Commissioners surfing the Web are not victims

Letters to the Editor
Published March 2, 2006

Commissioners Pat Mulieri, Steve Simon and Ted Schrader are reported for their arrogant disdain and disrespect toward the residents of Pasco County and now they attempt to portray themselves as victims.

Simon says (no pun intended) that he "shouldn't be afraid to do my job." He was not and is not. Mulieri says, "Big Brother is watching you, so don't go on the Internet." Allegedly responding to students and friends while the commission is in session seems to be legitimate in her shallow mind.

Put petty people in positions of power, and this is what occurs.

These three commissioners are a disgrace to the residents of Pasco County. That they would even consider the need to ask an attorney for Web rules shows they know nothing about decorum, dignity and duty.
-- Bob E. Dodd, Dade City

Webgate is politics as usual

I am following with great interest the saga of the online commissioners and cannot resist venting my frustrations regarding this typical political debacle.

First, I would say that I take no issue with Commissioner Pat Mulieri checking her personal e-mail while sitting on the board. In fact, I think any conscientious representative should check all communication resources often to be sure he of she is up to date regarding the views of their constituents. Let us not forget that we live in a diversified community and that not all of our residents are able to attend commission meetings in person. Likewise, I'm sure that not all of Commissioner Mulieri's constituents are aware that she has an official county e-mail address, or what that address is.

As for the other two commissioners, it just seems to be politics as usual. I may be wrong but if I recall correctly we have gone from "I didn't do it" to "I didn't know it was wrong" to "I was only doing county business." Now we're at "All right, you caught me with my hand in the cookie jar. I'm sorry. I'll never do it again. I promise on my word as a politician."

I wonder if those county employees who have been fired for this very same thing would have been retained or given their jobs back if they apologized and promised not to do it again. Somehow I think not. And as far as the excuse that the Board of County Commissioners is allowed to use county-owned computers for personal business, well, I take great exception to that. As a resident of Pasco County and as a taxpayer, in my eyes the commissioners are county employees also. They should be held to the same standards as their subordinates. Or at least the commissioners should understand that the first rule of leadership: lead by example.

In closing, I would say this to Commissioner Steve Simon. When seeking advice in establishing policy regarding Web use, perhaps you should ask the property developers since they seem to be the only people that the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners is interested in listening to.
-- Chuck Coffiey, Hudson [Last modified March 2, 2006, 01:32:18]

18 mostly vacant acres put City Council in tight spot

By HOWARD TROXLER, Times Columnist
Published March 2, 2006

There's a nice patch of empty land at the northeast corner of Ninth Avenue N and 66th Street N in St. Petersburg. Years ago, this was the location of the girls-only Notre Dame High School, but it's long gone, save for a couple of small unused buildings.

The fight now being waged over this 18-acre site, in many ways, represents the Perfect Zoning Case.

The land today is occupied mostly by grass and pine trees and a big retention lake on the north side. There are neighborhoods across Ninth Avenue to the south and 13th Avenue to the north. To the west, across 66th Street, there's a thin strip of light commercial use and then more homes.

To the east is the headquarters of the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg and St. Petersburg Catholic High School.

The diocese owns the empty land too, but has a contract to sell it. The contract depends on the city rezoning it. The proposed use is a neighborhood shopping center on the northern part, and multifamily homes to the south.

Why does this constitute the Perfect Zoning Case, a perfect symbol of these decisions?

First of all, because of the opposing arguments.

The city's comprehensive plan, as currently written, doesn't allow it. Neither does the zoning.

The nearby neighborhood associations are unusually united and vocal in opposing it.

The city's own staff has issued a 31-page report that recommends denial.

Too often, it seems that approval of development is automatic. This is about as far from automatic as it gets.

The second reason this is the Perfect Zoning Case is because of the proposed buyer and developer. It is the Sembler Co., one of St. Petersburg's best-known business names, a developer of shopping centers and other projects across several states.

The Sembler Co., of course, bears the name of Mel Sembler - former U.S. ambassador to various nations, nationally prominent Republican Party fundraiser, developer of St. Petersburg's downtown BayWalk project.

If there was ever a case to put the St. Petersburg City Council on the spot, this is it. The city's Planning Commission will vote on a recommendation on Tuesday; the City Council will accept or reject that recommendation on March 16. It would take a vote of six of the eight council members to overturn the recommendation either way.

I took a look at the site with Lance Lubin, president of the Eagle Crest Neighborhood Association, which represents the homes to the south, and Ed Carlson, a nearby resident. There wasn't much to see, so we stood around and yakked. I thought about all the kids who had gone to school there over the years.

Lubin said this dispute reminds him a little of the movie Independence Day, where all the peoples of the world unite against a common foe. "That's been a blessing in this whole thing," he said. Carlson agreed: "This is the first thing in west St. Petersburg that's ever drawn this much attention from so many neighborhood associations together. This is huge."

I also talked to Craig Sher, president of the Sembler Co. The company is offering a development agreement, basically a contract, that promises to maintain a much lower density than the rezoning would allow. The company has met extensively with neighbors and already has agreed to make changes, such as eliminating access from 13th Avenue.

Today, without any rezoning, the rules would permit "institutional" use for the property - a school or a government building, up to 235,000 square feet. Sembler's plan calls for 88,000 square feet of retail, the largest tenant being a supermarket.

But the neighbors told me a school or government building would be just fine, much better than retail. Neither do they trust the development agreement, which Carlson calls "the cute little pretty site plan." They have a bird in the hand - the protection of the zoning category. They are not willing to trade it for promises.

Unusual site, unusual opposition, unusual applicants - the Perfect Zoning Case. What will the city do?

[Last modified March 2, 2006, 01:31:05]

Backers of luxury RV resort not giving up

Even though the developer trimmed the number of units from 810 to 499, the county said it was simply too big to go next to Big Lake Spivey.

By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET
Published March 2, 2006

INVERNESS - Attorney John Eden IV said he is considering legal action against the county in the wake of county commissioners' unanimous vote against a proposed 499-unit RV park on his family's property.

"I'll be exploring all of my legal and equitable remedies," he said.

Meantime, opponents of "Preservation Pointe" praised commissioners for standing behind the county's comprehensive plan and protecting Big Lake Spivey.

Tuesday night's vote came after nearly four hours of presentations and public comment.

Developer Century Realty Funds said the age-restricted luxury motor coach resort would protect the environment and serve as a boon for Citrus County's economy.

"For the future of this county, this is a development that needs to be approved," said Ron Clark, an attorney representing the developer.

He said substantial and competent evidence from engineering, environmental and traffic experts showed that commissioners should approve the project.

But commissioners disagreed. They said the development's quality was impressive, but the location - on 207 acres next to Big Lake Spivey off State Road 44 E - was not appropriate.

"It's a great project. It's just in the wrong place," commission Chairman Gary Bartell said.

Commissioner Joyce Valentino said the park would be "too commercial" and would set a precedent that would encourage similar developments in the coastal lakes regions of the county.

Commissioners Jim Fowler and Dennis Damato said it was not compatible with the surrounding area. And Commissioner Vicki Phillips said the impact on the environment would outweigh any potential economic benefits.

The hearing drew a standing room only crowd to the commission chambers, and more than two dozen people spoke during the meeting's public comment period.

Marco Wilson, president of the TOO FAR environmental group, urged commissioners to note the opinion of the Planning and Development Review Board, which voted 5-2 against the project in December.

Joe Brannen, who lives next to the property, said the project would be too intense for the area.

"This project is environmentally unfriendly and will set a dangerous precedent if approved," he said.

But supporters said claims that the project would harm the environment were false.

They said it would not bring heavy boat traffic to the lake. Clark noted that Century had offered to pay more than $2-million to provide water and wastewater services to the development, including $500,000 for upgrades to the regional wastewater plant in Inverness. He also pointed to plans to capture and treat stormwater and use slow-release fertilizer.

"Certain individuals were quick to pass judgment without actually taking the time to learn all the facts," Eden said.

Former Inverness police Chief Joe Elizarde said Citrus County residents should support the project.

"This isn't a strip club. It's not a toxic waste producing factory. . . . I, too, am concerned about the way this county is heading and I think this is the way to head," he said.

In September, Century Realty Funds submitted an application asking the county to rezone the property from low intensity coastal lakes to recreational vehicle park.

At a Planning and Development Review Board workshop in October, several people spoke against the project. As the months wore on, opposition from neighbors of the site and local environmentalists mounted.

Eden and representatives of the developer spoke before the chamber of commerce in the fall to drum up support.

At a November planning board meeting, they said that rather than eventually building an 810-pad resort as originally proposed, they would stick with 499 units. They dubbed the project "Preservation Pointe," and said developers and residents of the RV resort would be committed to preserving Citrus County's natural environmental beauty.

Eden even climbed a 30-foot tree and took photos to prove that the motor coaches would not be visible from nearby properties.

"This is a very important project for us. We spent a heck of a lot of money. . . . My client has bent over backwards to do everything that the staff has requested," Clark said Tuesday. After Eden spoke before commissioners Tuesday, he asked supporters in the audience to hold up small square signs with bright orange lettering that said, "Vote Yes on Preservation Pointe."

Some people opposed to the project made their own, hand-written signs that simply said "NO."

In the past week, Eden said he e-mailed about 40 people to ask for their support. He described the project's advantages and asked recipients to contact county commissioners and turn out for the meeting.

Those who supported the proposal, he wrote, would be treated to a victory party with free food and an open bar at Stumpknockers and Coach's restaurants if the project passed.

More than 100 e-mails in favor of the project were sent to commissioners, Eden said.

"If it's approved, it's going to be something very well worth celebrating," Eden said before Tuesday's meeting.

But several opponents at Tuesday night's meeting criticized Eden's e-mail.

"We'll invite you to our party down at McDonald's," said Jim Adkins, who spoke against the project on behalf of the Hickory Hills Homeowners Association. "We'll have all the coffee you can drink, but it's a dutch treat. We're not giving it to you."

Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at cshoichet@sptimes.com or 860-7309.

[Last modified March 2, 2006, 01:32:18]

New plans afoot for preserve project

RealtiCorp asks the county for a development agreement on a new Preserve at Crystal River project.

By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET
Published March 2, 2006

CRYSTAL RIVER - In light of local opposition and changing market trends, representatives from RealtiCorp said they have scrapped their original plans for 263 acres of property just south of the city limits.

Now they're asking county officials to hash out a development agreement for a new incarnation of the Preserve at Crystal River.

In a letter to County Administrator Richard Wesch delivered Monday, RealtiCorp president and chief executive Alan Ballew asked for the matter to be placed on the agenda for the next County Commission meeting on March 14.

If commissioners agree to begin that process, the development agreement would go before county staffers, the Planning and Development Review Board and ultimately the County Commission.

Speaking to the Citrus Times editorial board Wednesday, RealtiCorp officials said a site plan for the project still is in the works.

But they said they were seeking a "large national retailer" to serve as an anchor for the commercial portion of the development, which they said they would like to design in the "town center" style.

The South Carolina company's original plans for a Wal-Mart Supercenter on the property were at the heart of a bitter annexation battle between the city of Crystal River and the county. The project drew vocal criticism for its impact on wetlands.

But aside from the divisive wetlands issues, project manager Jon Salem said, the original site plan "was just very old and tired and boring."

By using clustering and a "town center" approach, Salem said, the company hopes to appeal to current market trends and better protect the environment.

He said less than 20 acres of wetlands will be impacted by the development. That impact will consist of 4 or 5 acres of connected wetlands off of U.S. 19. And about 4 acres of wetlands will be created as part of the project.

Salem said the company plans to donate 326 acres north of the property to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. That land will be added to the Crystal River State Buffer Preserve.

The company bought the property for $1.1-million last week, according to official purchase records.

RealtiCorp will also provide a cash donation of an undetermined amount to the county to use "to acquire environmentally sensitive land that they want to have preserved," Salem said.

About 70 acres of the property are zoned for commercial use, he said. About 150 acres of the property is zoned for low density residential use, but only about 40 acres of that property can be developed due to the large number of wetlands on the property and the need for retention ponds, Salem said.

That means there would be a maximum of 300 to 500 units on the site, he said.

The "net residential density of the project will not increase," Ballew wrote in his letter to Wesch. Ballew, who joined RealtiCorp in 2004, said he was hired to turn the company in a different direction.

He and other officials at Wednesday's meeting noted that the RealtiCorp employees involved in the original plans for the Crystal River project no longer are with the company.

For reasons unrelated to the project, Salem is leaving the company. Asset manager Reggie Bell will become the project's new manager.

Other elements of the plan, according to Ballew's letter, include a U.S. 19 bypass to guide traffic away from the intersection of the highway and West Venable Street and movement of business activity away from wetlands.

Salem said RealtiCorp also plans to submit new permit applications to the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Times staff writer Barbara Behrendt contributed to this report. Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at cshoichet@sptimes.com or 860-7309.

[Last modified March 2, 2006, 01:32:18]

Public discussion of Hollinswood Ranch

By Times Staff Writer
Published March 2, 2006

YANKEETOWN - Development of the Hollinswood Ranch property in northwest Citrus will be discussed during a community meeting at 7 p.m.

Wednesday at the Yankeetown School auditorium, 4500 Highway 40 W, Yankeetown. The public is invited. Dixie Hollins announced plans this year for 1,500 acres north of the Cross Florida Barge Canal. Hollinswood Ranch would eventually include homes, an industrial area, a public marina and a waterfront retail area.

82 more condos in works

The development would be east of South McCall Road in Englewood.

ENGLEWOOD -- A Boston development group is planning to bring 82 condominiums to a 10-acre parcel along Gottfried Creek.

The gated development, WatersEdge at Deer Creek, would be east of South McCall Road and would front Deer Creek, which joins Gottfried Creek just south of the Charlotte-Sarasota county line.

The development would be split into five buildings, which would have three units above a level of parking.

For now, the only access to the property is East Bay Heights Avenue. But the developer plans to add a driveway off South McCall Road by purchasing an easement from Investor's Choice Realty, a South McCall Road business.

The development in Charlotte County is one of at least two projects that will bring condos to the largely commercial State Road 776 corridor. In Sarasota County, Westgate Condominiums, an 81-unit project, is going up on South Indiana Avenue, behind Englewood Bowl.

The WatersEdge property is already zoned for 10 condo units per acre, so the developer, Deer Creek Holdings LLC, didn't have to ask Charlotte County to change the property's use. The county has already approved the preliminary site plan for WatersEdge.

Deep Creek Holdings purchased the property in December for $4 million, according to Charlotte County property records.

Despite the recent real-estate slowdown, buyers have already reserved the first 34 units, which are scheduled to be complete in early 2007, said listing agent David Walker of Coldwell Banker Sunstar Realty.

The entire development is expected to be finished in 2008, Walker said.

Walker said the first 34 units were made available in January, and reserve deposits were made on all the units within a month.

"I was very surprised," Walker said. He said he thought the first 34 units would sell in "more like four months than four weeks, especially with the current conditions in the market."

The units, which range from 1,500 to about 1,800 square feet, were priced from $312,900 to $440,900. Walker said the prospective buyers included a mix of customers, including investors and full-time and seasonal residents.

He said the local real estate market has been slow since fall, "and it has not picked up this year like it has in previous years. Things priced in a lower range are going to do much better than things priced $700,000 and higher."

Last modified: March 02. 2006 4:44AM

Wal-Mart drops expansion plan
Retailer instead will sell Punta Gorda site, build store outside city

By DEVONA WALKER

PUNTA GORDA -- After hitting a brick wall of public opposition, Wal-Mart has abandoned efforts to expand its discount center in the 3800 block of Tamiami Trail into a Supercenter.

Instead, the world's largest retailer plans to put the property up for sale for $6 million and to build its Supercenter on property it bought outside Punta Gorda city limits, southwest of Jones Loop Road and Interstate 75.

The store is expected to open in summer 2007.

It was another victory for Southwest Florida homeowners against Wal-Mart, which has become a favored target nationwide for neighborhood activists worried about burgeoning traffic and their communities' character.

Neighbors of a proposed Supercenter at University Parkway and Honore Avenue in southern Manatee County successfully blocked the store, persuading county commissioners to deny Wal-Mart's proposal. After suing county government, the Arkansas company agreed to a settlement in which it would convert its store on Lockwood Ridge Road near University into a Supercenter.

In Charlotte County, Wal-Mart representatives first began meeting with members of a very galvanized Burnt Store Isles homeowners association in the winter and spring of 2004.

"We were able to really bring the community together. When it's an issue that really affects everyone -- like this issue did -- it's really a no-brainer," said Carolyn McDermott, a Punta Gorda resident and current secretary of the Burnt Store Isles Association Inc.

The existing store on Tamiami Trail will close within three months of the Supercenter's grand opening.

"The preference was to expand at the existing location," said Eric Brewer, Wal-Mart's deputy manager of public affairs. "But there was some resistance from community groups directly surrounding the site."

"After several attempts at resolving those issues -- and because we felt we really needed a Supercenter in that market -- we decided on this new location."

That "resistance" included standing-room-only bouts with Wal-Mart officials, McDermott recalled.

Expansion plans included transforming the discount center into a Supercenter that would be one-third larger and include groceries. That enlarged footprint would have encroached on the deed-restricted community of Burnt Store Isles, making it necessary for the store to receive a city-sanctioned variance to begin construction.

"We really thought this was an inappropriate place for a Supercenter," McDermott said. "And we felt there were promises made in the past concerning the existing store that were not kept, and we had no faith that future promises would be kept."

The more issues the community presented to Wal-Mart, the less amicable the meetings became.

"They were very arrogant, and I think that just strengthened our resolve," McDermott said. "In the end, they walked away with a sense that we were united as a community against the expansion, and we were not going to stand for it."

Frank Petrosino, the current president of Burnt Store Isles Association, said the fight was nothing personal.

"It happened, we handled it, and we each went our own way. It was strictly business," Petrosino said. "In the end, I think even they knew this was not the way to go."

In 2005, the discount store generated about $91,000 in tax revenue for Punta Gorda, but the money from the new Supercenter will end up in Charlotte County's coffers.

Wal-Mart began marketing the sale of the existing site last week, and has already received responses from several interested parties, said company spokesman Dan Fogleman.

"Really this underscores Wal-Mart's commitment to put these buildings back to use. It's good for our bottom line, but it's also good for the community as well, to not leave these buildings vacant," Fogleman said.

The company would not say who is interested. Final offers are due by March 29.

Murdock Village priorities
Charlotte should consider factors besides price

Several variables should drive Charlotte County's choice of a developer for Murdock Village. The first priority should be recouping a sizable return on taxpayers' investment.

Charlotte has spent three years and nearly $80 million acquiring land in the 1,200- acre subdivision, originally platted by now-defunct General Development Corp. Bitterness lingers over the county's controversial decision to invoke eminent domain to evict several longtime homeowners and clear the way for private enterprise.

Of six proposals made public Tuesday, Stock Development posted the highest sales price -- offering to pay more than $94 million for the property.

The second driving force should be affordable housing. In weighing the proposals, the commissioners should offer serious consideration to the one that offers the highest percentage of affordable homes. Even though the county's housing market has cooled somewhat in recent months, affordability still presents major challenges.

Green space should also be a factor. The development area includes North Charlotte Regional Park and is near Tippecanoe Environmental Park. The development should also integrate public access to Murdock Village's green space and connect pedestrians to county-owned parks.

County planners will pore over the proposals during the next week, selecting three to present to the County Commission on March 10. In April, the commissioners will choose a developer.

With so much time and county money invested in Murdock Village, the stakes are high for everyone involved.

Bridling growth before it's too late

New rules on housing density and a citizens planning board are in the works for Dade City.

By MOLLY MOORHEAD, Times Staff Writer
Published March 1, 2006

DADE CITY - Hoping to send a message to hungry developers, city leaders on Tuesday night agreed to establish policies governing new development.

The message: Less is more.

In addition to allowing no home lots smaller than 50 feet wide, Mayor Hutch Brock said he favors requiring that at least half the lots in a new development be substantially larger than 50 feet, in keeping with the pattern of existing homes in Dade City.

It's just one of many issues facing a city experiencing a flurry of growth after years of stagnation.

During an earlier workshop, city planner Karla Owens said projects that already have been approved could swell the population of the city from about 7,000 to more than 10,000 by 2010. And with more developers knocking every month, she said issues such as home lot size and density are becoming urgent.

"Let's address it now," she said. "You can control density."

Three proposed developments already are raising flags. Developers are requesting the maximum allowed density - in one case more than seven homes per acre - in areas among large, rural home sites.

"You need to look at what surrounds it," Owens said.

A quirky provision in the city's comprehensive plan allows a developer to transfer the density allowed on one piece of property to another piece for environmental reasons. That means a parcel covered by wetlands, which cannot be developed, could have its density pushed next door, allowing double the density on the adjacent property.

But that provision, among others, appears headed for change.

Owens and other city staffers will formulate policies about density, home lot size and other issues including stormwater retention, architectural guidelines and parking. The commission will consider and vote on them.

In other news Tuesday, commissioners also finalized an ordinance creating a citizen planning board to review rezonings and annexations and make recommendations to the commission. Until now, the commission also has served as the planning board, essentially making recommendations to itself.

The new board will have seven members: five appointed by individual commissioners and two at-large. Members must live or own property in the city.

Commissioners also finalized a transfer of code enforcement violations from a city board. Such cases will now be prosecuted in county court.

[Last modified March 1, 2006, 00:57:16]

Write a letter to the editor

Write a letter to the editor

Leaders ask for Internet policy

County commissioners agree that the rules are necessary but say they could create problems of their own and could be difficult to follow.

By GARRETT THEROLF
Published March 1, 2006

NEW PORT RICHEY - County commissioners on Tuesday asked their attorney to draft a policy that would limit their use of public computers for personal interests, but first came complaints that such a policy would present its own problems and be difficult to follow.

"We got to have some protection, some policy or structure," Commissioner Steve Simon said as he presided over the board's public meeting at the West Pasco Government Center. "But how do you substantiate what the site actually was" when it is reviewed later, he asked.

The conversation was the first public debate over the use of public computers by commissioners since the St. Petersburg Times reported Sunday that three commissioners conducted personal business on the Internet during public hearings.

Commissioner Ted Schrader frequently checked stock quotes and made travel plans. Commissioner Pat Mulieri logged onto her e-mail account to answer messages related to her other job as a professor emeritus at Pasco-Hernando Community College. Simon checked eBay and golf-related sites.

Simon and Schrader have said they regretted the use, but Simon and Mulieri complained during Tuesday's meeting that they now feel forced to not only eliminate personal Web surfing but legitimate research as well.

Simon, who has cut his use of any Web pages from his work laptop until a policy is finalized, said he was afraid to even look down to sign papers out of concern that the Times would report that he wasn't paying attention.

"I shouldn't be afraid to do my job," he said.

Mulieri addressed the television cameras to tell the public that she would be shutting down her America Online e-mail account, which she used to respond to students, friends and constituents, because the Times reported that she conducted the correspondence as the public, officials or staffers addressed her from the lectern.

"Big Brother is watching you, so don't go on the Internet," Mulieri told her fellow commissioners, adding that the public can now reach her through her county-supplied e-mail address.

Schrader, the most frequent Web surfer, remained silent during the conversation but joined all fellow commissioners in a request for the county attorney to draft a policy for the board's use of the Internet. They did not tell him what provisions to include, but it will be taken up at a future meeting for approval.

In other county news Tuesday:

Commissioners responded to the Department of Environmental Protection's proposed $2-million fine for extensive failures to properly dispose wastewater from the county-run system.

The county continued its effort to reduce the fine before it is finalized, but Simon said he wanted to go on public record that the county was addressing the department's complaints.

Chief among his concerns, Simon said, was the lack of communication among county staffers that led to a large and extended sewage spill in a Zephyrhills community and the DEP's finding that the county had quietly constructed a valve to improperly release wastewater into a tributary of the Hillsborough River.

"This board does not condone any building of any secret piping, or any circuitous valve," Simon said.

Utility director Bruce Kennedy, who is in DEP records as the county official who authorized the pipe's use, told commissioners that the charge was untrue and that the pipe was constructed and used by a county contractor.

"I support Bruce Kennedy," Mulieri said.

Also, Port Richey defeated a proposal to build a boat and RV storage facility next to City Hall on Ridge Road. The city argued that it was an improper use of land that also is adjacent to a bank and an apartment building. County Commissioners agreed by a 4-1 vote.

[Last modified March 1, 2006, 00:57:16]

Will Catholic town infringe on freedom?

The Domino's founder is bankrolling a strict Catholic town east of Naples.

By Associated Press
Published March 1, 2006

NAPLES - If Domino's Pizza founder Thomas S. Monaghan has his way, a new town being built in southwest Florida will be governed by strict Catholic principles, particularly when it comes to sex.

The pizza magnate, raised by nuns in orphanages, is bankrolling the town called Ave Maria with millions of dollars, calling its construction "God's will."

Stores won't sell pornographic magazines, pharmacies won't carry condoms or birth control pills, and cable television will carry no X-rated channels, he said in a speech last year to the Boston Catholic Men's Conference.

Civil libertarians say the plan is unconstitutional and promise lawsuits.

The town is being built around Ave Maria University, the first Catholic university to be built in the United States in four decades, which Monaghan also founded. Both are set to open next year about 25 miles east of Naples.

The community, developed through a partnership with Barron Collier Co., an agricultural and real estate firm, will be set on 5,000 acres with a European-inspired town center. It will encircle a massive church and what planners call the largest crucifix in the nation, standing nearly 65 feet tall.

Robert Falls, a spokesman for the project, said attorneys are reviewing the legal issues of the proposed bans. He said Monaghan would not comment.

"If they attempt to do what he apparently wants to do, the people of Naples and Collier County, Florida, are in for a whole series of legal and constitutional problems and a lot of litigation indefinitely into the future," said Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.

While Simon notes there are religiously homogenous communities across the country, none can "wield governmental power along the lines of religious principle."

Monaghan and Barron Collier will control all commercial real estate in the town and could include provisions in leases that restrict the sale of certain items.

Unlike in some states, Florida pharmacies don't have to provide contraceptives.

"The law doesn't say exactly what a pharmacy has to stock or sell," said Thometta Cozart, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health.

Naples Community Hospital, which plans to open a clinic in the town, will not prescribe any birth control to students. The hospital has not decided whether it will prescribe to the general public.

"I believe all of history is just one big battle between good and evil. I don't want to be on the sidelines," Monaghan said in a recent Newsweek interview.

However, Simon points to a 1946 Supreme Court opinion that "ownership does not always mean absolute dominion."

Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist said it will be up to the courts to decide the legalities of the plan.

"The community has the right to provide a wholesome environment," Crist said Tuesday. "If someone disagrees, they have the right to go to court and present facts before a judge."

Gov. Jeb Bush, at the university's recent groundbreaking, lauded the development as a new kind of town, where faith and freedom will merge to create a community of like-minded citizens.

Bush, a convert to Catholicism, did not speak specifically to the proposed restrictions.

"While the governor does not personally believe in abortion or pornography, the town, and any restrictions they may place on businesses choosing to locate there, must comply with the laws and constitutions of the state and federal governments," Russell Schweiss, a spokesman for the governor, said Tuesday.

"This is country club Christianity," said Frances Kissling, president of Catholics for a Free Choice, which opposes the church's bans on abortion and birth control.

She likened the town's concept to Islamic fundamentalism and teaching intolerance.

"I don't think in a democratic society you can have a legally organized township that will seek to have any kind of public service whatsoever and try to restrict the constitutional rights of citizens," Kissling said.

[Last modified March 1, 2006, 00:56:14]

Planners lament ugly buildings on the beach

Members of a Clearwater development board say that they are powerless to stop unsightly construction projects.

By AARON SHAROCKMAN
Published March 1, 2006

CLEARWATER - Members of Clearwater's Community Development Board said this week that they have regularly voted to support buildings that they call "dead ugly" because city codes gave them no way to say no.

Speaking at a lunchtime summit with the City Council on Monday, planning board members said they are hamstrung by overly pliable planning standards that developers can manipulate to meet their needs.

Consequently, Clearwater Beach is turning into one giant concrete slab, as one building after another is approved, board members say.

"It's a disaster," said planning board member Alex Plisko, who finishes his term on the board this month. "It's very difficult to say no. And even though I (want to) say no, the attorney says I can't say it.

City codes say board members must have factual evidence to deny a developer's request, and whether a building's design is pleasing is a highly subjective matter.

The board's revelations, which mimic public consternation over Clearwater's redevelopment program, come as City Council members are set to enact a series of code changes to a northern neighborhood on Clearwater Beach.

But board members said Monday that broader changes are needed to a code that is 7 years old and cost nearly $700,000 in consultant fees to craft.

The lively discussion, which ended after two hours without any official action, will surely ignite another planning policy discussion. The city has tried for years to balance the style and pace of its redevelopment in the downtown and on the beach.

"We're not sure we got the product we envisioned," said David Gildersleeve, the board chairman. "I've seen a number of buildings that are dead ugly, but how do you deny that project? Sometimes you cannot legislate an ugly building up or down."

At least four of the seven planning board members said they have voted to approve the construction of buildings they thought were "ugly" or "awful," only because the rules provided them no other option.

Plisko said the city needs to make its code more restrictive in order to better predict the outcomes of redevelopment.

Specifically, members of the board said the city needs to increase setbacks, or the space between buildings, in order to create airy, open corridors - even if that means allowing builders some additional height.

Board members used Brightwater Drive, a street now redeveloped almost entirely with townhomes, as a prime example of planning gone wrong.

And they believed in 10 years Clearwater Beach might be considered uglier than the high-rise redevelopment of Sand Key, an island community built out almost exclusively with condominium towers.

"Good setbacks," said board member Nick Fritsch, "make good neighborhoods."

Board members also suggested increased landscape requirements and more detailed, undulating, building facades. Too often, developers propose boxy structures with small amounts of landscaping that are never maintained, board members said.

"It's too easy now," Plisko said. "Staff still gets so much pressure from the developers that they bend a lot of times. What (the staff is) bringing to us is not what the code intended to do."

City Manager Bill Horne, who appeared surprised by the comments of the planning board, said members were attempting to shift their responsibilities to someone else.

Why couldn't the board, which is composed of a mix of lay people and development professionals, be empowered to reject poor design? he asked.

"I would challenge the board. Why can't you say it doesn't look good?" Horne asked. "If your gut tells you this doesn't look good, don't approve it."

The city paid a Miami consultant nearly $700,000 starting in 1998 to rewrite Clearwater's land development code and draft specific plans for the downtown and for Clearwater Beach, where the plan is known as Beach by Design.

The changes were meant to help encourage redevelopment, but city officials now question if further encouragement is needed.

Already, more than $1-billion in development is planned for the beach, and several major projects are coming together downtown.

"Some of the buildings are some of the ugliest things I've ever seen," Plisko said. "Unless we put something back in the code that gives us a little more restriction, it's just going to keep going."

Council member Bill Jonson, a critic of the current system, said something needs to change. He started the meeting with a slide show presentation showing how the beach has been redeveloped so far.

Later, he said, "I'm amazed some of this stuff gets through."

[Last modified March 1, 2006, 00:56:14]

Bayside 'dockominiums' could leave some boaters high and dry

The sale of the West Tampa marina continues the reduction of public access to the water.

By SHERRI DAY
Published March 1, 2006

TAMPA - Bayside Marina, one of the few remaining docks where a boat owner can rent space, may soon go condo.

Plans are afoot to turn the sprawling marina at 5200 W Tyson Ave. into "dockominiums," or luxury condos for boats.

An associate of developer Steeven Knight says he recently entered into a preliminary contract to purchase the property from CJ Marina, which owns the land.

The property, which is near Rattlesnake Point just south of Gandy Boulevard and west of West Shore Boulevard, is valued at $5.12-million, according to Hillsborough County property appraiser records.

Officials at CJ Marina, which owns the site, and Bayside Marina did not return calls for comment. The marina owners have previously said the property may be developed for residential condos.

Knight, who runs several marinas around the state, also did not return calls for comment.

Citing a pending contract at the Tampa facility, Chad Edmonds, general manager at Knight's Sanibel Harbour Yacht Club, said he could not comment on the terms of the deal. But he was hopeful that it would go through.

If it does, "it's pretty likely it will model after ours," Edmonds said, referring to the Sanibel property. "It's five-star concierge service."

When dockominium owners arrive at the Sanibel club, valets will park their cars and drive them to their boats, Edmonds said. Sanibel employees will put boats in the water and can fully stock them with food and beverages. At the end of an outing, boat owners will leave the boat cleaning and storage to the club's staff.

Knight plans to open the Sanibel Harbour Yacht Club on April 1, Edmonds said. The private club will feature 386 dry slips and five wet slips. So far, boat owners have snapped up 90 percent of the slips, which range from $124,000 per slip for dry storage to $425,000 for wet slips, Edmonds said. The slips also have a monthly maintenance fee of $225.

At most rental sites, boat owners pay to store their boats. The owners are responsible for moving their boats from their berth to the water. At the end of their excursions, they must clean and re-store their boats, a process that can take several hours.

If the Bayside Marina sale goes through, the public will lose another boat dock rental space. State environmental officials said public rental wet slips have decreased by 8.2 percent since March 2004.

Increasingly, state officials said, marina owners are cashing out when developers offer to buy their property.

"They're basically winning the lottery," said Lt. Col. Jim Brown, deputy director of law enforcement for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

But the good fortune for marina owners could spell hard luck for some boat owners.

"There's less and less opportunity for public access to waters because of the cost of the land," Brown said. "When you take that access away and put it into private hands, then it could end up where only the rich have access to the waters."

Word of a pending sale at Bayside has circulated through the Tampa boating community for weeks. Knight recently met with business owners at the marina to discuss his plans.

Chuck Rogers, who owns Rattlesnake Point Outfitters at Bayside Marina, returned from vacation last weekend to learn that he may soon have to find a new home.

Rattle Fish Raw Bar and Grill owner Scott Estes has started to look for another site. He met with Knight two weeks ago and recently visited his Sanibel property. If the deal goes through, Estes said he would either continue operating Rattle Fish as a public restaurant on its current site, become a private club facility or relocate.

Estes hopes to stay put.

"I'd hate to see us change," he said. But with all the things that are going on around here, it's a nice addition."

Sherri Day can be reached at 813-226-3405 or sday@sptimes.com

[Last modified March 1, 2006, 00:56:14]

Feb 28, 2006

County's financial shortfall shocking

By FRED HIERS
fhiers@hernandotoday.com


BROOKSVILLE — Until Monday, the citizens committee created to help determine local government’s space needs dealt mostly with building requirements with far less attention to where the money to pay for the projects would come from.

But that all changed after Monday night’s meeting when costs jarred the committee to attention.

Budget Director George Zoettlein told the group of 25 local residents the county was looking at as much as a $400 million shortfall over the next 10 years unless new funding sources were created.

When the message sunk in, many committee members were stunned.

“I think we’re all a little shell shocked,” said Ferol Falzone-Long.

Until this week, the group focused mostly on the need for a new government building with an estimated and manageable cost of about $40 million.

But Zoettlein said the county also needed during the next decade another $30 million for two new parks, as much as $45 million to maintain existing residential roads and $292 million for new roads.

Despite expectations of about $100 million in impact fee revenues during that period for parks and roads, Zoettlein warned there will still be a shortfall.

For many of the committee members, the news was overwhelming.

“It won’t matter what we say in this room,” said Tom Barnette. “We won’t be able to solve the problem.”

With more than just the $40 million for a new government center at issue, a frustrated Barnette said he no longer understood the purpose of the committee, adding it might be nothing more than a “fall guy for some people.”

Interim County Administrator Larry Jennings reminded the committee its only job was to make general recommendations to commissioners later this spring.

For committee member Lisa Hammond, the most daunting part of the estimated $400 million shortfall was the $292 million for new roads.

“(Roads) are congested but not to the tune of $300 million,” she said.

Many other needs “are bug spit compared to this $292 million,” Hammond said.

Zoettlein said an additional $80 million was needed to pay for several smaller construction projects, such as expanding the Animal Services building.

Committee chairman Len Tria said the group should address the money shortage issue by first prioritizing needs and discussing what projects could wait.

He also asked Jennings and Zoettlein to provide the committee with a more specific list of projects and all the county’s estimated revenues that could be spent to pay for them.

But committee member Bob Kanner said he was not convinced the county needed what Zoettlein and other county staff said they did.

“Are we utilizing all the square footage in the ...government center,” Kanner asked. “I don’t think it’s being used properly.”

He complained of “tremendous waste” in some departments.

Kanner also called for the committee to create a list of priorities when it came to county building projects.

The committee will meet again 6:30 p.m., Monday March 6 at the County Recreation Department building on Fort Dade Avenue. Jennings said he would bring the committee additional space information for that meeting.

“We can’t tell people we must raise $400 million,” Kanner said.

He equated the county’s financial woes to what many county families face every day.

“Do we put food on the table or do we buy a wide-screen TV?” Kanner said.

Reporter Fred Hiers can be contacted at (352) 544-5290.

Tab for growth estimated at $500M

The county budget director says that's about what will be needed over the nextdecade.

By CHANDRA BROADWATER
Published March 1, 2006

BROOKSVILLE - It could cost the county nearly $500-million to pay for new buildings, parks and roads in the next 10 years.

Members of the Hernando Citizens Advisory Committee on Capital Improvements met Monday night to discuss how to pay for these projects.

At the top of the list of needs are a new county judicial complex, acres of new parks and miles of new roads.

County budget director George Zoettlein said the $500-million figure is based on projected population growth and the cost of maintaining county buildings and roads over the next decade.

Zoettlein also went over a list of funding options, including loans, bonds, a gas tax and dedicated millage.

Zoettlein said that a sales tax would probably be the best way to fund the projects because it would spread the tax burden beyond property owners.

The County Commission created the 25-member advisory committee in December.

The group has been charged with helping the commission determine how to accommodate growth and finance the expansion of government offices and buildings.

The next meeting is scheduled for March 6 at 6:30 p.m. in the Brooksville Community Activity Center at 205 E Fort Dade Ave. The public is invited.

[Last modified March 1, 2006, 00:57:16]

Feb 28, 2006

City, county spat continues

By FRED HIERS
fhiers@hernandotoday.com


BROOKSVILLE — The fight between the county and the City of Brooksville over annexation rights will have to wait — at least until the two governmental agencies can agree on a meeting time.

In one corner of the political ring are Brooksville officials who require property owners to agree never to fight city annexation in exchange for Brooksville utility services.

The city’s position is based on a Florida law that gives cities first right of refusal.

In other words, Brooksville has first choice over the county as to whether it wants to offer utility services to new development within five miles of its borders.

Brooksville officials do that now, but in exchange for utility services, those property owners must sign away their right to ever refuse being annexed if the city wants to incorporate them.

In the other corner of the political ring, county officials complain that Florida law only gives the city the right of first refusal but says nothing about tying that privilege to forcing property owners to promise not to resist potential future annexation.

During Tuesday’s county board meeting, commissioners and city officials agreed to meet and try to hammer out their differences.

“If there was such an outcry by the people, why haven’t they come before the city council to get it changed,” asked Brooksville Mayor Joe Johnston during a break in the county meeting. “The only people I ever hear complain about it are county commissioners.”

Four years ago county and city officials struck a deal, creating a new first right-of-refusal area that was less than five miles in some areas around the city.

That deal diffused a likely legal battle in court between the two governmental bodies.

But the agreement meant to avert a political slugfest never addressed the issue of annexation in conjunction with first right of refusal.

The deal worked — for a while.

Last month, Sea Gate Land Holdings asked to build a series of apartments, commercial space and residential homes in the area, on the south side of Wiscon Road.

Under Florida law, the site fell within Brooksville’s five-mile right of refusal area.

But Sea Gate representatives said they would rather deal with county officials when it came to building rules instead of the city.

Commissioners offered to help Sea Gate fight the city’s annexation clause if the developer wanted the assistance.

That was enough to make Johnston see red.

He fired off a warning letter that if the county continued on its current path, the city would probably have to reconsider its four-year-old deal with the county.

Yesterday, both sides agreed to meet again to discuss their differences.

Meanwhile, not all county commissioners are spoiling for a brawl.

“It’s a private matter (between property owners and the city),” said Commissioner Robert Schenck. “I don’t see how this board has the right...to use tax money to sue the county.”

Reporter Fred Hiers can be contacted at (352) 544-5290. 

Citrus votes down luxury RV resort on lake

County commissioners reject the plan, 5-0. One commissioner says it is too big and incompatible for the residential area.

By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET
Published March 1, 2006

INVERNESS - The Citrus County Commission voted unanimously late Tuesday to reject a proposed 499-unit RV park on Big Lake Spivey.

The meeting drew a standing-room-only crowd to the Citrus County Commission chambers.

Representatives of developer Century Realty Funds said the 207-acre site was perfect for the "Preservation Pointe" luxury motor coach resort.

But local environmental advocates and neighbors of the site criticized Century's plan, saying it would destroy the lake and disrupt the area.

After a nearly four-hour meeting, commissioners voted 5-0 to reject the plan.

"It's too big, it's too intense and it's incompatible for the area, which is basically residential," Commissioner Jim Fowler said shortly before the vote.

To break ground, the developer needed to change the property's zoning from coast lakes to recreational vehicle park. That required changes to the county's comprehensive plan and land development code.

County staffers recommended approval of the project.

In December, the Planning and Development Review Board voted 5-2 against the application.

Opponents of the project have been vocal at recent meetings. But supporters of the project were a visible presence at Tuesday night's meeting.

They pointed out that the developer has offered to pay more than $2-million to provide water and wastewater services to the development, including $500,000 for upgrades to the regional wastewater plant in Inverness.

"This is economic growth. It's going to help the businesses, and it's good for the government," said the Rev. Doug Alexander of the Church Without Walls in Inverness.

Many in the audience at the hearing clutched small square signs with bright orange lettering urging commissioners to "Vote Yes on Preservation Pointe."

Inverness attorney John Eden IV handed out the signs as people filed into the meeting room around 5 p.m. In the past week, Eden, who owns the property, said he e-mailed about 40 people to ask for their support of the project. He described the project's advantages and asked recipients to contact county commissioners and turn out for the meeting.

Many of the e-mail's initial recipients forwarded the message, he said. By Tuesday evening, Eden said he had received more than 100 e-mails in favor of the project and only a handful of messages from people who opposed it.

At Tuesday's meeting, commissioners approved a series of amendments to the county's comprehensive plan.

They include policy changes involving wetlands, springs protection, coastal high hazard areas, affordable housing and hurricane shelters.

One change would require developers of new mobile home parks to build hurricane shelters for their residents, create a hurricane mitigation fund and a new impact fee to pay for upgrades of public shelters.

Bill Turney, assistant executive director of the Florida Manufactured Housing Association, told commissioners the change would unfairly burden owners of mobile home parks and further undermine the availability of affordable housing in the county.

[Last modified March 1, 2006, 00:56:14]

Charlotte County boosts impact fees

By Patrick Whittle

CHARLOTTE COUNTY -- Charlotte County's new impact fees add more than $5,000 to the cost of building a typical single-family home here, possibly signaling an end to the county's status as a prime spot to build cheap housing near the Gulf of Mexico.

It is the first time the county has updated the fees in 12 years.

The increased fees, which are taxes charged on new construction to help pay for population growth, were approved by the County Commission on Tuesday and take effect on June 1.

The fees will charge a builder $4.19 per square foot for a new house, which amounts to $8,380 for a 2,000-square-foot home. The current fees, which are not based on square-footage, are $2,510 for a single-family home.

The commission voted to adjust the impact fees every year so future increases aren't so dramatic.

The county originally considered raising the impact fees even higher, to $9,263, but cut the amount after some builders and homeowners charged that increase was too high.

"Consider looking at additional revenue sources so the burden is spread throughout the county, not just on new construction," said Suzanne Graham, president of the Charlotte-DeSoto Building Industry Association.

The new fees are based on a study by University of Florida professor James Nicholas. He is also working on a school impact fee for Charlotte.

Charlotte County's current impact fees were $3,700 less than the state average, about $3,000 less than Sarasota County and about $9,000 less than Manatee County in 2005. It was hard to avoid the sticker-shock this time, County Commissioner Matt DeBoer said.

"Impact fees are a bitter pill," he said. "We need to just get it done."

The county's new impact fees set rates for all new buildings, including offices, medical facilities and stores. The fees range from $1,281 per 1,000 square feet for a mini-warehouse to more than $19,000 per 1,000 square feet for a movie theater.

Builders who are about to start work might be able to avoid the new fees.

Residential builders who have a signed contract can pay the old fees if they submit an application by Dec. 1. Builders handling nonresidential structures, such as stores, offices or medical buildings, have until May 31, 2007.

The increased fees help generate revenue to fund the county's roads, public buildings and parks, budget officer Ray Sandrock said. However, the county also will need to look at other sources of funding for infrastructure to keep in step with growing population, he said.

Sandrock has cited the fact that the county's road budget is operating at more than a $100 million deficit as evidence that Charlotte's taxes aren't in step with growth.

"It's going to take more than just impact fees," he said.

Sandrock could not say when a proposal for a school impact fee would be ready. Charlotte has grown from 111,000 residents in 1990 to more than 157,000 last year, and the county's school system has grown in step.

Affordable housing advocates have cautioned the county that higher fees could price working residents out of a home. Commissioners said the county might debate that issue at a later meeting.

Representatives from the building industry have questioned the need for heavy impact fees since the summer, when county officials started talking about raising them. Some builders, several of whom spoke Tuesday, fear heavy fees will stunt business.

County Commissioner Tom D'Aprile said Charlotte needs to spread the cost of growth around the county in the future or risk hurting the building industry.

"It the largest industry we have in Charlotte County. If we cripple it, we will be crippled," D'Aprile said.

Palmetto officials detail why housing plan scrapped

STAFF REPORT

PALMETTO -- Complaints from builders were not the only reason the city scrapped a proposed affordable housing law earlier this month, the City Commission said Monday.

On Feb. 6, without discussion, the commissioners struck down a proposal they had been tooling for months and had intended to adopt that night. The law would have required most developers to build homes for moderate-income buyers or pay a hefty penalty.

The media and public got the impression they withdrew the measure strictly because of complaints from the Home Builders Association of Manatee County, the commissioners said. Yet, on Monday, their staff presented them with a position paper outlining several concerns.

City attorney Michele Hall said she asked that the proposal be pulled because she had concerns about its legality.

City planners said they also wanted more time to explore the notion of a nonprofit land trust, an idea under way in Sarasota County and Punta Gorda that can be used for affordable housing.

Write a letter to the editor

Zephyrhills approves housing proposals

Gore's Dairy is rezoned for some 500 houses, and two townhome communities get the go-ahead.

By MOLLY MOORHEAD, Times Staff Writer
Published February 28, 2006

ZEPHYRHILLS - City Council members moved forward Monday night on two townhouse projects and a large housing development.

More than 200 acres of Gore's Dairy along Wire Road at the north end of town will hold some 500 houses and 54 townhomes after City Council members finalized the rezoning. The part of the dairy fronting U.S. 301 is targeted for commercial development.

Two townhome communities proposed along Court Street south of State Road 54 also gained approval, despite opposition from nearby residents.

"Nobody wants to live next door to it," said Court Street resident Sandra Warrell.

She said traffic on Court Street will only get worse with hundreds of additional cars.

"I can't get out of my driveway half the time now," Warrell said.

Resident Richard Allen said allowing high-density development amounts to downgrading the quality of life in the city.

"How do you ever reverse that process?" Allen said.

All three projects passed 3-1, with council member Danny Burgess voting against each. He vowed to help find ways to alleviate the traffic problems.

Member Clyde Bracknell defended his vote, saying the city cannot halt growth: "We're trying to control it to some degree."

[Last modified February 28, 2006, 00:35:17]

Commissioner says he regrets Web use

Ted Schrader says his focus is on regaining the public's trust. Another leader suggests a policy.

By GARRETT THEROLF
Published February 28, 2006

County Commissioner Ted Schrader, who had steadfastly defended the use of his public computer to surf the Web during public meetings, said Monday that he regretted the use.

"From this commissioner, it is not going to happen again," said Schrader, who scanned stock quotes and travel sites as the public spoke. "I just view it as a hard lesson."

The St. Petersburg Times reported Sunday that Commissioners Schrader, Pat Mulieri and Steve Simon used their public computers to scan Web sites that were unrelated to county business as they presided over public meetings. In Schrader's case, the use amounted to hours.

During the three-year period reviewed by the Times, rank-and-file county staffers were fired for using public computers for personal reasons, including two last year.

After the report, Schrader said he was focused on regaining the public's trust

"Whether (the use) was right or wrong, the public perception is certainly harmed. It is tough to get that confidence back again. That troubles me the most, quite honestly," Schrader said.

Simon said he proposes that the commission establish a policy for its Web use - possibly at today's public meeting in New Port Richey.

"I've disabled my Web browser until we are able to decide what we want to do. What do we want our policy to be?" Simon said.

The policy that prohibits county staffers from using public computers for personal use "at all times" applies to everyone except the commissioners.

Mulieri, who scanned her personal e-mail account and the Web site for Pasco-Hernando Community College, where she is a professor emeritus, did not return messages Monday.

Both Schrader and Simon maintained that they never diverted substantial amounts of attention away from the public meetings. They said the Web surfing was merely in the background.

"I never even dreamed it would be a real problem," Schrader said.

Garrett Therolf covers Pasco County government. He can be reached toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6232 and in west Pasco at 869-6232. His e-mail address is gtherolf@sptimes.com

[Last modified February 28, 2006, 00:35:17]

Commissioners must keep their eyes on board business

A Times Editorial
Published February 28, 2006

Three Pasco County commissioners are taking multitasking to a new level.

Instead of focusing on the business at hand in public meetings, Commissioner Ted Schrader is surfing the net for stock quotes, airline ticket prices or vacation information.

Pat Mulieri is checking an e-mail account or visiting the Web site for Pasco Hernando Community College, where she is a professor emeritus after retiring in spring 2005.

Steve Simon looks for golf equipment, whatever else strikes his fancy at eBay or clicks on www.Simonsez.com the home page for entertainer Steve Max, who bills himself as "the nation's leading Simon Sez caller." Does Simon say, Put your finger on the mouse and click?

The inattention to their commission duties is insulting to residents, the county staff and even other elected officials. Simon once visited eBay three minutes after a commission meeting started. Schrader used his laptop to check the stock market on the afternoon of Aug. 23, 2005, at the precise time the staff of Pinellas-Pasco Public Defender Bob Dillinger was at the podium seeking a budget increase to pay for mental health services for indigent misdemeanor defendants.

Schrader is the biggest abuser of the county-owned laptop computers, accounting for more than 9,700 page visits (86 percent) of the Internet use by commissioners, during and outside of meetings, over the past three years. His penchant for monitoring the stock market during public meetings is disturbing. He should be able to set aside interest in his portfolio for two afternoons a month to give Pasco's citizens his undivided attention.

Schrader, it must be noted, also is responsible for commissioners' spending less time in the board room. After his election in 2000, Schrader persuaded commissioners to cut their work load in half from four commission meetings each month to two. That leaves him plenty of down time to surf the Web. The public should be his exclusive focus on commission meeting days. Ditto for Simon and Mulieri.

We suspect some of the Web surfing is the electronic equivalent of doodling. But commissioners' initial explanations were problematic and reinforced a perception in some quarters that the public can't get a fair hearing.

Simon, for instance, rationalized his eBay visits as research for county purchases. To his credit, Simon later accepted responsibility for his actions. After the early denials, he acknowledged using the computer for noncounty businesses and said he would have the Web browser removed from the laptop.

Mulieri doubted the authenticity of the county's computer records, which showed her perusing an AOL e-mail account seven minutes after commissioners returned from a recess on Jan. 24. Mulieri championed the county's move to computerization in the late 1990s and suggested at the time that computer literacy was a professional prerequisite for applicants for the then-vacant county attorney's position. It is understood she uses e-mail to stay in touch with constituents, but it does not justify being distracted during public meetings.

If Mulieri believes the county software produces inaccurate results, will she ask the personnel office to refrain from using it as justification for terminating rank-and-file employees using county computers inappropriately?

Schrader initially argued that spending hours on the Internet over the past three years is insignificant and that he has fulfilled his duties as commissioner. Tell that to the people in the Aloha Utilities service area who continue to fight, after more than a decade, to get rid of dark, smelly water in their homes. Schrader surfed Expedia.com "probably checking flight fares" for 18 minutes on May 10, 2005, during discussion of a county ordinance to force Aloha to improve its water quality.

The public would be better served if Schrader followed the lead of Commissioners Jack Mariano and Ann Hildebrand. County records for the past three years show Mariano, who joined the board in November 2004, and Hildebrand rarely access the Internet and then only to check Web sites relevant to county business.

Their behavior should be the rule, not the exception. The public deserves a County Commission that will dedicate its undivided attention to the business of governing.

[Last modified February 28, 2006, 00:36:03]

 

Write a letter to the editor

Fixing utility's pipes and process is an imperative

A Times Editorial
Published February 22, 2006

A planned $220-million renovation of Pasco County's water and sewer system just got more expensive.

State environmental regulators say millions of dollars worth of additional work is needed and they also are seeking a substantial penalty for past mismanagement by the county. The proposed Department of Environmental Protection consent order and $2-million fine, an average of $28.57 for each of the county's 70,000 customers, is indicative of the severity of the previous transgressions. They include:

Eight plants spilling nearly 22-million gallons of raw sewage. Most notably, a substantial breach near Lake Bernadette in east Pasco went undetected for more than a month and sent untreated sewage into a drainage pond leading to Indian Creek and eventually the Hillsborough River.

Delivering more than 18-million gallons of treated wastewater for customers' irrigation that did not meet disinfection standards.

Doubling the size of the county's Wesley Chapel sewage treatment plant without state approval and ignoring orders to stop the construction.

Building an unpermitted pipe to dump stormwater and partially treated wastewater into a tributary of the Hillsborough River. DEP documents indicate retired utilities director Doug Bramlett authorized that construction and his successor, Bruce Kennedy, ordered the pipe valve's use.

Kennedy told St. Petersburg Times staff writer Garrett Therolf the county would seek to negotiate the terms of the consent order, particularly the aggressive timetable established by the state for repairs. He said heavy rainfall triggered much of the system's failures.

Scapegoating Mother Nature is an inadequate response. It fails to explain the arrogance of ignoring DEP's authority on the Wesley Chapel plant expansion, or building and using an illegal pipe. Using secret valves to dump unwanted waste is the kind of activity the county sought to end when it bought up the small privately owned package plants in west Pasco more than two decades ago. Heavy rainfall fails to address the preponderance of rickety pipes and an inadequate inventory of spare parts for repairs at county plants.

The county also must be accountable for its own bumbling. The leak near Lake Bernadette, for instance, continued for 43 days because the utility's operations and maintenance divisions did not coordinate even though personnel at the southeast wastewater treatment plant knew 500,000 gallons of sewage disappeared each day. The leak continued until a DEP inspector found the cracked pipe while answering complaints from nearby residents about the stench from sewage leaking into their pond.

County Administrator John Gallagher has promised changes including a staff reorganization and modernized parts and equipment. That is imperative.

A county loath to slow its construction permits even when it strains its infrastructure must do better than the status quo of an underfunded and poorly maintained utility system.

[Last modified February 22, 2006, 01:04:18]

Guest column

Chassahowitzka water projects need to be funded

By JIM FOWLER
Published February 27, 2006

Once again I find myself vilified by the press for expressing my right and responsibility as a county commissioner on a controversial issue. This time it is my steadfast belief that Citrus County must establish a dedicated funding source for utility service to our environmentally sensitive areas.

According to the University of South Florida, there is a documented health risk related to contaminants from septic tanks serving Chassahowitzka. These septic tanks are more than likely perfectly legal. What is known today but was unknown years ago is that septic tanks sitting just above our groundwater pollutes. Not enough percolation (filtering) occurs from the drain field as it filters down to our drinking water.

Many years ago, development was allowed where it would never be permitted today. In Chassahowitzka, Riverhaven, Indian Waters and many other areas, the water table is within reach of a round point shovel.

Because science now tells us this pollution is taking place, shouldn't it be our goal and commitment as a community of people who love this place to clean up the mess that has been made?

Let's begin the effort to stop the decline in the water quality of our rivers, lakes, streams and the very water we drink and let's not place 100 percent of the financial burden for these very expensive projects on the backs of those living in these areas like Chassahowitzka, a community of moderate means.

The county had authorized its staff to move forward on providing water and sewer to Chassahowitzka. Grant money of $4.3-million was to be used to fund 40 percent of the project. Even that leaves the 600 Chassahowitzka homeowners with a tax bill of more than $10,000 each to replace their legal septic tanks.

We, the County Commission, have been told by state legislators that future grants of this nature will not be available for these projects in other areas of our county unless we are willing to put up matching funds. That requires that a dedicated funding source be established by the County Commission. No one else can do it.

It requires that the County Commission, which loves to "talk the talk" to now "walk the walk." It requires that commissioners who built their careers on claiming to care for this county and making water quality their top priority to do something more than talk about it. It's been talked about for 30 years.

At our last meeting Feb. 14, needing three votes in favor and knowing Commissioner Dennis Damato and I had both stated publicly that we were committed to this cause, I sought to get a commitment from Commissioner Gary Bartell. It was a long, civil, courteous discussion.

Finally, I asked Commissioner Bartell for just a gentleman's agreement to direct the staff who are working on next year's budget to build that $175- to $200-million budget around our top priority, water quality. He refused. I failed to persuade him to do the right thing.

The next day, I read in the local paper Commissioner Bartell referred to this discussion as being illegal. The county attorney was present during these discussions and made no comment. The fact is nothing could be further from the truth. The only legal place county commissioners are allowed by law to discuss these issues is at a public meeting. I've since received a written opinion from the county attorney and, of course, the discussion was legal.

In the days following and in the local papers, Commissioner Bartell called me a "bully" for engaging in these discussions, a peculiar choice of words given the circumstances. Bullheaded, maybe.

I made it clear in January 2006 that I desired a dedicated funding source and an assessment cap. Only one of my fellow commissioners is willing to make that commitment, Commissioner Dennis Damato.

I am not going to engage in name calling. This is too important an issue. I am prepared to discuss the provision of water and sewer at any time. I am willing to consider any viable alternative or counter proposal to establish a permanent funding source. I am willing to consider alternative special assessment caps.

What I am not willing to do is continue haphazard hat-in-hand, project-by-political whim approach to utility provisions. Nor am I willing to place extreme financial burdens on county homeowners in the name of environmental protection when there is clear documentation that we are all contributors to the problem.

It's unfortunate these decades have rolled by with nothing done. Just consider how much less it would have cost 20 years ago. But guess what. The costs will continue to rise. It will never cost less than it will today, and someday the state might force us to do it.

Let's begin now.

In this discussion, we must remember that Chassahowitzka is the beginning and not the end of what must be a long-term commitment to bring central sewer to the environmentally sensitive areas of our county.

We must remember that we are one county. Even if we do not live on the water, we do all benefit from a clean, healthy environment. Now is the time for discussion and leadership, not issue avoidance and name calling. I implore my fellow commissioners to at least engage in a meaningful discussion to find a resolution to this important issue.

--Jim Fowler is the District 4 county commissioner. Guest columnists write their own views on subjects they choose, which do no necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.

[Last modified February 27, 2006, 02:15:26]

Feb 26, 2006

The Sunshine State's Potential For Power

By WILL RODGERS
wjrodgers@tampatrib.com

Photo by: JASON BEHNKEN / Tribune Plant City resident Jon Butts installed solar panels on his barn roof to save on energy bills and reduce emissions of greenhoue gases.

PLANT CITY - Jon Butts knows the array of solar panels on the roof of his barn won't pay for itself anytime soon. He's content knowing the less power he buys from Tampa Electric Co. the more greenhouse gases can be kept out of the atmosphere.

Even so, the power of the sun will help energize Butts' bank account.

In January, he became the first Tampa Electric customer to connect his home's solar electric system into the utility's power system that serves Hillsborough County and parts of Pinellas, Pasco and Polk counties.

Butts estimates he'll save 40 percent on his monthly energy bill. The utility also will give him a credit equivalent to the cost of fuel Tampa Electric won't have to burn to generate electricity because of Butts' solar use.

It will take a long time for him to recoup the $16,000 he spent on the solar panels and other equipment that help power his home at 4451 Needle Palm Road in Plant City.

"Obviously, I wasn't looking at it for a monetary payback," Butts said. "In Tampa, we have cheaper power than in most places because we're using cheap, dirty coal" to generate electricity.

"I've read articles on people who have analyzed the whole thing of doing a system," he said. "The payback is 16 years. Maybe, in the future, it might be a really good investment on my part."

Tampa Electric's program to tie customers into the grid has existed for six years, but no one, until now, had taken advantage of the program, said Alan Denham, program manager for renewable energy at Tampa Electric. The utility has just one other customer scheduled to be connected to its power system.

That slow pace to adopt solar power can be seen throughout Florida. In the Sunshine State, where one would think solar use would sizzle, consumers have been cool to invest in either of the two types of solar power: solar photovoltaic or electric, where the sun's energy is converted to power for the home, and solar thermal, where the sun's rays are used to heat water and pools.

Subsequently, in terms of installed solar systems and manufacturing of solar equipment, Florida lags behind other states that have a great deal of sunny days year-round: California, Arizona and New Mexico. But the Sunshine State also trails a northeast and northwest contingent of states, such as New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, Washington and Oregon. Those states have high electric rates and offer significant incentives, making it reasonable for consumers to install solar systems, experts said.

The Sunshine State is behind because of the high cost of installing a solar electric system ($20,000 to $24,000), relatively low electric rates and very few financial incentive programs from the state.

Even at Progress Energy Florida Inc., the second-largest utility in the state with 1.5 million customers, just 11 residential customers and 26 commercial customers have had their solar systems tied into that company's electric grid.

Looking At Other States

Noah Kaye, a spokesman for the Solar Energy Industries Association in Washington, said growth in solar installations, businesses and jobs involved in the industry indicates locations that provide the most financial incentives.

California and New Jersey are leaders in solar installations in the United States because they have programs that help reduce their residents' costs significantly.

The cost to produce solar power on average is six times the 5-cents-per-kilowatt-hour average of electricity generated by burning natural gas. Although it can vary depending on the size of the system, the average cost of a kilowatt-hour of electricity from solar power is about 30 cents, according to Solarbuzz Inc., an international solar research and consulting firm based in San Francisco.

The cost of solar power competes directly with retail electric rates, Kaye said.

Solar systems in the Northeast may not generate as much power as those in the South, but because of higher electric rates, the impact on the bills is the same.

Changes On Horizon

But experts expect Florida's role in solar power to change this year.

Last year, President Bush signed an energy law that allows consumers to take a tax credit of 30 percent, up to $2,000, for solar systems installed from Jan. 1, 2006, to Dec. 31, 2007. Florida legislators also have filed several bills that would encourage consumers and businesses, beyond the current break on sales taxes and a program for new home builders, to invest in solar technologies.

A bill filed by state Rep. Dorothy Hukill, R-Daytona Beach Shores, calls for the creation of the Florida Solar Incentive Program by July 1. House Bill 713 also would establish a $1.2 million fund each year for five years to provide rebates for owners of solar photovoltaic systems that tie into the state's electric grid. The maximum rebate for residential systems would be $20,000, according to the proposed bill.

Another bill, HB 767, would create the Energy Efficiency Incentive Program by July 1. Under the program, consumers could seek a matching grant to pay for solar water heaters or low-interest loans to purchase solar panels to generate electricity.

The average cost of a solar water-heating system is about $4,000.

Companion bills in the state House and Senate call for the creation of the Alternative Energy Technology Center that would promote research, conservation, distributed generation, advanced transmission, pollution and renewable energies, including solar power. Still other bills seek to encourage contractors to install energy-efficient and renewable-energy systems when building.

"I think the tax credit will increase interest" in solar energy, said Kevin Lynn, a senior research engineer at the Florida Solar Energy Center at the University of Central Florida in Cocoa. "Prices are coming down. But no one is kidding anybody. Right now, it's not competitive with utilities. You're not going to save money off your utility bill."

Lynn said many Floridians are considering solar power systems as backup power for their homes after finding themselves in the dark for days or weeks the past two hurricane seasons.

A Growing Demand

But experts suggest putting in orders early if consumers want to get solar equipment in the near future.

Worldwide demand for solar photovoltaic and solar thermal equipment is far outstripping supply, creating a shortage of the polysilicon that makes up the solar panels and buoying prices.

Since 2001, the solar industry has grown 35 percent each year, said Kaye, the spokesman from the Solar Energy Industries Association. From 2003 to 2005, the manufacture of solar equipment doubled, he said.

Solar power is a $15 billion industry worldwide.

Not surprisingly, the top two countries using solar power, Germany and Japan, offer the most grandiose financial incentives, experts said.

Kaye said Germany went from having 18 percent of the world's solar installations to just less than 50 percent of the market last year.

"They sucked up 50 percent of the panels," he said. "The German government rewards owners of photovoltaic systems by paying them a fixed rate guaranteed for 20 years. It allows owners of the system to treat it as an investment."

Although such a sweeping program is unlikely in the United States and Florida, John Gambill, who runs Tarpon Springs-based Hotwire Enterprises with his wife, Libbie Ellis, thinks the time for Florida residents to begin investing in solar has arrived.

He designed the 16-panel, 2.8-kilowatt system Butts installed on his barn, and Gambill is working on five more systems.

With all the new homes going up in Florida, he said, he doesn't understand why homeowners and builders aren't taking advantage of SunBuilt, a state program that helps reduce a builder's cost for a solar water-heating system.

"It's just making sense, especially if you're building a new house right now and you live where there is a lot of sunshine," Gambill said. "You can incorporate the cost of the solar into the house. It's not going to cost as much as if you were to retrofit it onto the house.

"Put it in the mortgage."

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?

Here are some federal and state incentive programs and policies on solar power. For details on these and other programs, go to www.dsireusa.org.

Federal

• Residential Energy Conservation Subsidy Exclusion (Corporate): Corporate tax exemption for energy conservation subsidies.

• Residential Energy Conservation Subsidy Exclusion (Personal): Personal tax exemptions for energy conservation subsidies.

• Business Energy Tax Credit: Increases tax credit to 30 percent from 10 percent on equipment installed from Jan. 1, 2006, through Dec. 31, 2007. The credit reverts to 10 percent in 2008.

• Residential Solar and Fuel Cell Tax Credit: Personal tax credit of 30 percent, up to $2,000, for installing solar system.

• Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements Program: Grants and guaranteed loans for agricultural producers and small, rural businesses.

• Tribal Energy Program Grant: Financial and technical assistance for tribes to promote energy efficiency on tribal lands.

• Energy Efficient Mortgage: Benefits on most home mortgages to help pay for solar technologies on a home.

• Veterans Housing Guaranteed and Insured Loans: Guaranteed or insured loans for veterans to install solar systems at home.

Florida

• Solar Energy Equipment Exemption: No sales tax on solar equipment purchases.

• Interconnection of Small Photovoltaic Systems: State rules on tying solar electric systems up to 10 kilowatts into Florida's power grid. The rules apply to investor-owned utilities, not municipals and cooperatives. All customers must have $100,000 in liability insurance for interconnected systems. Details vary from utility to utility. TECO, for example, credits customers for the fuel it saves.

• Renewable Energy Access Laws: Florida law protects homeowners' right to install renewable energy sources, including solar.

Source: Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy

LEARN MORE

People interested in installing a solar photovoltaic, or solar electric, system on their home and tying it into the Tampa Electric Co. power system can call Alan Denham, program manager for renewable energy, through the utility's customer service center at (813) 223-0800.

Feb 26, 2006

Tortoises Lag Developers In Fight For Florida Land

By YVETTE C. HAMMETT
yhammett@tampatrib.com

Photo by: JIM REED / Tribune A gopher tortoise, the only type of tortoise that lives east of the Mississippi, ventures out of its burrow near the Little Manatee River. Land in that area could become residential property, possibly threatening wildlife.

TAMPA - The gopher tortoise, a slow-moving, low-key land turtle that plods among the palmettos, munching stubby plants, is finding itself on the losing side of a love triangle.

The tortoise shares its love of high and dry land with one of Florida's faster-moving creatures - the home developer. And the developer is definitely winning this race.

State biologists are hoping to improve the odds for the tortoise, scurrying to devise a full-scale management plan that may save the creature from imminent demise. They also are working to reclassify it from a species of special concern to a threatened species, which, theoretically, would afford it more protection.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is expected to vote on the change in June. The management plan should be finished within a year of that vote.

"Tortoises are being pushed so much, there are places where there are nine or 10 tortoises on one half-acre piece of property," said Matt Singer, a nongame biologist with the commission. Tortoises typically need 1.5 to 4.5 acres each to roam.

In Hillsborough County, less than 1 percent of undeveloped land is suitable for gopher tortoises. Most of the county's tortoises were exterminated before protective rules were written. The situation is worsening in Pasco and Hernando counties, where more tortoises and more habitat face intense development pressure, Singer said.

"They're being pushed into a corner and eventually being exterminated," he said.

Because it opens its home to so many others, the gopher tortoise, known as the hospitable landlord, is considered a keystone species. Tortoises share their burrows with more than 300 other critters, many found only in Florida.

Scientists think that if the gopher tortoise disappears, many of the animals that depend on its burrow also could disappear.

A Daunting Task

Striking a balance between the rights of private property owners and the need to protect tortoise habitat has for many years proved a daunting task for state regulators.

Protections have been loudly criticized as inadequate, ineffective and even cruel.

Developers can get a state permit to relocate tortoises on-site or off-site. Or they can get an "incidental take" permit, allowing them to develop property despite the presence of tortoises. To mitigate, they pay into a state fund used to purchase and maintain large tracts of tortoise habitat.

But incidental take means the tortoises are left to fend for themselves when the bulldozers move in. Many are buried alive in their burrows, slowly dying of starvation, scientists concede.

In Hillsborough County, 226 permits for incidental take have been reviewed since permitting began in 1992, state biologist Jim Beaver said.Of those, 187 permits were issued.

When FishHawk Ranch was developed in eastern Hillsborough County and Heritage Isles was developed in New Tampa, the developers were required to set aside preserve areas for tortoises. But finding large tracts of land for the state to purchase is getting harder and harder.

Still, nobody sees incidental take as a solution, said Joan Berish, one of the state's foremost authorities on gopher tortoises. "All of us realize there is a lot of room for improvement.

"Our goal is to do everything we can as quickly as we can," she said.

Statewide, only about 30 percent of the tortoise's historic range remains undeveloped.

"Seventy percent habitat loss is staggering for a slow-growing, long-lived, slow-reproducing species," Berish said. "It is not an animal that bounces back easily."

An estimated 3.3 million acres of potential tortoise habitat remain in Florida, Berish said. Just more than 1 million acres of that land is protected, Berish said. The rest is not. "That is what we are basing the reclassification on."

Bulldozers March On

In recent months, county planner Keith Wiley has seen numerous projects come through the Planning and Growth Management Department that would affect gopher tortoises, he said.

The county does have an ordinance to protect essential wildlife habitat, he said, but it affects only large tracts.

And on-site relocation doesn't always work out, Wiley said. "We're trying to figure out exactly what we can do" to better protect tortoises.

Environmentalists also want to see more protections.

Hillsborough County's remaining sand pine scrub and gopher tortoises should not be traded for just another subdivision, said Mariella Smith, co-chairwoman of the South Hillsborough Sierra Club.

"If you have suitable habitat and a viable [tortoise] population, the answer isn't to dig them up and move them," Smith said. The answer, she said, is to preserve their habitat.

The Humane Society of the United States recently wrote a letter to the county opposing rezoning of a 60-acre parcel wedged between Mill Bayou and the Little Manatee River that is home to at least 20 tortoises.

"Fast-paced urban development in Florida ... is probably the primary threat to the species in the Sunshine State," the letter states.

Berish said Florida has put together an action team and put it on a fast track to outline the best conservation measures for tortoises. And there is a stakeholders' committee made up of builders, environmentalists and others who are giving input on how to protect the tortoise while also protecting the rights of property owners.

TORTOISE FACTS

•The gopher tortoise, the only tortoise living east of the Mississippi River, opens its home to more than 300 other species.

•In Florida, its habitat has dwindled by about 70 percent over the past 90 years. Much of the remaining viable habitat is in north-central Florida.

•The tortoises typically live in dry habitat such as sand hills where longleaf pines and scrub oaks grow, oak hammocks, pine flatwoods, dry prairies and coastal dune systems. They often find themselves competing with housing developers, who also find high and dry habitat the most suitable for their trade.

•To survive in a healthy environment, gopher tortoises need well-drained sandy soils for digging burrows, low plant growth for food and sunny areas for nesting.

•A gopher tortoise will dig a burrow up to 40 feet long and 10 feet deep, which it shares with creatures such as the threatened black indigo snake; gopher frogs; Florida mice, which are a species of special concern; lizards; and burrowing owls. Some of the species that share tortoise burrows could not survive without it.

Source: University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension

Feb 26, 2006

A Century Later, The World Knocks

By NICOLA M. WHITE
nwhite1@tampatrib.com

CRYSTAL SPRINGS - Where Central Avenue dead-ends, this small community looks like it has for generations: tall oaks and pines, dirt roads, a barn-style roller rink with smooth Tennessee maple floors.

But look at a Pasco County planning map, and you'll see how the landscape is changing. Thousands of houses - and people - soon could close in on this former socialist colony.

To the west, a mini-city of 7,000 houses is planned. Other projects to the west and north will add more than 2,500 units. Slowly, suburbanization will creep around this rural community in southeast Pasco, where the springs that supply Zephyrhills Natural Spring Water flow.

Home prices in Hillsborough County have fueled a hot housing market in Pasco. Until recently, rural east Pasco - long a haven for middle-class retirees - stayed under the radar. Southeast Pasco wasn't even a blip.

Developers ignored the Crystal Springs area, which seemed too out of the way for commuters.

Not anymore.

Tucked just south of Zephyrhills, near the Pasco-Hillsborough county line, most of the community sits west of State Road 39. For motorists heading south toward Interstate 4, Crystal Springs slides by the passenger-side window: a few small houses, a church, a carny selling elephant ears from a roadside stand, a Circle K gas station, an ancient sign advertising the roller rink.

Most of the community lies beyond that fleeting glimpse, in a network of modest mobile homes and dead-end dirt roads.

"We're just one little town trying to survive," said Betty Giles, 82, a Crystal Springs native whose grandmother was among the original socialist settlers.

Residents worry that Crystal Springs, which is not incorporated, could be overwhelmed by development. Growth from Zephyrhills to the north, unincorporated Pasco County to the west and the Plant City area in Hillsborough County to the south is expected to bring about 9,500 homes.

A planned development that would be built at an old dairy farm would front Crystal Springs Road, one of two paved roads that wind through the community and pass the springs.

As their cars kick up dust on their way to S.R. 39 or Chancey Road, the main routes leading to Tampa, newcomers will see aging double-wides and concrete block houses - places valued at less than half or a third of what the new houses will go for.

But they won't see the rich, complicated past of this almost forgotten piece of Old Florida. In Crystal Springs, there's not a library or museum to preserve the history, which lives almost entirely through longtime residents.

The Spirit Of Cooperation

At the turn of the century, idealists from the North thought they could find utopia in Florida, buy virgin land cheaply and farm side-by-side.

Some went to Ruskin, a socialist community in south Hillsborough County.

In the early 1900s, an overflow of Ruskin settlers headed north. The group grew and in 1911, as the Commongood Society, they founded Crystal Springs. It was official the next year.

The settlers drew up plans for a town square, bathed in the springs, grew sweet potatoes, strawberries and a "miracle vegetable" called dasheen, a root vegetable similar to the potato and also known as taro. They split the profits from the harvest.

"Everyone had a deed," Giles said.

That worked for a while.

Many settlers were urbanites drawn to the idea of rural life, but they weren't wholly successful living it.

After 100 families had moved to the area, the founder of the community, A.B. Hawk of Toledo, Ohio, was supposed to give over control to the residents. He didn't.

Disputes about property rights split the community. Arguments broke out at Commongood meetings. Some people moved away.

In 1927, Hawk sold part of the land to a New York financier, causing more uproar. Much of the controversy centered on who owned the springs, the heart of the community.

Generations later, a similar fight would erupt, further separating the community from its roots.

By most accounts, Crystal Springs' socialist experiment had failed by the late 1920s. The vegetables didn't bring in enough money. The town square never materialized.

Still, the spirit of cooperation lived on. Much of the community's social life revolved around the Crystal Springs Community Association hall, where residents held meetings, attended school and danced to a player piano.

In many ways, that communal spirit lingers today.

Residents still participate in association meetings, voting on when they should clean up the community cemetery or how much they should spend on a Wal-Mart gift card for a needy family.

They also deal with a problem common to many isolated, rural communities: methamphetamine. Every month, a Pasco County sheriff's deputy briefs the community association on crime statistics. At recent meetings, he has urged forming a neighborhood watch and talked about how to spot meth labs.

The crime talk contrasts with the hall itself, rebuilt in 1982 and decorated with homemade floral curtains and sepia photos of past members. A yellowed front page from a 1918 edition of The Crystal Springs Colonist hangs on the wall. The paper boasts of open land and "our springs."

"Through the competitive system, success is too often merely a monument to superior cunning, skillful deceit and conscienceless oppression," the newspaper reads. "We stand for true success - the kind where cash dividends are accompanied by health and happiness - mentally, morally and physically."

Lofty goals.

Such idealism likely will retreat further when big-box stores and subdivisions surround Crystal Springs.

The Springs

Over the years, attendance at the association's monthly meetings has dwindled. Of the estimated 1,175 people who live in the community, 39 belong to the group. About 15 show up regularly.

"A lot of people don't know we're here,"