeed, the lawsuits began in 1989 when Alabama sued because Georgia persuaded the corps to allocate more water for Atlanta's use.
Sherk and other experts say they don't expect a settlement any time soon, due to the competing issues, the web of state and federal laws and agencies governing the system and the fact that Congress must be involved. They say the U.S. Supreme Court might ultimately decide the case and set a precedent as changes in climate and population push water conflicts, once a problem plaguing just western states, eastward.
In such disputes, economic issues are key, meaning Atlanta's claim that its $5.5 billion economy is in danger could have far more weight than Florida's claim that its $200 million commercial fishing and oystering industry is threatened.
So Florida is also highlighting the endangered species and the hundreds of millions the state and federal government have spent to buy land and preserve the river and the tupelo and cypress trees plied by the birds and bees.
At the Bay City Lodge, an old cypress mill operation-turned-fish-camp where river otters from Poorhouse Creek eat the grouper scraps, owner Jimmy Mosconis says he's noticing more saltwater fish where the fresh ones used to be and he wonders how long the river can remain what it was.
If it changes, gets saltier and lower, oystermen like Rotella say they'll eventually have to leave for other banks in Texas and Louisiana.
''This is our bank. This is where we get money,'' he says.
``It's our way of life and our heritage. Those people in Atlanta need to know that. They need to share the pain.''
LAKE WALES | Andy Noland is one of those guys who loves what he does so much he says he doubts he'd quit even if he won the lottery. "If I won the lottery I thought I'd get a house and live in place surrounded by woods and wildlife, and then I remembered that's what I'm doing now," said Noland, 34, the manager at Lake Kissimmee State Park east of Lake Wales. "I see deer, turkey, cows and horses every day," he said. "This is the best job in the world." The deer and the turkey are part of the abundance of wildlife at the 14,000 acres he oversees that includes Catfish Creek Preserve. The horses and cows are part of the parks' cultural interpretation that includes an authentic-looking 19th-century cow camp that commemorates the open cattle range that once covered much of this part of Florida. a native ofNORTH CAROLINA Joel Andrew Noland was born Feb. 16, 1973, on a farm near Asheville, N.C., to Joe and Nola Noland. He was an only child. "I grew up on a 13-acre farm that had cattle and horses. We supplied hay to the Carl Sandburg home," he said, referring to the famous American poet and historian. His father, who was visiting his son at the park recently and helping out, said he's not surprised his son wound up working outdoors. "I'm proud of him and I do enjoy being here," the elder Noland said. "He's living everyone's dream." Noland went to Western Carolina University, where he received a degree in parks and recreation management. moving to florida His original career goal was to own an outdoor guide business in North Carolina, but he discovered there wasn't much demand for horseback riding trips in dead of winter in the North Carolina mountains, so he came to Florida in 1997 to work for a horseback riding concessionaire at Rock Springs Run State Park near Orlando. A year later, he took a job at Wekiwa Springs State Park and stayed there until he transferred to Lake Louisa State Park in 2002 to become the assistant park manager. He became Lake Kissimmee State Park's manager in July 2006. Scott Spaulding, manager at Colt Creek State Park north of Lakeland, first met Noland when Spaulding was assistant park manager at Wekiwa and Noland was involved in the horse concession. They've worked together from time to time. "He's just a down-to-earth, common-sense, get-it-done kind of guy," Spaulding said. He said Noland's outgoing, positive attitude is a plus. "He's the kind of guy who makes you feel good about what you do," Spaulding said. That may have been a factor in Noland's quick rise through the ranks. "I spent nine years as a park ranger before I became an assistant manager," Spaulding said. Other local land managers share Spaulding's assessment. "He seems really committed to what he's doing," said Tricia Martin, who heads The Nature Conservancy's Lake Wales Ridge office. Trina Holten, Noland's girlfriend, said he's a different person than he appears at first. "He's loud and obnoxious, but he cares," she said, explaining Noland's practice of speaking loudly comes from growing up with a father who was hard of hearing. But inside the imposing exterior is what Holten describes as a "softy." "He spoils his animals rotten," she said, referring to Noland's horses and dogs. PARK OUTREACH A GOAL Although Lake Kissimmee State Park has been open for 30 years, since Aug. 5, 1977, its relative remoteness has given it a low profile locally. Noland wants to change that. For instance, Lake Kissimmee State Park doesn't have what is known as a citizens support organization, a group of local volunteers acting as a "friends of the park" who help at the park with tasks such as leading tours and eradicating exotic plants. Ninety-seven of Florida's 160 state parks, including nearby parks such as Highlands Hammock, Hillsborough River and Lake Louisa, have such organizations. Noland wants to add Lake Kisssimmee State Park to the list. He'd also like to encourage more visitors - 50,000 people visited the park last year - by promoting the park. He's been trying to line up speaking engagements at local civic groups to talk about the park. 'gem' of a park "I don't think a lot of people in Polk County realize what a gem we have here," he said. He's organizing more events at the park, such as the park's first-ever guided horseback ride and overnight backing trips. "I'm trying to provide the best access we can without harming the environment," he said. In addition, Noland wants to provide park visitors with more information about the park, including an updated bird list and cow camp brochure and a new trail map. Noland recently enlisted volunteers to install trail markers to better guide trail users. Growing up on a farm and learning to do a lot of jobs was a good preparation for being a park manager. It's requires being at various times a plumber, electrician, firefighter, carpenter, teacher, mechanic and janitor. During a tour of the park while he's being interviewed, he stops to check on a work crew replacing the roof at the concession stand at the marina. He has plans to get that concession stand reopened at least seasonally and is trying to line up a concessionaire. In addition to supervising this park, part of the job involves helping at other parks. "I was recently the fire boss on a prescribed burn at Lake Louisa State Park," he said. "We're all in the same boat," he said. "The only way to get the job done is to work together." In fact, his first visit to Lake Kissimmee State Park was in 2004 when he came to help repair damage from the hurricanes that ripped the Lake Wales area. "I thought that this would be a neat park to manage," he said and when he heard park manager Tony Morrell was retiring, he applied for the job. He expects to stay at Lake Kissimmee State Park for a long time. "If you do a good job, you can stay where you are," he said. "There's a lot to do." [Tom Palmer can be reached at 863-802-7535 or tom.palmer@theledger.com. His blog on the environment is at environment.theledger.com. ]
A 440-acre development will offer buyers more than 6 miles of trails for their horses.
By CHUIN-WEI YAP, Times Staff Writer Published December 17, 2007
HUDSON - In a bad residential market, think different.
Craig Gallagher, former president of Lexington Homes, is marking his re-emergence into Pasco's development scene with a 440-acre equestrian project on East Road and the Hernando County line.
It's a gamble for Gallagher, who parted ways in March with the company thathandled some prominent projects in Pasco, such as Serengeti and Lake Jovita. Along the way, Gallagher also gained the confidence of top Pasco officials, winning seats on councils like the county's road impact fees committee.
In August, he told the St. Petersburg Times that he had sold his interest to his Lexington Homes partner, Craig Fiebe, because "We kept on having to right-size."
He took some months to regroup, but he's now armed with a new company, Gallagher Family Homes, and a new project.
Bella Terra will have 120 homes, each sitting on an average lot size of nearly 4 acres.
But Bella Terra's main selling point is more than 6 miles of riding trails that start from the back of property lines and wind all around the community.
"You stable on your property, walk out to the riding trail at your property line, and ride out," Gallagher said.
He's already spent nearly $1-million on vinyl fencing, and he's gotten 70 percent of the roads paved, he said. The project has cleared county permitting and nearly completed its platting, a formal recording of its lots.
"I'm going to be fully platted by the end of January," Gallagher said.
Gallagher said the bank appraiser who evaluated the project site liked the concept so much, he ended up being Gallagher's first buyer at Bella Terra.
Why now? Why horseback riding as a home product?
"It's a niche that's well received," he said. "There's a flood of inventory on the market. If I put out a product competing with standard subdivisions, that would be suicidal."
Gallagher said his only downside is the weather. He needs rain: The lakes and ponds on the site are drying up.
Though he said he now plans to build only up to eight homes a year, Gallagher might be on his way to a full-fledged comeback.
"I'm reinventing myself," he said.
Chuin-Wei Yap can be reached at 813 909-4613 or cyap@sptimes.com.
North Miami Mayor Kevin Burns wrote a scathing letter to the principles of Boca Developers, the builders of Biscayne Landing, in October, criticizing the project and its management. The letter was written weeks before Burns was heard on several occasions lauding aspects of the project.
City council member Jacques Despinosse ended up with a copy of the letter -- he wouldn't say how -- and confronted Burns at Tuesday's meeting during council reports.
Brandishing the mayor's letter, he also questioned why an item on Biscayne Landing was pulled from a November meeting agenda.
''I feel like something is going on between them and the mayor that I and the other council members don't know about,'' Despinosse said later. ``I think I have a right to know.''
Burns said he felt compelled to write the letter dated Oct. 12 after he realized that some new plans that the developer wants approved by the city would change Biscayne Landing's residential focus to more commercial. Burns said he stands by everything he wrote in the letter.
''The city did not bargain for a new Aventura Mall,'' he wrote.
Boca Developers is now seeking approval to increase the amount of commercial space by more than 200,000 square feet, add a movie theater and have more rental units than condominium units.
The item was supposed to be heard Nov. 29.
The city and Boca Developers signed an agreement in 2002 that gave the developers use of the land at 15045 Biscayne Blvd. to build a massive residential and commercial community. After plans were announced to turn the former dump into a mixed-use community, the project became fodder for environmental critics.
Burns said he asked city manager Clarance Patterson to pull the item off the agenda until a town hall meeting on the developer's new plans could be held and his concerns discussed.
''We didn't have enough information,'' Burns said.
The sticking point at the meeting with Despinosse and others is that they were unaware of Burns' communication with Biscayne Landing.
Council member Michael Blynn saw the letter a week before the meeting and Scott Galvin said he had not even heard about the letter until the meeting. Both said that they had mixed reactions.
''On one hand I agree with a lot of the points the mayor made and on the other I think he should have told us before he wrote it,'' Blynn said.
Despite Burns' concerns about the project, he appeared at a Biscayne Landing breakfast meeting for Realtors and a business chamber lunch saying the project was going in the right direction and focused on the developer's push for green initiatives. And on Wednesday city staff attended a Biscayne Landing meeting to introduce residents to the city-center concept, even though it doesn't have approval yet.
''Those were not the right forums for bringing out concerns,'' Burns said later.
Despinosse said he brought it up at the meeting because Biscayne Landing is too important to the city's future for there to be a bad relationship between the two parties.
''If they fail we fail, period,'' he said.
Despinosse said on one hand the mayor ''was uplifting Biscayne Landing so high,'' and on the other hand he ``let them have it.''
Despinosse's biggest concern was the last paragraph of the Oct. 12 letter where Burns tells Jeffrey Scott, divisional president of Biscayne Landing, not to have any contact with city staff members.
Burns admits he ``might have overstepped a little.''
Scott, who was not at Tuesday's meeting, said in an e-mail that relations with with the city are OK.
''The letter is 2 months old. Since then, the issues have been resolved and we have moved on,'' Scott said.
FOR MORE INFO
To read North Miami Mayor Kevin Burns' letter to Boca Developers, builders of Biscayne Landing, go to www.MiamiHerald.com/northeast.
The county issued 4,723 single-family permits in 2006. So far this year, 1,886.
By CHUIN-WEI YAP, Times Staff Writer Published December 16, 2007
Pasco's residential market is set to end 2007 with its worst performance in 10 years.
As of the end of November, the county has issued 1,886 single-family housing permits, a bellwether indicator in Pasco's residential market.
Barring an unexpected surge in December, that indicator is not likely to breach the previous low set in 1997, which saw 2,191 single-family permits.
The slump began last year as speculation, oversupply and shaky mortgages began to unravel a market swollen with runaway prices.
But the decline is even sharper now. In 2006, the county handed out 4,723 single-family permits.
In fact, the county has handed out more permits every year in the last decade, even during periods of time - say, 2001 and 2002 - when the national economy entered recession, which economists define as at least two consecutive quarters of negative growth.
Multifamily home permits are not performing much better in Pasco, but at least are staying slightly above recession levels.
There is a ring of desperation now when developers comment on market prospects.
"I don't think it can really get much worse," said Craig Gallagher, president of Gallagher Family Homes. "We're truly at ground zero. It'll take a little longer, but inventory levels are staying in line, the Tampa Bay area's demographics are still strong and now it's just a matter of burning through the inventory."
Housing inventory across the Tampa Bay area dropped 40 percent compared to September 2006, according to a third-quarter report by Metrostudy, a market analysis firm. The number of finished vacant homes had also fallen nearly 5 percent at the end of the third quarter, compared to the same time last year.
"At the current absorption rate, it will be the fall of 2008 before Tampa Bay reaches supply-demand equilibrium - if the job market does not improve," said Tony Polito, of Metrostudy. "The good news is that builders are building only to demand levels."
But commercial construction in Pasco is holding its own.
By November, Pasco has handed out commercial building permits for projects worth $92-million, slightly edging up from last year's total of $81-million, according to county figures. Commercial construction means stores, offices, banks, professional and retail buildings.
This could explain employment numbers that appear resilient - at least compared with the duration of the housing downturn.
In October, Pasco's labor force stood at 193,065, a small decrease from 194,049 the previous month.
But it is still racking up gains compared to a year ago, when the county had 189,657 in its work force.
Sticking to a growth trend it has set for four straight years, the Tampa metropolitan area added 13,400 more jobs in the year ended September 2007, up 1 percent from the previous year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Federal data suggests there are some 88,000 construction workers in the Tampa Bay area, as of November. That's just 7 percent of the total workforce, which may explain why the residential downturn does not seem to have spilled over into the broader economy yet.
The relative strength of the job market may lead some in the industry to bet on recovery.
The National Association of Realtors last week slightly revised its outlook upward, saying that they expected home sales to reach 5.67-million this year - and that's still the lowest level since 2002.
That's a tiny ray of optimism; last month, the association predicted 5.66-million homes would be sold this year.
HOW LOW CAN WE GO?
Single-family housing permits in Pasco
Year
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 (as of Nov.)
Permits
2,191 2,504 3,032 2,931 3,860 4,786 5,883 6,300 7,252 4,723 1,886
Source: Pasco County Central Permitting
If you're one of those homeowners trying to haul anchor and set sail, you might be wondering what you have to do to get that home out of dry dock.
Builders and Realtors say it's still possible to sell homes in a tough market – as long as sellers are willing to make concessions and get out of the “make a killing” mind-set.
It boils down to two things: curb appeal and lower prices.
Today's homeowners have to make their home stand out from the rest and scream, “Buy me.”
They have to have a nicely manicured lawn, a new paint job and an inviting front view to entice buyers to the front door. First impressions are more vital than ever before.
That might mean spending some money to upgrade the home.
The other thing homeowners have to do to is bite the bullet and lower the price.
It could make the difference in getting a pending contract and waiting even longer for a buyer.
Maybe two years ago, you could inflate the asking price for the house,
Not anymore.
If you're willing to take less, you should be able to sell.
In real estate terms, it's called “realistic pricing.”
“There's no reason why a nicely prepared home is not going to sell,” said Harry Willett, president of the Hernando County Association of Realtors. “We have a better market than, let's say Tampa, (because) those homes are really overpriced.”
And what the price was even six months ago may not be where that price needs to be today, said local Realtor Mary Ann DeWitt.
The twin-pronged attack to sell homes seems to be working for many, if sales are any indication.
“We're considerably busier right now than we were 60 days ago,” DeWitt said. “I have a very optimistic outlook for the next year. Every month that passes, we're another month away from the bottom.”
DeWitt said uncertainty about next year's elections is prompting some to delay home purchases. They tend to wait to see how things “shake out” before investing their money, she said.
On the building side, there is also a ray of hope.
Craig Gallagher, president of New Port Richey-based Gallagher Family Homes, said he is forging ahead with his 440-acre residential-equestrian community that straddles County Line Road, about five miles east of U.S. 19 on the Pasco side.
Bella Terra will have 120 lots, with homes ranging from the $140,000s to over $1 million.
Gallagher, who sells homes in Pasco and Hernando County, said the Tampa area shows strong new-job creation, which tends to drive new homeowners into the area.
Leveling Off
Local Realtor and developer Gary Schraut agrees that while the housing numbers are not good, “they're not as bad as people would want you to believe.”
People are comparing the current market to that of 2003-05, when the investor-fueled real estate boom was at full steam, he said.
Home prices were artificially driven up by the wild speculation, and it is unfair to use those years as a yardstick and say that the home market is a complete disaster, he said.
Hernando County is now reaching the point where it was before the boom hit.
“We've done the (market) correction, and we're waiting for it to level off,” Schraut said.
When that happens is still anybody's guess.
“We're seeing a turnaround and hopefully we're going to be stabilizing,” he said. “I think all the speculators are gone. The homes we're selling now are people looking to put a roof over their family's head.
“Some investors are trying to pick up foreclosures, but there aren't that many of them because they have no one to flip it too fast,” he said, referring to quick resales.
With the proper technique, homes will sell, Schraut said.
“It's not that they can't sell them, it's just taking longer and it takes more marketing and more realistic pricing,” he said. “You can't put a real estate sign out front and say, ‘Buy me,'” at any price. That is over now and we're back to a real market where it takes real negotiating skills.”
An Anomaly
Even Hernando County Building Director Grant Tolbert admits there are some red-hot deals on homes for people who are in a position to buy them.
“From what I understand, real estate – properly priced – will sell, because there are still people looking to buy a house,” he said.
Dudley Hampton, president of the Hernando Builders Association, agreed that people cannot judge the housing market by 2005's standards because “that was an anomaly year.”
Despite the gloom and doom, Hernando County still boasts some of the lowest prices in the Tampa Bay metropolitan area, he said
“People who can afford to buy a home can buy one and get it for an excellent price and get good value for their dollar,” he said.
To get people to buy, some are offering to pay closing costs or even the first year's mortgage payments, he said.
Interest rates remain low – around 6 percent – and the Feds have indicated they don't plan on raising them anytime soon, Hampton said.
Hampton believes much of the negativity comes from so-called analysts who continue to preach grim housing news.
“A lot of that has to with the pundits on TV who I personally feel don't know the difference between a hammer and a hat rack,” he said. “Right now the sexy thing to do is preach doom and gloom about the housing market.”
Reporter Michael D. Bates can be reached at 352-544-5290 or mbates@hernandotoday.com.
This story can be found at: http://www.hernandotoday.com/MGBA06OT8AF.html