Businesses cringe at entrusting land to voters

A ballot initiative would involve the public in land-use changes.

By JENNIFER LIBERTO

Published July 17, 2007  

TALLAHASSEE - It's not often that a ballot initiative gets compared to "Armageddon" or a "nuclear bomb."  

But that's the kind of rhetoric that business groups are using to describe a little-known group called Hometown Democracy that wants to give voters direct control over new development.  

You may not have heard of Hometown Democracy, but you will. Opponents are predicting it will be the costliest ballot initiative fight to date: maybe as much as $65-million.  

The group officially has 262,000 of the 611,000 verified signatures needed by Feb. 1 to get its initiative on the November 2008 ballot, according to state records.  

The way it works now is if a developer wants to build anything from a Wal-Mart Supercenter to a new high school in a spot that's designated for, say, agriculture, the developer goes to a county commission or a city council and asks to change the land-use designation. Then the state must sign off, too.  

Under the Hometown Democracy ballot measure, any land-use changes that conflict with the local government's plan for growth, called a comprehensive plan, would have to be approved by a majority of its voters. In November, St. Pete Beach became the first Florida city to give voters control over changes to its comprehensive plan.  

Supporters say Hometown Democracy will stop willy-nilly land-use changes and force a slowdown in Florida growth.  

Opponents say such an initiative will bring all growth, and thus Florida 's economy, to a screeching halt.  

That prospect is more frightening to business groups than anything to do with property tax or insurance, which is why in just three months, the Florida Chamber, the national parent of the Florida Home Builders Association and the sugar behemoth U.S. Sugar already have raised close to $1-million to bankroll an anti-Hometown Democracy group called Floridians for Smarter Growth.  

That's more than Hometown Democracy has raised in its entire four-year battle.  

"From where we sit, it's going to be a very expensive campaign," said Michael Caputo, a Republican consultant who just moved to Orlando to open headquarters for Floridians for Smarter Growth.  

Hometown Democracy has raised $484,000 in cash so far, $94,300 from co-founder Lesley Blackner, an environmental lawyer. Blackner, who was out of town last week, also has contributed services to the effort worth an additional $341,000.  

The other co-founder, Ross Burnaman, says he's not intimidated by his opponents' efforts or their deep pockets.  

"We're not a special interest group, we're not profiting on this, and we're not doing this for personal gain," said Burnaman, who is also an environmental lawyer. "We're just Floridians who think we should educate citizens on what the long-term vision for development should be."  

After a lengthy court fight just to get the ballot measure's language approved by the Florida Supreme Court, Hometown Democracy's battle is now largely one of signatures and money.  

In addition to the 262,000 signatures, the group has collected another 188,000 that need to be verified, Burnaman said. And for the first time, the group is attracting bigger dollar contributions, such as a $25,000 check from Joe Redner, a Democratic activist and owner of the Mons Venus strip club in Tampa .  

"I just believe that developers have way too much say-so in how our wetlands and all our lands are being paved over," Redner said.  

The group also got $80,000 from Dr. Steve Rosen, a South Florida skin care mogul, former dentist and animal rights activist. Rosen famously saved 320 black-tailed jackrabbits from death at Miami International Airport .  

Meanwhile, Floridians for Smarter Growth also has gained momentum.  

That group's organizer, Caputo, is a veteran of the last big environment vs. industry fight: He helped the sugar industry defeat the 1996 ballot measure that would have taxed it for Everglades restoration efforts.  

Hometown Democracy's measure would cripple Florida 's economy and clog up election cycles with some 200 to 300 local referendums each year, said Paul Thompson, senior vice president for the Florida Home Builders Association. He compares the measure to Armageddon.  

"If that sounds over-dramatic, let me assure you it's not," Thompson wrote on the home builders' Web site. "Whatever pain you might be feeling right now with the economic slowdown, it's nothing compared to the utter devastation that Hometown Democracy will bring to the Florida home building and development industry."  

Beyond fundraising, Floridians for Smarter Growth has started collecting signatures for a competing ballot measure that looks nearly identical to the Hometown Democracy initiative, except for one caveat.  

Under this other measure, a proposed land-use change could go before voters only if 10 percent of residents sign a petition at the county Supervisor of Election's Office saying they want to hold an election on the proposed land-use change.  

It's a controversial idea that divides the business community. Associated Industries of Florida opposes Hometown Democracy, but it doesn't want to support a measure that would acknowledge elections as the way to go for land-use changes. The group also is skeptical of the intentions behind that ballot measure.  

"We're leery about supporting any new constitutional amendment that would be a poison pill initiative," AIF chief executive Barney Bishop said.  

Hometown Democracy's Burnaman has a much harsher assessment.  

"It's a Trojan horse, designed to confuse our prospective signers of our amendment into signing theirs," he said.  

Jennifer Liberto can be reached at liberto@sptimes.com.

City drops suit over growth plan petitions

The legal tangle had named five as defendants, including two city commissioners.

By NICK JOHNSON

Published July 15, 2007  

ST. PETE BEACH - The city agreed to drop its 2005 lawsuit filed against five residents, including two city commissioners, who petitioned on behalf of Citizens For Responsible Growth to repeal a change to the comprehensive plan.  

Instead of the planned resolution that would drop Commissioners Linda Chaney and Harry Metz from two lawsuits, city attorney Timothy Driscoll presented a deal settling the city's involvement and both parties' motions for sanctions, during Tuesday's commission meeting.  

After Chaney and Metz were elected to the City Commission, the lawsuits put the city in the precarious position of having commissioners vote on lawsuits in which they were named as defendants.  

By dropping the case, the city will resolve the potential conflict of interest and allow leaders on both sides to come to a consensus on how to proceed with a comprehensive plan.  

"I think everybody on both sides saw the value, saying let's spend our energy on things we can control as opposed to things we can't control, which is the court system," said Ward Friszolowski, mayor of St. Pete Beach.  

Chaney and Metz were also glad to see an end to the lawsuit.  

Chaney said she was eager to move forward but hasn't forgotten the initial gesture. "I think it's unconscionable that the city would sue its own citizens from having input in their own community," she said.  

"It just means that CRG won because now the city's going to say the petitions are constitutional," said Metz, adding that this would allow the city to move on to more pressing issues. "I think we can really get a lot of other things done."  

The resolution was passed unanimously, without the votes of Chaney or Metz , who abstained as Driscoll had advised.  

The dropped lawsuits were a result of petitions Chaney and Metz collected with three other residents, before being elected, which effectively stopped an amendment to the city's comprehensive plan that would have allowed for new land development regulations.  

The city contended the petitions were invalid, resulting in a city divided over comprehensive plans and the confusing swirl of legal action that ensued.  

Over the next year and a half the lawsuits were followed by appeals and motions for sanctions from both the city and the attorneys representing the petitioners, Kenneth Weiss and Michael Larrinaga.  

Another suit was also filed over the same issue by St. Pete Partners, property owners who claim they were adversely affected by the petitions, against the same five citizens and the city of St. Pete Beach .  

"This started out as a simple request to the court to determine the validity of some petitions that were filed," Driscoll said. "It turned into a much more antagonistic litigation than it needed to be." 

But things aren't settled yet.  

Although the petitions are no longer being contested by the city, they are still being contested by the pending St. Pete Partners case.  

For now, the city will continue to operate under the original comprehensive plan but depending on the courts decision, could end up operating under the amended plan after all.  

"We're going to just stand on the sidelines and just wait and see what happens," Driscoll said.  

The hearing in the St. Pete Partners case is scheduled for July 25.  

Nick Johnson can be reached at nickjohnson@sptimes.com or 893-8361.  

Scraping Bottom

By NEIL JOHNSON The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jul 17, 2007

TAMPA - The water level in the C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir has never dropped this low.

Exposed concrete walls bleach in the sun. At one end of the 2-mile-long bowl, a hundred acres of grass grow verdant and lush as a baseball outfield. At the other, a pipe to fill the reservoir juts above the surface, not a drop flowing from its mouth.

Unless more than 20 inches of rain falls over the next few months, the Tampa Bay region's best defense against drought - its huge reservoir in east Hillsborough County - may no longer be useful.

"It's possible we could be out of water by the end of next spring," said Alison Adams, senior manager with the reservoir's owner, Tampa Bay Water.

When full, the reservoir holds 15 billion gallons of water. On Monday, about 2.5 billion gallons remained, roughly 17 percent of capacity.

For now, the reservoir continues to provide about 20 million gallons daily to homes and businesses in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties, St. Petersburg and New Port Richey, supplementing fresh water supplies pulled from the ground in wellfields across the region.

The drought, however, means there is no source to replenish water pumped from the reservoir. That means wellfields will be taxed even more than they are now, drawing down the aquifer, draining lakes and wetlands and even shrinking the flow of rivers.

When rivers are flush, Tampa Bay Water siphons water from the Hillsborough and Alafia rivers and the Tampa Bypass Canal .

Up to 60 million gallons a day of that water mix with desalinated water and well water before heading to 2 million customers in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco, who use on average about 250 million gallons daily.

During normal summer weather patterns, more than 100 million gallons of water flow into the reservoir each day. However, the drought lowered river levels, leaving the reservoir with no means to refill.

Except for a few scattered days, not a drop has been added to the reservoir over the past nine months while 12 billion gallons have been pumped out over that time.

Tampa Bay Water built the reservoir in 2005 to get the area through the annual dry season in the spring, but the drought forced the utility to start supplementing fresh water supplies from the reservoir in October, months before the spring.

That's because the rivers petered out except for a few flashes of flow that lasted only a few days.

"On a scale of 1 to 100, the rivers are a three right now," said Granville Kinsman, hydrologic data manager for the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

In the past two summers, some places got plenty of rain. But rainfall over inland portions of Pasco and Hillsborough that collect water for the river system amounted to only 50 percent to 75 percent of normal.

Even with slack rivers, the reservoir entered October nearly full with 14 billion gallons of water. That was because Tampa Bay Water, anticipating diminished river flows, diverted an extra 4.5 billion gallons from rivers and increased pumping at wellfields to meet the region's water demand.

This summer, Adams doubts that the river levels will allow for such an infusion.

The desalination plant, still limping at less than full capacity with repairs months behind schedule, has contributed about 16 million gallons a day to the fresh water supply.

Even running full throttle at 25 million gallons a day, the plant would add less than 10 percent of the region's water consumption this June.

Wellfields Bear Burden

An empty reservoir will mean wellfields must bear the burden of providing nearly all the water consumed in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties.

However, whipping wellfields to produce water, especially during a drought, drains wetlands, sucks water from lakes and even cuts into the river flows.

"That's what we'd expect to see happen," Kinsman said.

The Tampa Bay Region isn't alone in the grip of drought. More than 90 percent of the state is in some level of drought.

Lake Okeechobee continued to plummet even in July, setting records for low levels.

No water has flowed into the lake from its main tributary, the Kissimmee River , for more than 240 days.

The city of Tampa , which draws its water from a reservoir formed by a dam on the Hillsborough River had to take 40 million gallons a day from the Tampa Bypass Canal .

Rainfall so far this summer is only keeping the region from losing ground to the drought.

"Within the last month you've had enough rain not to make the situation worse," said Rick Ullom, hydrologist at the Southeast River Forecast Center in Georgia .

Even normal rainfall won't help much, said Jesus Rodriguez, spokesman for the South Florida Water Management District based in West Palm Beach , which relies on Lake Okeechobee to replenish wellfields that serve South Florida 's 5 million people.

"We may be in worse shape next year," he said.

It's the same story for the Tampa Bay region. Just typical summer rain won't make up for the past two years of drought.

Tropical Systems Needed

Adams said it may take a foot of rain above what we usually get through September to replenish the reservoir sufficiently to ensure water through next spring. That's an additional 4 inches or so each month.

One positive note, the National Center for Climate Prediction predicts above average rain for Florida the next three months.

"You need a tropical system. Or three," said the river forecast center's Ullom

Reporter Neil Johnson can be reached at (352) 544-5214 or njohnson@tampatrib.com.

Possible new bottling plants raise concern

By NATHAN CRABBE

Sun staff writer

Columbia County resident Marsha Olszak said falling groundwater levels have her so worried she limits washing her clothes.

So she was concerned when she received a flier saying a water-bottling plant could be built in Fort White .

"How can they consider even allowing some of these people to do this at this time?" she said.

The flier advertised the anti-bottling group Our Santa Fe's meeting Monday in Fort White . The group is holding a series of meetings to get out the word about four new possible bottling permits along the Santa Fe , said Russ Augsberg, group president.

"I want people to be informed about what's going on in their community," he said. "It's just unprecedented."

Currently, Coca-Cola's plant in High Springs is the only active water-bottling operation along the Santa Fe . But if four more planned permits move forward, they could mean a combined billion gallons pulled each year from springs feeding a three-mile stretch of the river.

The proposals come at a time when river and groundwater levels are falling. Despite wet weather in recent days, the Santa Fe River near Fort White was measured Monday at 21.03 inches above sea level - just 0.01 inches shy of a historic low set in 2002.

Tampa businessman Stephen Cheeseman holds one of the water-withdrawal permits. It would allow him to pump 150,000 gallons a day from the groundwater feeding Santa Fe Springs, located downstream from Ginnie Springs.

Cheeseman has expressed interest in building a bottling plant in Fort White . The closed restaurant Wahoo's has been widely speculated as a possible site.

A Fort White official said nothing has been filed with the town about constructing a plant there. Cheeseman couldn't be reached for additional comment.

As now written, his Suwannee River Water Management District permit requires bottling to be done on an adjacent property to the place where the water is withdrawn. That means the plant would need to be located on a bordering lot, said Jon Dinges, the district's resource management director.

"Adjacent means just that," he said.

But Dinges said Cheeseman could ask for the permit to be modified. The restriction is intended to ensure bottling benefits the local economy, so he said district staff would likely recommend allowing Cheeseman to bottle in nearby Fort White .

The district's governing board would then need to approve such a recommendation.

Bottling supporters say the plants use relatively little groundwater. About 1 percent of the water withdrawals in the Suwannee River district go to bottling, as compared to 32 percent for agriculture, according to district figures.

But the bottling proposals come as the district is going through the eighth-driest yearlong period since 1932. More than 50 wells have dried up in the district since April.

Olszak said she worries about her well, because she's concerned the dry period isn't going to end anytime soon.

"I've seen droughts come and go, but never last for this long," she said.

Nathan Crabbe can be reached at 352-338-3176 or crabben@gville sun.com.

FYI: A look at the facts

*Currently, Coca-Cola's plant in High Springs is the only active water-bottling operation along the Santa Fe .
*If four more planned permits move forward, they could mean a combined billion gallons pulled each year from springs feeding a three-mile stretch of the river.
*Bottling supporters say the plants use relatively little groundwater. About 1 percent of the water withdrawals in the Suwannee River district go to bottling, as compared to 32 percent for agriculture, according to district figures.
*The bottling proposals come as the district is going through the eighth-driest yearlong period since 1932. More than 50 wells have dried up in the district since April.

The first letter to the editor below nearly took my breath away.  On one hand the letter writer congratulates himself on his successful subdivision (Meadow Pointe) and his involvement in the planning process. On the other hand he states that transportation is Pasco ’s biggest problem and that they are “astronomical.” Anyone in Wesley Chapel care to comment on how Meadow Point has impacted State Road 54 or Bruce B Downes? Sheesh!

Planning process foiled by planning

St. Pete Times  LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Published July 17, 2007  

I am one who early on bought into the planning process. I was responsible for one of the first, if not the first, developments of regional impact planned and approved in the state of Florida and Pasco County, then known as Reeder Development.  

This successful project is currently known as Williamsburg and Meadow Pointe.  

I have served on more than one Comprehensive Land Use Planning Committee and have had the privilege to chair the EAR of Pasco County several years ago.  

After attending a recent Pasco County Commission meeting and the public hearing for a current development of regional impact, I have come to the conclusions that the only thing worse than no planning is planning and the only thing worse than no zoning is zoning. Giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, I watched honest, well-meaning, concerned commissioners, who have been thrust into a process for which they are horribly miscast, flounder in indecision and ignorance of the enabling legislation and its intent. Throughout the procedure, one thought kept recurring to me, "I think I want to throw up."  

For the last several years, I have asked the experts "where would you recommend that I go to see countywide planning and development done correctly?" "What books can I read to discover the elusive truths of growth management?"  

The few responses and suggestions I have received to date are woefully inadequate and disappointing. What I see and read is: "I don't know either".  

The largest growth-related problem in Pasco County is transportation. In 1946, Pasco County had a population of plus or minus 16,000. In 1946, there were only two east-west roads in Pasco County . Sixty years later, with a population of over 460,000, there are still only two main east-west corridors in Pasco County; a third truncated roadway is planned as an extension (Ridge Road) but without an interchange for ingress and egress so desperately needed at the Suncoast Parkway. If not one house is built for the next several years in Pasco County, the existing shortfall and costs to correct existing transportation problems are astronomical.  

For many years, Pasco County has had available up to five cents local option gasoline tax. Why has the county only recently enacted a portion of this non- regressive revenue source?  

Tourist would pay a generous share of this petroleum tax. Impact fees and proportionate fair share are precluded by statute from including the costs of any existing shortfalls.

As I believe it was said in Alice in Wonderland, "if you don't know where you are going, then any road will get you there."

Ben Murphey, Tampa  

Make developers pay lion's share  

I read that the estimated cost of the road project for Wiregrass is $1.7-billion and Wiregrass is agreeing to pay $579-million, which includes private Wiregrass roads. It would be very disappointing, to say the least, if our county commissioners approve this project as is.  

Pasco has to grow within the range that ordinary citizens can afford to pay.  

If it is to grow larger than that, then developers, not the citizens, must pay the lion's share for these huge projects.  

In light of all this so-called tax reform in Florida , our elected officials must do something to protect us. As such, commissioners should speak for the citizens on these issues and make a prudent vote, even if there are no citizens present at the meeting to object to it.  

Frank Arno, Hudson

Citizens' Rapid Growth Alarming

By RUSSELL RAY The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jul 17, 2007  

TAMPA - It wasn't supposed to be like this.  

Citizens Property Insurance Corp., established by the state for homeowners who could not get insurance in the private market, has evolved into an industry titan. With more than 1.3 million policyholders, it is now the state's largest property insurer, eclipsing State Farm.  

Its recent rapid-fire growth has lead to another distinction: Citizens says it's now one of the largest property insurersin the nation.  

The state-backed insurer didn't want to grow and increase its exposure in Florida 's high-risk market, but Citizens is required by law to take on policies that no other company will cover. And that's happening with continued frequency as private companies reduce their risk in Florida , which was raked by storms in 2004 and 2005.  

"That's a sign of how weak the private market is," said Citizens spokesman Rocky Scott. "No one is writing commercial insurance. Nobody is writing wind, and very few companies will cover condominiums. This is statewide."  

As a result, the so-called insurer of last resort is expected to continue to grow at a blistering pace. The company expects to have 2 million policyholders by year's end.  

Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute in New York , says Citizens' growth is concerning. He believes the company has taken on too much risk and is overexposed. That could have serious financial consequences should a major hurricane or a series of hurricanes hit the state and cause massive losses. Citizens could end up paying billions in claims, draining its assets and resulting in assessments on insurance policies statewide to build a new pool of money for the company.  

Citizens' Reluctant Customers

Property owners who are covered by Citizens have their own worries.  

Geri Biewer of Palm Harbor was one of about 100 who attended a public forum hosted by the insurer Monday in Clearwater .  

She said that next month she will unwillingly become a Citizens policyholder. The reason: Nationwide insurance is dropping coverage on her home, she said, and she was unable to find any company other than Citizens to cover it despite the fact she has never filed a homeowner's claim.  

"No other insurance company will cover me," Biewer said. "&hellip It really is very scary because I have no options."  

Biewer said she is distressed because her annual property insurance premium will be even higher than the $2,800 she was paying Nationwide. Citizens, she said, has informed her that her annual premium will be $3,500.  

Others attending the forum also complained about rising premiums after they were placed with the company. In some cases, people told Citizens officials, their premiums jumped fivefold after they were placed with Citizens.  

Scott, the Citizens spokesman, said the company is sorry about policy costs but must charge rates set by law.  

Poe Collapse Also Fueled Growth

Since June 2006, Citizens has added 450,000 policyholders, the result of private companies dropping thousands of customers and the financial collapse of Tampa-based Poe Financial Group, which resulted in the sudden transfer of 320,000 policies to Citizens.  

Since December 2005, Citizens' exposure has doubled, rising from $220 billion to $452 billion today. The number of Citizens policies outside the high-risk coastal areas also has doubled, Scott said.

During the past 18 months, private insurers in Florida have dropped about 250,000 policies. People who have been dropped often have turned to Citizens for coverage.  

Citizens has $9.4 billion available to cover claims if a devastating hurricane hits Florida . Beyond that, money from the state's Hurricane Catastrophe Fund would be used to cover losses.  

Is that enough to cover the claims triggered by a major hurricane? Is Citizens overexposed?  

"Yes and no," Scott said. "It depends on where the hurricane hits."  

Citizens has enough capital to cover claims outside the high-risk coastal areas, Scott said. But it could fall short on cash if a major hurricane hits a highly populated area along the coastline, he acknowledged. About 420,000, or a third, of Citizens policyholders are in coastal areas.  

"There is a chance that we might have to go to assessments to recoup damages to get into the CAT fund," Scott said.  

Reporter Russell Ray can be reached at (813) 259-7870 or rray@tampatrib.com.

Realtors pledge $1 million for tax amendment

By Aaron Deslatte

Florida Capital Bureau

TALLAHASSEE – Florida Realtors have decided to pump up to $1 million into the campaign over a property tax amendment voters will decide on in January, providing the first glimpse of organized political backing for the plan.  

Realtors Vice President John Sebree said Tuesday his group hoped the financial support would encourage other skittish business and interest groups to follow suit.  

“Our hope now is that other groups will come forward and join us in this effort,” Sebree said.

Republicans are headed toward a Jan. 29 property tax election without a firm financial commitment from their largest diehard base: businesses.  

“Right now, we’re sort of the one-stop shop for getting the word out,” Sebree said. “Maybe other groups don’t realize the pieces for why this is so positive for business.”  

Convinced the amendment is too confusing and helpful only to homeowners, Florida ’s business community isn’t rushing to pump money into supporting the constitutional amendment that would let homeowners trade in their popular Save Our Homes tax cap for a “super” homestead exemption.  

“The amendment’s really only aimed at the homesteaders,” said Barney Bishop, president of Associated Industries of Florida , one of the state’s most influential business groups. “I’m not sure it isn’t so complicated people won’t understand it.”  

Florida Chamber of Commerce Vice President David Daniel calls the amendment “a good first step” but not enough to appease the groundswell of business owners who first coined the “crisis” surrounding property taxes more than two years ago.  

“At a minimum, we’re going to spend money to organize our members,” Daniel said. “Regardless of whether this passes or fails, we will be moving an agenda that included targeting more relief to the non-homesteaded property owners.”  

The tepid interest shown so far could prompt Gov. Charlie Crist and Republicans to fill the void with party fundraising – something they hoped to avoid for fear of making the amendment a partisan issue in the eyes of voters.  

Sen. Jeff Atwater, a North Palm Beach Republican who has accepted large checks from Realtors and employed the political firm Public Concepts to come up with a property tax campaign, said the state party traditionally kept a step removed from these kinds of campaigns.  

“Historically the ardent supporters pushed these things,” he said.  

Instead, business groups are setting their sites on an obscure but powerful panel charged to place its own amendments on next year’s general election ballot.  

The Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission is tasked every 20 years with combing over the state’s spending a cash flow with an eye toward placing constitutional reforms on the ballot that lawmakers themselves can’t or won’t touch.  

For businesses, that means the panel is the best avenue for attacking the tax inequities created by Save Our Homes.  

Former House Speaker Allan Bense, a contractor from Panama City , chairs the commission and says he’s aware that it may be hard to find support within business circles for the amendment.  

“I’ve talked to some business folks that support it and some that don’t,” Bense said. Nonetheless, Bense has cautioned his panel of CEOs, Realtors, and political veterans to avoid getting in the middle of the expected fight.  

“Right now it’s the hottest thing going in Florida in terms of public policy,” Bense said. I think you’ll see a lot of folks, cities and counties and firefighters, work against it.”  

House Majority Leader Adam Hasner of Delray Beach said it was ultimately up to Crist to set the tone for what sort of organized campaign to mount.  

“I think a lot of people are looking to the governor for leadership on the issue,” he said. “It’s important for Republicans to identify themselves as the party that believes in cutting taxes.”

Ethics panel OKs vote on Briny Breezes development

By ELIOT KLEINBERG

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer  

Tuesday, July 17, 2007  

BRINY BREEZES — Briny Breezes officials wouldn't have a conflict when they vote on the comprehensive plan that would lead to converting the mobile home park to a resort, according to a draft ruling by the Florida Commission on Ethics.  

"Each of the town's residents is affected in a proportionally equal manner, and there is therefore no 'special private' gain or loss to the council member as a result of the votes," the commission said in a July 11 letter to Town Attorney Jerome Skrandel.

The commission will discuss and rule on the staff recommendation at its July 27 meeting in Tallahassee .  

Skrandel and Alderman Sharon Kendrigan had requested the opinion in May after opponents of the scope of the resort raised the issue.  

Skrandel had said in April that the state commission had informally told him the same thing, based on a 1987 opinion on the sale of the town of Golfview , near Palm Beach International Airport . But the commission had told Skrandel that it would not render an opinion unless one was formally requested.  

Residents voted in January to sell the 50-year-old, 43-acre park for $510 million to Boca Raton-based Ocean Land Investments, a move that would make many of them millionaires. The proposed new comprehensive plan would allow Ocean Land to build 900 condominiums, 300 time shares and a 300-room hotel.  

Briny Breezes, population less than 1,000, is surrounded by neighbors worried about the proposed complex. Several local and state regulatory agencies have said the scope of the plan is inconsistent with the surrounding area.  

The town is owned by a corporation in which residents hold shares weighted by the size and location of their lots. The elected council, the board of aldermen, is separate from the corporation. Since every resident, and thus, any elected official, is also a shareholder, he or she would by default benefit or suffer from any vote.  

Opponents argued that council members gain by giving Ocean Land a smooth path to development, and they lose big if they make the path too onerous and Ocean Land walks away from the deal.  

Ocean Land would lose $500,000 if the deal falls apart before Aug. 10, $5 million if it collapses between Aug. 10 and March 2008, and $10 million if it falters before the March 2009 closing.  

Vice President H. Logan Pierson said last week that Ocean Land has invested about $5 million in planning.

Board to gain nearly $8 million  

The six members of Briny Breezes' elected council - the Board of Aldermen - stand togain nearly $8 million collectively from the sale of the mobile home park. With 15,703 shares, the $510 million sales price comes to $32,477.87 per share. Residents own shares weighted by the size and location of lots.  

Board member / Shares / Payout

Mayor Roger Bennett / 66 / $2,143,539  

Alderman Warren Bailey / 46 / $1,493,982  

Alderman Janet Zerull / 39 / $1,266,637  

Alderman Lawrence Bray / 35 / $1,136,725  

Alderman Sharon Kendrigan / 31 / $1,006,814  

Alderman Dennis Smith / 27 / $876,902  

Board total / 244 / $7,924,600  

Sources: Briny Breezes town attorney; Ocean Land Investments; Florida Commission on Ethics

Homebuilders meet to guess market's future 

By AARON LONDON

Staff Writer  

ORLANDO -- While many see only gloom and doom in the housing market these days, Gov. Charlie Crist is not in that group.  

The state's chief executive offered an upbeat assessment of the outlook for the Sunshine State economy Wednesday at the Southeast Building Conference in Orlando . The conference runs through Sunday.  

Crist said in his travels across the state, he has seen a lot of construction activity taking place.  

"It's like we have a new state bird, the building crane," he said, referring to large construction projects in South Florida, along the state's west coast and in Central Florida as well.  

Crist said state government has taken steps to help builders rebound from the sagging housing market, including working on lowering property insurance rates and passing what he called the largest tax cut in the state's history.  

"You're going to be busier then you have ever been in your life," he told members of the Florida Home Builders Association. "It's going to get better and better and better."  

Flagler Beach home builder John Boback agreed with Crist's upbeat assessment.  

"I am definitely positive about it," said Boback, who also serves as president of the Flagler County/Palm Coast Homebuilders Association. "We've got the land and we've got the location."  

Boback said while builders everywhere have suffered from the housing market slowdown, there is still a lot of activity. He cited developments by Ginn Clubs and Resorts in Flagler County as something that the entire market can build on.  

"It's going to be a destination," he said. "It was already a destination, but now it's going to be a special one, on par with any in the country."  

Boback said he believes the outlook for residential construction in Flagler County is good.  

"I'm feeling the pick-up already in my business," he said. "Some of the guys I've talked to are getting calls, too."  

Not everyone at the builders conference was as optimistic about the outlook for residential construction.  

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com, said the housing slowdown is going to drag on for at least another year -- and the recovery is not likely to take off very quickly.  

"I don't think 2009 will be a year of significant growth," he said Wednesday. "It will be a year of stabilization."  

For now, Zandi said the housing correction is "in full swing" with no sign of an end yet.  

"There is no sign at all that there is any stabilization in the market," he said. Citing a high level of unsold housing inventory and ongoing affordability issues, Zandi said unless progress is made at selling the glut of housing on the market, "there's no bottom."  

But Zandi said there are obstacles to reducing the housing inventory.  

He talked about the problems in the sub-prime lending market and said while credit problems are a national issue, "the credit problems (in Florida ) are very severe."  

In fact, Zandi predicted that things are going to get worse before they get better, with delinquencies and foreclosures rising "significantly" in the coming months.  

For Barbara Revels, owner of Coquina Real Estate and Construction in Flagler Beach and chairwoman of the builders conference, getting homebuilders together to hear about the realities of the industry is just as important during the current slowdown as when the market was booming.  

"What we've found in slow times and bad times is builders are reaching out for everything they can find to help their business out," she said. "We're hoping that the smart companies that are trying to stay and survive will make the right move and come over and see the right products and services."  

Revels said she expects lower attendance at this year's conference because some builders don't have the money in their budgets to attend. Still, booth sales for the five-day event have beaten records, Revels said.  

In addition to its regular booth displays, the conference also features more than 45 booths from companies promoting environmentally friendly building methods. The Florida Home Builders Association partnered this year with the Florida Green Building Coalition to offer the Green Trends showcase at the event.  

Another feature of the conference is the annual "Hurricane Alley" area, which features 150 exhibits featuring products and services to comply with the state's building code in hurricane-prone areas.

Organizers said they expect more than 16,000 construction industry members to attend the conference, which is being held at the Orange County Convention Center .

OrlandoSentinel.com

Wal-Mart builders ready for battle

Lawsuit threatened after county suspends work on Plaza Collina

Robert Sargent

Sentinel Staff Writer  

July 17, 2007  

CLERMONT  

 Developers of Plaza Collina are hitting back in what could become an explosive legal fight over their plans to build a Wal-Mart Supercenter in south Lake County .  

Last week, county commissioners agreed to ask the state Department of Community Affairs whether plans for the $140 million shopping center are substantially different from what the county approved in January 2006. They also suspended preliminary land grading around the northern part of the 142-acre site on State Road 50 near the Orange County line.  

The development originally was proposed as a high-end shopping magnet with a mix of commercial, office and residential development.*  

Development attorney Cecelia Bonifay, who represents Plaza Collina, argued that the county's decision was illegal. In a letter submitted to Lake officials on Friday, she threatened a lawsuit and urged the county to reverse what she calls "rash and irresponsible actions."  

"We demand that Lake County retract its unlawful action and in the future honor Plaza Collina's due process rights and provide notice and opportunity to be heard prior to taking any actions that will affect Plaza Collina's property rights," Bonifay wrote.  

She asked for a meeting with county staff and commission Chairman Welton Cadwell. That meeting had not been scheduled as of Monday afternoon.  

Bonifay's firm, Akerman Senterfitt, also sent letters to Clermont and Montverde in south Lake as well as Oakland in west Orange County requesting public records pertaining to Plaza Collina.  

Clermont is petitioning residents to find out how many people want state planners to take another look at Plaza Collina. City officials also are expected to send a letter to the county within a couple of days objecting to the most recent plans.  

"We feel like the development is not what it was proposed to be," City Manager Wayne Saunders said. "We think further review needs to take place."  

The Oakland Town Commission agreed last week to resubmit its previous objections about Plaza Collina to Lake and state officials. The town has argued that Lake County did not consider impacts of a Wal-Mart when it originally approved Plaza Collina last year.  

Montverde Mayor Dale Heathman said he is happy to comply with Bonifay's records request. Clermont and Oakland said they also will comply.  

Bonifay could not be reached for comment Monday. Her staff said she was on vacation.  

Partners Phoenicia Development and the Goodman Co. propose Plaza Collina to have about 988,000 square feet of buildings on 142 acres. Opponents argue the plans have changed considerably with primarily commercial development. The largest anchor could be a 207,000-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter .  

Plaza Collina also could have about 17 outparcels along S.R. 50. Past plans submitted to the county have shown a nearly 12,000-square-foot ABC Fine Wine and Spirits store and a 37,000-square-foot Rooms to Go outlet.  

So far, the developers have not confirmed any tenants. But news about the Wal-Mart has raised the ire of residents and public officials who say the retailer does not fit the pledge to build upscale shopping at Plaza Collina.  

Robert Sargent can be reached at rsargent@orlandosentinel.com or 352-742-5909.  

 State says Stump Pass Beach erosion-control project is failing

By KATE SPINNER

kate.spinner@heraldtribune.com  

MANASOTA KEY -- Just months after engineers praised their own erosion-control project on Stump Pass Beach , state regulators worry that the project is doing more harm than good.

 The $1.2 million experiment is "failing" to keep the sand in place and causing severe erosion to the south, according to a warning letter from the Department of Environmental Protection.  

Waves at high tide crash into trees and shrubs on the southern tip.  

Beach Restoration Inc., the company that embedded six sand-stuffed textile tubes to stabilize Stump Pass , contends that the southern tip has always been a high-erosion area and that the project is far from failing. The company intends to submit paperwork to the state to back up its case today.  

DEP officials will decide by the end of August whether the project should remain as it is, be modified or be removed.  

The Stump Pass project was intended to save Charlotte County millions by reducing the amount of sand that erodes into Stump Pass. The county has paid about $4 million every three years to keep the pass clear for boat travel.  

"As far as achieving the goals of the actual project, it is working," said Marie Horgan Garrett, president of Beach Restoration Inc.  

In May, Garrett told Charlotte County commissioners that the project was working well. She said the overall reduction in erosion should be enough to delay the need to dredge the pass until 2010 or 2011.  

Meanwhile, Garrett knew the project had run up against some problems. She had a request pending to the DEP, asking for permission to lower two of the sand-filled tubes that had not been imbedded deep enough in the shoreline.  

She said Monday that she notified the DEP of the problem in December.  

The DEP did not approve lowering the tubes because it did not expect the change to make a difference, according the most recent warning letter.  

In her report to the DEP this week, Garrett will again ask for permission to lower the tubes.  

She said they were installed improperly because the engineering designs used one elevation measurement, but the workers who installed the project got confused and used a different measure. The problem is similar to using miles instead of meters.  

Sarah Williams, a spokeswoman for the DEP, said the agency will review the company's report.

Beach Restoration Inc. also has paid for an independent consultant to review the project. That review will be sent to DEP by the end of July.

Despite the error, the project is still reducing the amount of sand settling in the pass and keeping sand on part of the beach, Garrett said Monday.  

Meanwhile, Charlotte County is keeping a close eye on what is happening between Beach Restoration Inc. and the DEP, said Dan Quick, a storm-water manager with Public Works who keeps tabs on beach restoration.  

The county is a partner in the experimental project, but it is up to the DEP and Beach Restoration Inc. to work out the kinks.  

"We'll just have to wait and see," Quick said.

Public needs answers on land sale

By A TIMES EDITORIAL

Published July 17, 2007  

New reports raise even more troubling questions about Pinellas County 's recent purchase of land owned by county Property Appraiser Jim Smith. Why was Smith's property so undervalued on the tax rolls? And how much did Smith's implied threat of legal action against the county influence its quick decision to buy his property? The public deserves to know.  

In late 2005, Smith complained that county workers had damaged a 1.5-acre undeveloped parcel he owns in the flood-prone Tarpon Woods subdivision in northeast Pinellas. A county report confirms that county crews, working under an emergency order issued by the Southwest Florida Water Management District, went on Smith's property without his consent to clean out debris clogging Brooker Creek, which runs through his property. The county apologized for any damage.  

However, in March of this year an attorney Smith hired sent a letter to the county. He complained of even more damage that had "devastated" Smith's property and suggested the county should compensate Smith by buying his land. Smith said trees had been cut down that created an undesirable view of a nearby condominium complex, for example. Because the letter came from an attorney, there was an implied threat of legal action, and that's exactly how the county took it.  

County officials developed a sudden interest in buying Smith's land for flood-control purposes, even though they had made no attempt to do so previously. In what seems an awful hurry, county commissioners approved the purchase at $225,000 - down $25,000 from the value given the property by an outside appraiser, but a big leap up from the $59,400 value assigned to the property by Smith's own office.  

Was the property worth the $225,000 the taxpayers paid, or the $59,400 the land was assessed at for tax purposes? Amazingly, Smith shrugs off the question. "Nobody is going to sell their property for what we've got on the (tax) roll. We are so far behind the market," said Smith, the property appraiser.  

This offensive statement shows just how disconnected Smith is from reality. Many people have sold or are trying to sell their property at prices well below the appraised value set by Smith's office. Maybe property owners should file appeals asking that their property be reappraised using the Jim Smith standard - one-fourth of its market value.  

Owners of nonhomesteaded property throughout Pinellas have been complaining of soaring assessments during the last two years that resulted in high property tax bills. Yet the assessed value of Smith's parcel lagged far behind its apparent market value. Smith, elected to a position of public trust, should have made sure that his own property, if no other in Pinellas, was assessed at its true value. Voters should remember that it was not.

Public input sought on I-75 study

By LISE FISHER  

Sun staff writer  

The Florida Department of Transportation will giving residents a chance to offer ideas about a master plan for Interstate 75 Tuesday evening.  

The agency will be conducting a study that will look at possible improvements on I-75 from the Florida/Georgia line to the Marion County line as well as ways to reduce traffic.  

Alachua County representatives plan to participate in the process and have expressed interest in improving interchanges and creating additional overpass opportunities.  

Tuesday's meeting will be at the Best Western Gateway Grand at I-75 and NW 39th Avenue . The hearing for public comment starts at 6:30 p.m. with the doors opening at 4:30 p.m. for people to view displays and information about the study.

Alta Vista project puts new leaders to first test

Controversial city project could set tone for growth in the next four years

By CAROL E. LEE

carol.lee@heraldtribune.com

SARASOTA -- A controversial development that two new city commissioners promised would never have moved forward if they were seated at the dais circles back to City Hall today.

The complex of office space, retail shops and condominiums proposed in the Alta Vista neighborhood, just outside downtown Sarasota , is the first major development issue for the new City Commission.

Developer Ronald Burks' project was also the touchstone for a slow-growth movement that swept the city's neighborhoods and played a key role in the spring elections.

How the new commission handles the project will likely set the tone for the city's approach to growth issues over the next four years.

"We're hoping to have better luck than we did previously," said Pat Kolodgy, president of the Alta Vista Neighborhood Association. "This commission just seems to be a little more open to discussion to things, as opposed to just rubber-stamping developers' wants."

At today's meeting, commissioners will consider an agreement that would allow development of the 9.5-acre property on School Avenue to proceed under stricter guidelines than Burks initially sought.

If it is approved, the next four months will be a test of whether or not the stark divide between neighborhood groups and developers can be mended. The process will also be an example of how the two interests will work together under the new commission.

"It's essentially starting all over again," said Mayor Lou Ann Palmer, who last year voted against a density increase for the project.

Burks' original proposal to triple the School Avenue property's density galvanized city residents. They protested at City Hall, worked to replace two incumbent commissioners and lobbied for the city to adopt an ordinance requiring a 4-1 vote for certain land-use changes.

"Alta Vista, in beginning to fight this project, made all the neighborhoods realize if it can happen here it can happen anywhere, and that you don't have to go downtown anymore. Downtown is coming to you," said Stan Zimmerman, president of the Coalition of City Neighborhood Associations.

Residents said the size of the project would hijack the character of their neighborhood with its single-family homes. They were upset that the commission voted for it despite their disapproval. And they were worried it would cause congestion in their quiet 500-home community, especially on the two-lane School Avenue .

"My concern was the traffic flow on School Avenue ," said Ken Wilson, an Alta Vista resident for 36 years. "I would like to see a development there, but not to the density that was proposed before."

Neither Burks or his lawyer, Stephen Rees, could be reached for comment for this story.

The new makeup of the five-member commission gives neighborhood residents hope that whatever sprouts from the defunct industrial warehouses across from a refurbished 29-acre Payne Park will be more in tune with their visions.

"We hope that this will provide leverage to get the kind of development on that property owned by Mr. Burks which will meet our goals," said Craig Noren, a member of the Alta Vista Neighborhood Association.

A slimmer project

When commissioners last year granted him a density increase by a 3-2 vote, Burks was planning to build 50 units an acre, some of which would be "attainable housing."

That housing component won over commissioners Ken Shelin and Fredd "Glossie" Atkins at the time and will continue to be one of the crucial issues as new discussions begin.

"I would hope that the neighborhoods could come together instead of seeing developers as the enemy," Shelin said, "but seeing the business community as a partner in providing the kind of housing that this community needs."

But the previously approved density increase required state approval. It was initially denied by the State Department of Community Affairs because of traffic concerns, then sent back to the city with the cap of 34 units an acre.

If commissioners approve the DCA's so-called compliance agreement today, Burks could build a maximum of 34 residential units per acre and 100 feet in height; and the city has 120 days to decide whether to finalize a comprehensive plan amendment for his project.

During that time, new development plans would be considered by neighborhood groups, the planning board and city staff. They would then return to the commission for a vote.

If commissioners deny the agreement, Burks would have to start over the process to obtain a density increase or build with the current zoning, which allows up to 18 units per acre, 70 feet in height and no commercial use, said city attorney Bob Fournier.

"A vote not to approve the compliance agreement would be saying that the commission would be uncomfortable with any development that is an excess of what's there now," Fournier said.

That seems unlikely.

Today's vote is "just a prelude to a kiss," said Commissioner Kelly Kirschner, former president of the Alta Vista Neighborhood Association, who won the March election with 73 percent of the vote on a campaign promising to champion neighborhood interests.

"What's more important is the next following 120 days."

The compliance agreement "sweeps all the pieces off the table, and we start a new game," Zimmerman said.

One with Kirschner and Commissioner Dick Clapp seated on the other side of the table.

When registering his opposition to the School Avenue project last fall during a public hearing, Clapp -- then president of the Coalition of City Neighborhood Associations -- called developers "gamblers."

"They're not really community investors," he said. "They're looking for what can I do to make a profit."

Now Clapp, who ran an slow-growth campaign and won with 63 percent of the vote, is taking a more tempered tone.

"I still say I have a problem with allowing the highest density possible right next to a single-family neighborhood," he said. "Until I really look at this and hear what people have to say, I'm not committed to one way or the other."

As president of the Alta Vista Neighborhood Association and a candidate for the District 3 commission seat, Kirschner emphasized process.

He criticized commissioners' decision to proceed with votes on the density increase and land-use change, despite last-minute changes in Burks' plans and that 22 of the 35 people who spoke during a public hearing opposed the plan.

Kirschner, who during the election described the commission's 3-2 vote to approve the density increase for School Avenue as "emblematic" of a City Hall that listened more to developers than neighborhoods, is bridging middle ground on the project he now gets to vote on.

"What I would like to think is we could continue to respect and appreciate the fact that Mr. Burks has time invested in this," Kirschner said. "It's in our best interest to continue to discuss and talk about it because I don't think anybody wins if we tell Mr. Burks, 'Get the heck out of here.'"

Searching for seagrass
By TONY MARRERO lmarrero@hernandotoday.com
BAYPORT — From 10,000 feet up, it’s just a tiny black dot under the blue-green waters of the Gulf of Mexico .

But down on the shimmering, smooth-as-glass surface, the spot becomes a field of thick, healthy seagrass waving gently in the current.

“It’s very, very nice,” said Manny Lopez, a senior environmental scientist with the Southwest Florida Water Management District as he looked over the side of a 20-foot Mako a couple of miles off Bayport Island one recent day.

His colleague Keith Kolasa, another senior scientist with the district known as Swiftmud, uses a handheld GPS device to pilot the boat to roughly the center of the seagrass field.

Within moments, Kolasa has donned a wetsuit, mask, snorkel and fins and jumps into the roughly 4 feet of water.

He surfaces with a handful of turtle grass, or Thalassia testudinum, which looks a lot like St. Augustine strands, only longer.

“The fact that it’s very thick is a good indication that it’s healthy,” Lopez said.

There also is little scarring from boat propellers.

“That’s good so close to the shore,” Kolasa said.

The district, in conjunction with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission and Florida Department of Environmental Protection, is working to map the seagrass beds off the coast of Hernando and Pasco counties.

Researchers are focusing on beds near the mouths of the spring-fed river systems: The Weekiwachee, Homosassa, Chassahowitzka and Crystal rivers. The study area extends about four miles offshore and encompasses roughly 750 square miles.

They are using aerial photos taken in 1999 and earlier this year to gauge where beds have thrived or declined over the last seven years. That data is then used to create an up-to-date map that can be referenced for years to come.

Trips like the one Lopez and Kolasa took recently aim to verify what scientists and computer software have interpreted as seagrass in those photos taken from altitudes of up to two miles.

They use the photos to plot GPS coordinates of questionable places and then hit the water for a closer look. The process is called “ground-truthing.”

“The more groundtruthing we do, the better the map’s going to be,” Kolasa said. “A small patch like this could easily be missed by photo interpretations.”

The roughly three-quarters-of-an-acre patch of seagrass is something to get excited about, scientists say.

The grass serves as habitat for bait fish and shellfish such as shrimp and scallops, as well as manatees, wading birds and sea turtles. Larger fish head to grass beds to dine and spawn.

“Once you degrade your seagrass beds, you’re going to impact your fisheries,” Kolasa said.

This ecological health, in turn, is vital to the health of the state’s economy. Millions of dollars are pumped in from commercial and recreational fishing.

Scientists worry that in-creased pollution is affecting the seagrass beds. Stormwater and other runoff comes out of the spring-fed rivers and flows into the Gulf, degrading water quality and killing off the grass, which needs light and nutrients to grow.

By having accurate maps, they can pinpoint the seagrass meadows that need protection and gauge progress of efforts to reduce pollution. Officials hope to complete the maps in the next 10 months.

Seagrass beds are relatively small and few in number within four miles of Her-nando’s coast.

On this day, Kolasa and Lopez are visiting a dozen sights off Bayport, including several just at the mouth of the Weekiwachee River .

“These seagrass beds are even more important because they’re so isolated,” Kolasa said. “The less there is, the more important it is.”

A changed seascape

Local fishermen say that the decline of seagrass beds close to Hernando’s coast has been a drastic one.

Capt. Frank Bourgeois of Spring Hill remembers a time when seagrass dominated the shallow waters off Bayport and Hernando Beach .

“When I moved here in 1991 the seagrass was so damn thick out there it stalled your engine,” said Bourgeois, who runs Always Fishing Guide Service.

And that, Bourgeois said, was just off the coast.

No longer can Bourgeois haul in tarpon, trout and gag grouper near the shore.

“Now I have to go out six to 10 miles to find grass decent enough to fish in,” he said.

Bill Eaton of Spring Hill recalls even farther back, having fished the Gulf waters off Hernando’s coast for some 30 years, most of them as a fishing guide.

At that time, you could head just off shore and at just about any point jump in to a thick grass bed, Eaton said. He recalls diving in, piling scallops into his shirt and dumping them into the boat.

Now, it’s mostly sandy bottom.

Eaton acknowledges that pollution likely played a part. But he also blames commercial fishermen who for years used heavy metal dredges to pull up scallops. He said the dredges also uprooted seagrass that simply never returned.

“They weren’t supposed to be using heavy metal drags in grass, but nobody gave a darn,” Eaton said. “It just got frustrating. A few years of that and boom, we don’t have any scallops.”

Tracking progress

Kolasa points the boat toward what he and Lopez have dubbed the “Angel Fish” seagrass station.

In the aerial photo, the patch looks like the striped fish because of its shape and the white sandbars that run north and south through the darker areas.

“Wow, that looks very healthy,” Lopez announces as he scans the bottom, covered in seagrass about seven feet below the surface.

He grabs a square of PVC pipe about the size of two chess boards, closes his eyes, spins and tosses them into the water. He does this two more times, and Kolasa dives in and dictates an estimated percentage of how much each square is filled with grass.

It’s a random way to estimate coverage over the bed, later determined to be about 8 acres in size.

The hope is that the meadow grass will spread in years to come rather than shrink.

“With the maps, whoever takes over the project can track that easily,” Kolasa said.

Reporter Tony Marrero can be contacted at 352-544-5286.

Worry over murky Manatee River

Bridge builder is asked to stop dumping water, clay and silt mix

BY CHRISTOPHER O'DONNELL

EAST MANATEE -- Gary Grimes was fishing on his boat recently when he realized something was not quite right with the Manatee River .

The closer he got to the Rye Road Bridge , the muddier and murkier the water got. Patches of brown scum floated around his 14-foot john boat. No fish were biting.

At the Rye Road Bridge construction site, Grimes saw what he feared. A thick dark-gray slurry oozed down a ditch cut into the river. A floating boom was in place, but the barrier had a 10-inch gap in it.

The cordoned-off water was thick with the same brown scum he had seen downriver.

"They have a silt barrier, but there's a big hole there," Grimes said. "There's no reason on Earth the river should be this muddy."

Manatee County officials inspected the site and agreed with Grimes' assessment. The county ordered All American Concrete Inc., the company building the $7.7 million bridge, to stop dumping the mixture of water, clay and silt into the river. It also asked the company to fix the boom and put straw bales on the riverbank to act as a filter.

"They cut a ditch down to the river, and that's not what we agreed," said Steve Serbaty, the county's project manager. "If there was any discharge, it was very minimal."

But residents who live more than two miles downriver say they have noticed that the river has become murkier.

"It's a heck of a lot muddier," said Mark Stukey, owner of Ray's Canoe Hideaway, almost three miles downriver from the Rye Road Bridge . "The water's discolored."

Southwest Florida Water Management District officials inspected the site Friday and said nothing was in violation of the county's permit.

Staff from Manatee County 's Environmental Management department also inspected the site and found no problem.

"They're looking upstream to see if there's anything else contributing to the murkiness in the river," said Karen Collins-Fleming, the county's environmental management director.

The new concern over the river comes only a month after hundreds of catfish, bass, snook and some other estuary species were found dead close to Rye Road Bridge .

Water tests conducted by Manatee County and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission pointed to low levels of dissolved oxygen as the cause of the deaths.

The existing Rye Road Bridge is being replaced because it frequently floods over during the rainy season. The new bridge and approaching roads will be 12 feet higher.

The trench at the site was dug to discard excess water used to stop clay from sticking to the auger used to drill 60-foot holes for bridge pylons.

Serbaty said he has reminded the contractors to be more careful about the river's water quality.

"I asked them to go above and beyond the permit requirements," he said.

Water restrictions are set to extend into 2008

Florida 's drought has continued into the rainy season

By CATHY ZOLLO

cathy.zollo@heraldtribune.com

A month into what should be Florida 's rainy season, the state is still in the stranglehold of an 18-month drought that has water managers worried about the future drinking water supply.

Current water-use restrictions were set to run out at the end of July, when daily afternoon thunderstorms typically saturate the region. Instead, on July 31, the Southwest Florida Water Management District board members likely will extend water restrictions for as much as a year.

"We were really hoping that, this summer, we would be receiving above-average rainfall so that our water resources could begin to rebound," said Robyn Hanke, a spokeswoman for the district. "So far, that hasn't happened."

During the first half of 2007, the 16 counties that make up the water management district saw about half their normal rainfall. June's rainfall was particularly disappointing.

"June through September is the rainy season in Florida ," Hanke said. "We rely on that four-month period for 60 percent of our rainfall."

The drought can be seen in every creek and lake in the region. Most are well below their banks or dry.

But nowhere is the rainfall deficit more apparent than along the Peace River -- the main source of drinking water for 750,000 customers in Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota counties.

At this time of year, the river typically flows at 1,100 cubic feet per second. That is more than 700 million gallons a day. But a recent measure put the river's flow closer to 100 million gallons a day, meaning that the Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority can take only 10 million gallons a day from the river, not even enough to serve its customers' daily needs. Water authority officials had hoped to be replenishing their depleted storage supplies by now.

Environmental rules prohibit the authority from taking water when the river is flowing below 130 cubic feet per second -- or about 84 million gallons a day. The authority is also limited to taking no more than 10 percent of the daily flows.

Executive director Patrick Lehman said that about 2.5 billion gallons that the authority had stored in underground wells two years ago has been depleted. Replenishing that, given the extended dry season, will be impossible this year and will be a challenge into next year.

The authority has been able to stretch its supply thanks to Sarasota and North Port , which have reduced their demand on the Peace River plant this year.

During the typical season, the authority is able to pull an average of 18 million gallons a day from the river. When flows are high enough, the authority will be able to collect 43 million gallons a day, the maximum its pumps can handle, sending much of that straight to the reservoir to be treated later. At that point, it can begin storing water again in its underground wells.

Lehman said that the current drought coming so quickly on the heels of the drought of 2000 and 2001 is disturbing.

"These are supposed to be one-in-100-year events," he said.

Regular rains may return later this month, says the National Weather Service, if the Bermuda High, a area of high pressure over the Atlantic , moves out of the way as expected.

The Bermuda High has been camped out over the southern end of Florida , said Anthony Reynes, a forecaster for the National Weather Service forecast office in Ruskin.

Reynes said the high is expected to drift north in coming days and afternoon showers will finally resume.

But water managers say it will be too little to allow the water district to lift restrictions this year.

"We need significantly above-average rainfall to pull ourselves out of this drought," said Granville Kinsman, district hydrologic data manager for the Southwest Florida Water Management District. "Currently, we're not even getting average rainfall."

The region is so far behind that it will be 2009 -- with normal to above-average rainfall -- before the water supply can stabilize, Kinsman said.

Hanke said members of the water management district are looking for more creative ways to deal with illegal use of water during this period of restrictions.

"That's one of the things our board discussed at our last meeting, asking our district staff to reach out to the cities and counties and ask them to step up enforcement," Hanke said. "Even though we are starting to get a little bit of that summer rainfall, we still have a large deficit."

To date this year, Sarasota County has received almost 600 anonymous complaints about water use and issued 1,196 warning notices for illegal uses spotted by county employees. Six people have received $100 fines.
Huge house brings big fear

A 20,000-square-foot mansion will spoil tiny Aripeka's charm, some residents worry.

By DAN DEWITT
Published July 16, 2007

ARIPEKA - To some Aripeka residents, the structure of stone and khaki-colored siding taking shape off Osowaw Boulevard is just a big house.

They say owners Peter and Nicole Napolitano paid a fair price for the 3-acre homesite and 21 acres of salt marsh overlooking Indian Bay . The couple have the right to build what they want.

"It's their money," said Carl Norfleet, 65, owner of Norfleet Fish Camp and a lifelong Aripeka resident.

To others, the house is a "McMansion," a "monstrosity" or even - according to Aripeka artist Arline Erdrich - "grotesque to the ultimate."

The Napolitanos sinned once by cutting down trees and demolishing a historic home on their property, said Erdrich and some others who live or work in this coastal community on the Pasco-Hernando line.

They sinned again by replacing it with a 20,000-square-foot house that, some residents said, not only clashes with the community, but threatens it. Opulent houses drive up property values, they maintain, and will drive away middle-income residents from Aripeka, a collection of about 200 mostly modest houses with views of cabbage palms and needle grass.

"Aripeka is a mind-set, a way of life. It's a true hamlet," said Beverly Coe, a Silverthorn resident who has worked as a secretary in Aripeka for 22 years.

"What saddens me is the effect it's going to have on people who have lived in Aripeka for generations. It's almost the beginning of the end for them."

Norfleet's family has lived in Aripeka long enough that his grandfather, James Kolb, built the house the Napolitanos tore down.

The original owner, E.G. Willingham, was a timber magnate from Georgia . That means that he, like Peter Napolitano - a New Port Richey lawyer well-known for sinkhole litigation - was a wealthy outsider, Norfleet said:

"That being an extremely choice piece of property, it always attracted people with money."

One of the original home's subsequent owners, Patricia Posey - who tried unsuccessfully to list the house on the National Register of Historic Places - said it was built in the 1800s.

Norfleet puts the completion date much later, in the mid 1920s. So do records at the county Property Appraiser's Office, which state the main house and three guesthouses were all built in 1928, though this information is suspect because many historic records in Hernando have been destroyed by courthouse fires, said John Emerson, the office's chief deputy.

"That date might have been from asking an old fisherman when they were built," Emerson said.

Regardless of when it was completed, the main house was considered one of the grandest in Aripeka, Norfleet said. That was true even before John and Patricia Posey bought it in 1980 and added a second story, bringing the size of the house to 4,000 square feet, including the wraparound porches.

Patricia Posey, who sold the property for $1.1-million in 2004, said she tried to hold on to it after her divorce in the 1990s, but was undermined by neighbors who fought her plan to use the house and guesthouses as an assisted-living facility.

"They should have been standing elbow-to-elbow with me to get that assisted-living facility off the ground," said Posey, who teaches at Central High School .

"Now they want to whine and cry that the house is gone. I say, 'Shut your mouth.' "

Though she defends the Napolitanos' right to build their house, she said, "My life was destroyed when I had to leave that house and watch it be torn down."

It was also a tragedy for a county that has already lost so much of its history, said Virginia Jackson of the Hernando Historical Museum Association.

"I just can't believe anyone would tear down such a beautiful house," she said.

The Napolitanos did not return calls to the law office or their house in Weeki Wachee. The couple, who have four children, told Posey they needed more room than they have at their current house.

The 8,800-square-foot living area of the new house includes five bedrooms, a two-story walk-in closet, a wine cellar and a 30-by-20-foot home theater, according to plans submitted to the county.

More than 8,000 square feet on the ground floor are occupied by garages. Outside, a wooden footbridge crosses from a rear patio to an island in Indian Bay, and two tennis courts have been built next to the one guesthouse the Napolitanos left standing and restored.

A large concrete stairway leading to the front entrance reminds Erdrich of the song If I Were a Rich Man from Fiddler on the Roof, she said.

"You know the part, 'I'd build one set of stairs going up and one going down?' That's what they have, this ridiculous stone stairway. ... The whole thing is indecent."

As extravagant as the house may seem in Aripeka, several residents agreed it might not raise much of a stir in the waterfront neighborhoods of St. Petersburg or Tampa .

To Norfleet, it's just a sign of a trend that has been apparent for years: the northward advance of wealth, which is changing his life more than the lives of many of the houses' critics.

Tax increases for homeowners are limited by the Save Our Homes cap. Norfleet, who owns a house, his business and several vacant lots in Aripeka, said his total property taxes have doubled in the past decade, to about $16,000 per year.

Norfleet and all six of his brothers and sisters live in Aripeka. So do many of their sons and daughters. Younger family members will benefit when their parents sell off their properties. But the ones who don't live there now will never be able to afford to move back home, he said.

"Anybody who drives through has as much right to live here as we do," Norfleet said. "But they sure affect us when they decide to stay."

Dan DeWitt can be reached at dewitt@sptimes.com or (352) 754-6116.

By the numbers

8,800 square feet of living area in the house being built.

30x20 -foot home theater

8,000 square feet on the ground floor occupied by garages

5 bedrooms

2 tennis courts

1 wine cellar

Developers Fail In Bid For Road Work Money

By KEVIN WIATROWSKI The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jul 15, 2007

SAN ANTONIO - County commissioners last week turned aside an effort by the developers of Bella Verde to get the county to underwrite more of the road work required by their development.

The developers also argued - unsuccessfully - that their road building schedule should be extended in keeping with a recent change to state law granting major developments statewide a three-year extension on their build-out dates.

Bella Verde's developers, which include California-based New Cities Inc. and Saddlebrook Resort creator Tom Dempsey, signed a deal with the county three years ago that committed them to widen State Road 52 between Interstate 75 and the entrance to their planned golf resort.

They also must build the western leg of the planned Clinton Avenue extension between McKendree Road and Curley Road . The road, intended to be a truck route alternative to S.R. 52, will cross the northern third of Bella Verde.

With Bella Verde committed to improving S.R. 52 near the interstate, the Florida Department of Transportation took that project off its roster. Repeated delays in getting Bella Verde, at the former Cannon Ranch, off the ground have produced no improvements to the road - much to the consternation of Commissioner Ted Schrader, who represents east Pasco .

The 2004 deal granted Bella Verde a $10.5 million credit on impact fees the developers must pay for roads - a figure the developers now say is about one-third of the cost to do the work.

They wanted commissioners to remove the ceiling on their impact-fee credits. They also asked to be released from having to widen a section of S.R. 52 west of the interstate where the state plans to build a cloverleaf-style on-ramp in the future.

Like many other developers lately, Bella Verde's builders are finding themselves pinched between a sluggish real estate market and road construction costs that have tripled since they struck their original development deals with the county.

Like Bella Verde, many of those developers have asked the county for relief and been turned down.

"Why should we treat your development any different than any other development?" Commissioner Ted Schrader asked Bella Verde attorney Keith Bricklemeyer in response to the proposed rewrite of the 2004 deal.

Schrader cited Seven Oaks, where the developers must absorb $30 million of a $36 million project to widen Bruce B. Downs Boulevard to six lanes through Wesley Chapel. When Crown Communities originally agreed to the widening in 2001, it was estimated to cost $6 million.

County officials argued that giving Bella Verde more for its road work would take money away from other projects. They also disputed the idea that the three-year extension gave Bella Verde more time to do its road work.

The state Department of Community Affairs, which oversees major developments such as Bella Verde, agrees with Pasco County on the extension issue, Assistant County Attorney David Goldstein told commissioners.

Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at (813) 948-4201 or kwiatrowski@tampatrib.com.

A divide over stricter fertilizer laws

By PATRICK WHITTLE

patrick.whittle@heraldtribune.com

SARASOTA COUNTY -- Ed Rosenthal, president of fertilizer manufacturer Florikan, believes Sarasota County 's proposed fertilizer restrictions could be the most significant environmental regulations passed by the county in years.

But George Pickhardt, president of Sarasota landscaping firm Arrow Environmental Services, fears the ordinance could run lawn maintenance and pest control firms into the ground with overregulation.

"We are regulated, regulated, regulated," Pickhardt said. "Give us a break. Let us do our job."

The two views represent the deep divide over Sarasota 's proposed fertilizer ordinances, which would be among the toughest in the state for people who sell and use the chemicals for a living.

The ordinances, which would put restrictions on the kinds of fertilizer residents could use and when they could use it, are up for approval next month and seem likely to pass. The Sarasota County commissioners took up the issue this week, but postponed a decision, saying they needed more information.

Opponents of the rules are lobbying the county to scale back or kill the regulations. Proponents, which include environmentalist groups such as the Sierra Club as well as dealers such as Florikan, are upset that the county balked at a chance to approve the rules.

The strong reaction to the proposal reflects a budding conflict in other parts of the state, such as the Lee County city of Sanibel , which approved tough restrictions this year. Charlotte and Manatee counties, where officials are considering whether Sarasota 's proposal could work for them, might be the next to enter the fray.

Sarasota County leaders have touted the rules as a victory for water quality and a blow against harmful algal blooms in the Gulf of Mexico .

Russ Hoffman, owner of Beautiful Ponds Inc., helps property owners learn how to better maintain their ponds. He believes the ordinance would legislate common sense by preventing the spread of fertilizer runoff into waterways.

"I really believe it will make the lake prettier and create a more viable ecosystem," he said.

The restrictions would prevent the use of fertilizers that contain nitrogen and phosphorus in the rainy summer season. They would also require fertilizers to contain low levels of phosphorus, establish a fertilizer-free zone near bodies of water and force residents to apply no more than a few pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet per year.

Mike Scheyhing, golf course superintendent at Venice Golf and Country Club, does not have to worry too much, because golf courses and farms are exempt in the proposal. But Scheyhing still believes the county would be better off if it let professionals set the rules about fertilizer application.

"I want to see decisions made on research and science, and not on personal agendas and hearsay," Scheyhing said.

If the county approves the ordinance, officials and residents can expect an adjustment period, said Rob Loflin, Sanibel natural resource manager.

Sanibel approved its rules earlier this year and is in the middle of a six-month waiting period before it begins to enforce them. Officials are using the time to educate residents and businesses, Loflin said.

It has been a tall order to educate Sanibel, a city of 6,000, Loflin said. Sarasota County has more than 366,000 residents.

"It is definitely going to be a retraining of residents and contractors and landscapers of how they apply fertilizer," Loflin said. "We're still in the middle of that."

Other communities, including the cities of Sarasota and Crystal River , the town of Longboat Key and Martin and Citrus counties, have made strides toward enacting their own rules.

Sarasota 's proposed restrictions garnered five hours of testimony in a Wednesday public hearing. Many of the speakers were representatives from local lawn care and pest control companies.

Joe Welch, service director of Middleton Lawn and Pest Control, a statewide firm based in Orlando , told the commissioners that they might encourage over-fertilization in the dry season if they ban fertilizer in the rainy season.

"When you have a restricted season, you change the way you act in the rest of the season," Welch said.

The commissioners considered approving the ordinance on Wednesday but decided they needed more information to set fair standards for the chemical composition of fertilizer. The proposal is expected to come back for a vote Aug. 27.

The rules would take effect six months after approval. That will give the county time to provide training courses in the use of fertilizer.

Rosenthal, of Florikan, said he hopes the ordinance passes.

"Anything that can change behavior, that can make consumers more aware that nutrients need to be used judiciously, is very, very positive," he said.______

Staff writer Kate Spinner contributed to this report.

What's in your water?

By NATHAN CRABBE  

Sun staff writer 

In the eyes of regulators, the Kincaid Hills Water Co. is the problem child of the handful of private water systems in Alachua County .  

State regulators say they couldn't get operators to comply with regulations that ensure safe drinking water. Enforcement was handed over to the the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is threatening fines for the system's repeated failure to test water for contaminants.  

Some regulators say they want Gainesville Regional Utilities, which already provides service around the subdivision just east of Gainesville , to take over operation of the system. But utility officials are reluctant, saying it would cost more than $500,000 to replace aging pipes alone.  

But because of state law, Alachua County could be forced to take control and pay for improvements. The situation highlights problems of cost, safety and management facing the seven private water systems in the county.  

"The track record that we're seeing in Alachua County with these older private systems is not good," said Chris Bird, environmental protection director for the county.  

GRU provides drinking water for most of Gainesville , and municipal utilities serve some smaller cities in the county. The remainder of county residents get their water from wells, except for residents living in seven communities scattered through the county.  

These communities' water systems have made news in recent months for a variety of reasons.

In Arredondo Estates and Arredondo Farms, residents complained the company running their system was overbilling them. In Santa Fe Hills, fecal contamination led to a boiled water notice.

But no system has faced more problems than Kincaid Hills. The system was built in the 1960s and now serves about 350 homes and 850 residents.

Berdell Knowles Jr. said his family has run the system since 1988, but last year he became CEO and has since taken charge of correcting problems.

He called the violations administrative errors, saying water has been consistently tested but results were mistakenly not sent to regulators.

"We're doing a much better job now," he said.  

According to the EPA, the system failed to conduct required monthly tests for total coliform bacteria in 27 separate months since June 2001. The system failed to test for organic chemicals through all the years between 2000 and 2006, the agency reported.  

Each of the violations carries a potential fine of up to $32,500 for each day that it is not corrected. An EPA spokeswoman said the delays in delivering a letter about violations to the Knowles family means penalties haven't yet been assessed.  

In November, a state inspection found no chlorine in the system's water, indicating the water had not been disinfected.

Bird said the lack of the disinfectant and failure to test water is a troubling combination.  

"There's really no way to know whether the water has been contaminated or not," he said.  

Tests showed fecal bacteria was detected in December 2004 and October 2005, according to the DEP. Knowles said a problem with the machine putting chlorine into water led to the contamination, which has since been fixed.  

He said the big problem is rates have not increased to the level needed to make improvements. But residents shouldn't worry their water is polluted, he said.  

"This is probably one of the best water sources in the county," he said.  

The system had financial problems paying fees to renew permits with the Public Service Commission and St. Johns River Water Management District, according to records.  

The system is "one of the most problematic we've seen," said Catherine Walker, assistant director of water-use regulation for the district.  

"It would certainly make sense for the system to be auired by a larger utility that has the ability to run it properly," she said.  

GRU estimates it would cost $680,000 to bring the system up to the utility's standards and make the necessary connections. The utility would want those upgrades made before considering taking over, said Kim Zoltek, GRU's water/wastewater engineering director.  

"We don't want our existing customers to pay for upgrades to the system," she said.  

Under state law, the operators could abandon the system and essentially force the county to either find a party to take control or take over itself. The county was forced to take over Santa Fe Hills, a system serving more than 60 homes in a neighborhood just outside the city of Alachua .  

The city of Alachua surrounds Santa Fe Hills and was discussed as the logical party to take over, but the city couldn't obtain state money for upgrades. So a judge in 2002 instead ordered Alachua County to take charge of operations.  

The county spent $25,000 for improvements and has been operating the system in the red most years since, said Kenneth Fair of the county public works department.  

Santa Fe Hills also has had contamination problems. In May, tests found the potentially deadly E. coli bacteria in water. The county cleaned the system with a massive dose of chlorine and issued a boiled water notice, before tests showed the water was safe.  

In June 2006, tests detected the cancer-causing agent cadmium in the system's water. But previous and subsequent tests found no cadmium in the water.  

That shows the positive tests could have been a mistake, said Paul Myers, director of environmental health for the county.  

"If you can't repeat the result, that may be an issue with the lab," he said.  

Fair said the system has infrastructure problems, but the county lacks the money and experience to do extensive work.  

Yet the county could now be required to take over other systems.  

When the former operator of Lake Alto Estates' system had an accident and could no longer run it, Alachua County could have been asked to take over, said Kim Worley, Waldo city manger. But the operators found someone else to take charge.  

Fair said the county doesn't want to take responsibility for Kincaid Hills or other systems.  

"We're not in the utility business and don't really want to be in the utility business," he said.  

Some Kincaid Hills residents say they would like to see GRU run the system.  

Joyce Stevens, 68, says she's lived there for more than 30 years. She said she's had problems with low water pressure and limestone deposits in the water clogging her ice maker and other appliances.  

"I'd love to see GRU get it," she said.  

A neighbor, Carol L. Carroll, 68, said she doesn't even drink water from the faucet, and instead buys bottled water. But she said she'd be worried that it would cost residents thousands of dollars to connect to GRU.  

"I'm on Social Security and I couldn't afford that," she said.  

Knowles said he hopes to borrow money to make improvements to the system. He doesn't foresee a county takeover in the system's future.  

"Things should improve drastically in 2007," he said.  

Nathan Crabbe can be reached at 352-338-3176 or crabben@gville sun.com.

I-75 congestion draws study  

By CINDY SWIRKO  

Sun staff writer  

Getting on or off Interstate 75 in Gainesville at peak times requires patience - and sometimes a prayer that your car won't be whacked by a passing driver while you're waiting on a backed-up ramp.  

And given the growth in west Gainesville and in I-75 traffic in general, it's only going to get worse. But the Florida Department of Transportation is developing a master plan to cope with future traffic levels, and is giving the public a chance to offer ideas at a meeting Tuesday evening.  

"We're doing a study that will look at the next 20 years. We'll be looking at what type of improvements we can make on I-75 between the Florida/Georgia line down to the Marion County line," said district DOT spokeswoman Gina Busscher. "The study will give us an idea of what kind of long-term and short-term improvements we can make on I-75 to increase safety, capacity and account for growth in the area. But there is absolutely no funding for any work at this time."  

Traffic on I-75 has grown in Alachua County over the years, particularly between NW 39th Avenue and Williston Road . Busscher said more local residents are using the interstate to get across town.  

Michael Fay, Alachua County assistant public works director for transportation, said county representatives will attend the meeting and participate in the process.  

Fay said the county is not going into the process with preconceived notions, but does have some ideas.  

"We'd like to see what might be able to be done to improve interchanges and maybe create some additional (overpass) opportunities," Fay said.  

Fay said a recent analysis showed that to move traffic east and west, the system needed about 50 percent more lanes going across I-75.  

Several large developments that likely will feed more traffic to I-75 or through the interchanges are already approved. Other proposed projects are in the permitting process.  

That traffic will further clog I-75 and also worsen the choke points at key interchanges, where traffic can come to a near standstill at times.

Bill Wrighton helped form Save Newberry Road , a group that sprang up in opposition to the proposed Newberry Village residential/retail complex on Newberry Road and Fort Clarke Boulevard .

Wrighton said DOT needs to use a wide lens on the I-75 master plan to see how traffic patterns far from the interstate will affect traffic on and around it.

He said by widening Newberry Road between Jonesville and Newberry, the DOT caused traffic to increase on Newberry Road and add to the "clutter" at the I-75 interchange.

"The only way out of what we have on Newberry Road is to reduce the amount of traffic," Wrighton said.

Members of the Coalition for Responsible Growth, a group that opposed comprehensive plan changes to increase retail space at the Springhills development at I-75 and NW 39th Avenue , will be at Tuesday's meeting, said coalition President John Jopling.  

Traffic was a major concern with Springhills and was one of the reasons the Alachua County Commission in May denied the changes sought by the developers. Jopling said the group wants to continue to have a role in monitoring traffic issues.  

"The group is staying cohesive and active, and transportation issues are the sort of issues we will take an interest in and have some voice in," Jopling said.  

Busscher said the master plan is being done by the consulting firm Reynolds, Smith and Hills Inc. It will try to project traffic counts into the future.  

Additional lanes, new interchanges, traffic signals and other means to improve travel will be studied, she said.  

Meanwhile, some improvements already have been done or are scheduled. A new lane on the northbound exit ramp at Newberry Road , where a heavy load of peak traffic backs vehicles up onto I-75, is set for 2011.  

Ramp work was recently done at the Williston Road interchange to alleviate traffic backups there.  

Busscher said the study also will explore ways to reduce traffic. Possibilities include more park-and-ride lots to encourage mass transit and car-pooling and an I-75 lane dedicated to buses or car-pooling.  

Tuesday's meeting will be at the Best Western Gateway Grand at I-75 and NW 39th Avenue . The doors open at 4:30 p.m. with displays and information for review. The hearing for public comment starts at 6:30 p.m. Busscher said this is the kickoff meeting and that many more will be held before the plan is completed next year.  

Cindy Swirko can be reached at 352-374-5024 or swirkoc@ gvillesun.com.

Susan Wright, a 'force for positive change,' dies at 49  

By AMY REININK  

Sun staff writer  

Community activist Susan Wright died early Saturday after a three-year battle with brain cancer. She was 49.  

Wright, a computer systems programmer for the University of Florida, was known in political circles for her efforts in campaign reform and land preservation, and known in her neighborhood for being "a gentle and persuasive force for positive change," whether she was founding a community park or helping a neighbor assess hurricane damage, said next-door neighbor Julie Graddy.  

Gainesville Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan, who worked with Wright in Women for Wise Growth and other political forums, called Wright "one of the most hard-working, dedicated and ethical people I've ever known."  

"She was an advocate of clean campaigns, and she was exceedingly ethical herself," Hanrahan said. "Anytime I worked on a campaign with her, either my own or someone else's, we all knew that if someone had broken a rule, she would just as soon turn one of us in as someone she didn't agree with."  

Wright gained countywide recognition for her work tracking and analyzing local candidates' campaign-finance reports on the Web site www.thebuyersguide.org, which "made information about campaign contributions easily accessible to the public in a way that it was not before," said Jon Reiskind, chairman of the Alachua County Democratic Executive Committee.  

But Reiskind, who lives in Wright's neighborhood, said the Web site is only one of Wright's many contributions to the community.  

"She's really done a remarkable array of selfless actions," Reiskind said. "She was intrepid and persistent, and she stuck to whatever it was she was fighting for."  

In 1999, Reiskind said, Wright exhibited that persistence when fighting a plan to develop a 19-acre parcel in the Sugarfoot neighborhood, which is located south of Royal Park Plaza on W. Newberry Road .  

"She was a bulldog," Reiskind said. "She rallied our whole neighborhood, and really went head-to-head with the developer at hearings for the proposal. She didn't consider it a personal matter; she just felt it was incompatible with our neighborhood, so she stuck with it."  

The Gainesville City Commission rejected the proposal, and Wright worked for years to keep the land as open space. Eventually, 10 acres of it were set aside for the John Mahon Nature Park .  

Jon Reiskind's wife, Julia Reiskind, said as persistent as Wright was, she was also soft-spoken and reasonable.  

"She was very calm and thoughtful in her arguments, and was dedicated to doing what she thought was right and seeing it to the end," Julia Reiskind said. "I think her battle with cancer reflected that part of her personality. She was persistent in really trying to cover all the angles to find a treatment that would give her longer-term survival. With this type of cancer, as I understand it, even three years is a miracle."  

Hanrahan said in early June, Wright sat with her for several hours discussing the Alachua County Forever program.  

"Here's someone who's literally fighting for her life, and she's still fighting for what she views as the future of Alachua County ," Hanrahan said. "It was amazing."  

Wright's family has informed neighbors that there will be no funeral, but that a memorial service for Wright is planned sometime in the future, Julia Reiskind said. Donations may be made in Wright's name to Haven Hospice or to the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University .  

Amy Reinink can be reached at 352-374-5088 or reinina@gvillesun.com.

Crist to agencies: Get right with Mother Nature

By Bill Cotterell  

When Florida had its first oil crisis, about 35 years ago, Gov. Reubin Askew appointed an energy czar and tried to get Floridians to pay attention by speaking out frequently on the economic and environmental dangers of our dependence on fossil fuels.  

What most people noticed, of course, was the long lines they were waiting in at gas stations, where prices were steadily inching toward a dollar a gallon. What we in the Capital Press Corps noticed, of course, was that Askew went to his speaking engagements and all those high-level strategy meetings in a big Lincoln.  

Askew's press secretary wasted many futile phone calls reminding us that security required a big car for the governor. But just up the road, Gov. Jimmy Carter was driving around Georgia in a Chevy Nova, so nobody really blamed the limo on FDLE. (In fairness to Askew, it should be noted that Georgia troopers switched Carter back to a Ford LTD, but that was as big as he'd go.)  

Askew was good for the environment, while speaking up for a tourism economy that depends on people being able to fill their tanks. Govs. Bob Graham, Bob Martinez and Lawton Chiles did a lot in reorganizing environmental agencies, building on development laws that Askew started and trying to promote recycling, conservation and Everglades clean-up - a cause that continued under Gov. Jeb Bush.  

But nobody, not even Kermit the Frog, is greener than this guy we've got in there now. Gov. Charlie Crist hopped aboard the state jet last week and dashed down to Miami for his summit on global climate change.  

One of the executive orders prepared for Crist's signature at the end of that conference was titled "Leadership by Example: Immediate actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Florida state government." Crist himself doesn't shy away from the word "warming," but they seemed to prefer the neutral-sounding "change" at his conference last week.  

If Crist's orders are carried out in full, they will have far-reaching implications - and no doubt long-lasting benefits - for the way state employees do their jobs.  

The ukase opens by declaring that "global climate change is one of the most important issues facing the state of Florida in this century." It says state government is Florida 's largest employer, with 114,756 authorized positions and more than $1 billion in annual commodity purchases.  

That's why he wants all state agencies under his control - and, by implication, all the Cabinet members, courts, the University System and other agencies beyond his control - to take stock of what they're doing and how they could do it with less impact on the environment. Then they can flex the state's purchasing muscle on behalf of Mother Nature.  

Crist wants the Department of Management Services to enforce energy-saving standards for new and existing buildings, forbidding agencies to lease space in any commercial office parks that don't meet "Energy Star" standards. DMS will also develop a "Florida Climate Friendly Preferred Products List" for agencies to shop with.  

Starting next year, agencies will schedule conferences only at hotels bearing the "Green Lodging" certificate for water, energy and waste standards, established by the Department of Environmental Protection. Crist wants the bid criteria for state car-rental contracts to require energy efficiency.  

"All state agencies and departments under the direction of the governor shall use ethanol and biodiesel fuels when locally available," says the order. He even wants DMS and DEP to check out hydrogen, compressed natural gas, biofuels and electric batteries used by the state fleet - to see if it's feasible to make such alternative-fueling facilities available to the public.  

Aside from immediate tangible effects, the purpose of all of this is to get people's attention. We can break some old habits and our kids will think green, first.  

We'll probably see solar panels on some buildings. Maybe they ought to raise parking rates (which have been $2 to $6 a month for as long as anyone remembers) at state buildings and start charging for all that free space out around SouthWood. Or close some of it, if the city steps up with more bus service.  

Did someone say "Leading by Example?" Scanning Crist's weekly schedules, it appears that business has taken him to the Tampa-St. Petersburg area on eight of the 27 Fridays he has been in office. Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp's job has taken him to Fort Myers on a lot of weekends, too.  

Rank hath its privileges, as they say in the Army. But it also hath an obligation to practice what you preach.  

Contact Bill Cotterell at bcotterell@tallahassee.com or 671-6545.