Interesting commentary...

Battle for the soul of Florida by gimleteye

Growth showdown bound for ballot?

By NICHOLAS AZZARA

nazzara@bradenton.com

MANATEE --

And like any other high-profile debate, millions of dollars are being spent to sway your vote.

Tired of seeing paradise paved over for parking lots, Lesley Blackner and 278,000 like-minded Floridians are ready to rein in the booming development industry that has dominated headlines in previous years. Their primary weapon is a proposed constitutional amendment that would require voters, rather than elected officials, to approve changes to land-use designations.

Business and development leaders shudder at the prospect of slowing growth to a snail's pace. They say providing more hurdles to development could be the dagger in the heart of a sluggish Florida economy. That's why they're willing to spend millions to fight the proposed ballot measure.

The vehicle driving the proposed amendment is Florida Hometown Democracy, which Blackner, 46, co-founded four years ago. Opinionated and outspoken, Blackner has lived in Florida for more than 40 years.

She's an environmental attorney who says she has seen Florida's natural habitats "go down the drain."

"Florida has embraced the model that developers want: If you build it they will come. But maybe if you don't build it they will go somewhere else," Blackner said. "Government seems to think the next 30,000 people who live here are more important than those who already live here."

Florida Hometown Democracy has collected almost half of the 611,000-plus voter signatures required to put a proposed constitutional amendment on the November 2008 ballot. And Blackner says the total is actually closer to 500,000, but many signatures have yet to be verified.

Either way, the group, with the backing of the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations, is inching closer to putting the question to the entire state.

"These things need to be put to voters because they determine the future of a local community more than anything else," Blackner said. "The current system has been stacked against the people."

To be adopted, the con- stitutional amendment would require the support of 60 percent of voters.

'Could kill growth'

Opposition to the amendment seems to be growing faster than the movement itself. Chambers of commerce across the state are asking members to "Stop the Scam." They say the cost and consequences of the amendment could be "astronomical."

"We live in a representative democracy and this amendment really works against that," said Neil Spirtas, a spokesman for the Manatee Chamber of Commerce. "I don't think we have any idea how much this is going to cost everyone in the time and effort involved."

If the amendment passes, developers could turn into stumping politicians, pushing hard for their proposed amendments - that is, their developments - to win voter approval. In addition, they say, longer ballots would further dampen voter turnout.

"I think it's going to add to the cost of construction tremendously because in order to get a comp plan amendment, we'll have to hold an election and run a campaign that costs money," said Lee Wetherington, president of Lee Wetherington Companies. "That's just cost added to any new house and new development out there."

Mike Rahn, senior vice president of Florida Homebuilders Association added, "It could affect private property rights and where hospitals, schools, churches and fire stations go in a community, along with take away the democratic process on what you want to do with your property. It could kill growth in the state of Florida."

The Florida Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Homebuilders and other business groups have formed and raised close to $1 million for Floridians for Smarter Growth. The group is gathering signatures for a similar amendment that would have voters approve comp plan amendments only if first, 10 percent of registered voters sign a petition to hold an election on the change.

Brain surgery?

Changes to Manatee County's comprehensive plan usually occur twice a year in the form of comp plan amend- ments, but they can happen more often. Since 2000, Manatee has adopted 176 amendments, including seven so far this year. Many times, the changes amend zoning and density categories. Other amendments are designed to bring the local comp plan into compliance with state regu- lations.

Many times debates over future land categories can last hours at the county level, as commissioners try to balance private development rights with public safety concerns and objecting homeowners close to new projects. Throw in a few dozen comments from county staffers and land-use attorneys and the debate becomes downright dizzying.

There's little debate that the process is complicated and can be confusing.

County Administrator Ed Hunzeker put it this way: "I could do brain surgery, but it's going to take a while to train me. It takes a great deal of understanding on how the development process works. It's a very rigorous process."

But Blackner and her supporters say the intelligence of the electorate shouldn't be underestimated. Coincidentally, she said, comprehensive plan amendments are not brain surgery.

"I'm tired of being told voters aren't smart enough to know what they're voting for," said Betsy Roberts, chair of the Florida Chapter Sierra Club. "If most people know both sides of the story, they'll make a good decision. Voters are intelligent people."

Cost of elections

The Florida Supreme Court on July 12 interjected itself into the debate, striking down part of the financial impact statement that would go on the ballot with the proposed am- endment.

The Supreme Court objected to the second of five sentences in the original statement: "Over each two-year election cycle, local governments cumulatively will incur significant costs (millions of dollars statewide)."

The statement, drafted by the state's Financial Impact Estimating Conference, failed to indicate the estimate depends on how many times local governments have to hold special elections to adopt or amend land-use plans, the majority wrote in the unsigned opinion.

On Friday, the conference, made up of legislative and executive branch economists, revised the offending sentence to highlight that costs "cannot be determined precisely." It also reworked a following sentence to indicate the potential costs include such expenses as ballot preparation and election administration.

The commission has separately said the minimum cost of holding special elections within a two-year period would be $2.4 million assuming elections are held by mail - the cheapest method - and ballots are sent to 25 percent of Florida's 10.5 million-plus vo- ters.

In a letter to the commission earlier this week, a lawyer for Hometown Democracy argued local governments could pass election costs on to developers and other parties that request planning amendments and piggyback referenda on other special or regular elec- tions.

The attorney general's office next will submit the new financial statement to the Supreme Court.

- The Associated Press contributed to this report.• Florida Hometown Democracy must gather 611,000 verified voter signatures by Jan. 31, 2008, in order to have the amendment on the November 2008 ballot. The group now has 278,000 verified signatures, including 1,800 from Manatee County and more than 7,000 from Sarasota County.

• Local, state and national business interests have formed Floridians for Smarter Growth to oppose Florida Hometown Democracy. The new group is proposing a similar amendment that would require voter referenda on comp plan amendments when 10 percent of registered voters want to hold one.

By Dan Morgan
Special to The Washington Post
Friday, July 27, 2007; A04

Farm state lawmakers, allied with House Democratic leaders, last night easily defeated a proposal for a major overhaul of traditional farm programs that would have pared subsidies to big growers and spread benefits more broadly.

The 309 to 117 vote came on the first day of debate on a multiyear farm bill that was heading for final action today.

Republican support for the bill was in doubt last night because of a dispute over a provision that would tighten rules on the use of tax havens by U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies.

But key farm state Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the amendment, sponsored by Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.). "It rips out the safety net for American farmers and ranchers," said Rep. Robert W. Goodlatte (Va.), ranking Republican on the House Agriculture Committee.

The amendment was billed as this year's major challenge to an entrenched farm-subsidy system. The defeat was a setback for a coalition of environmental organizations, anti-hunger groups and religious leaders who favor shifting more funds to conservation, nutrition and other priorities while creating a more level playing field in world markets for unsubsidized poor farmers abroad.

"Change is tough in this place," Kind said. The current subsidies to farmers, he said, raise farmland prices to the disadvantage of young farmers trying to rent or buy land, while making big farmers dependent on "a government paycheck, not the marketplace."

Environmental Defense, an advocacy group, produced a study showing that more than 300 congressional districts would be eligible for increased funding under Kind's bill, but to no avail.

Kind's vision in recent months came into conflict with the pragmatic politics of Democratic leaders seeking to rebuild the party's rural-urban bonds. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) urged Democrats to support the farm bill.

Recalling that a similar Kind amendment garnered 200 votes in 2001, the Agriculture Committee loaded the bill with billions of dollars for nutrition programs, conservation, black farmers, and the Florida and California fruit and vegetable industries, in an effort to attract broad support. As late as 1 a.m. yesterday, Democratic leaders were adding money for nutrition programs.

About $840 million in mandatory spending was added for the McGovern-Dole food aid program, after nearly $1 billion was shifted out of government payments to private crop insurance companies to offset the cost.

The new funding was sought by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), a key member of the House Rules Committee. McGovern said it was "a good thing" that the crop insurance industry would be contributing to feeding hungry children abroad.

The program is named for two former senators, not for the congressman.

The revamp effort by Kind, whose western Wisconsin farm grows corn and soybeans on 60 acres, made him few friends on the agriculture panel.

Committee Chairman Collin C. Peterson (D-Minn.) said last week that Kind and his allies are "out on a limb, and I'm trying to cut if off."

Peterson suggested that Kind "was being used by the Bush administration," which favors some of the same changes.

"There was no collusion," Kind responded. "I've been working on this for six years."

Morgan is a contract writer for the newspaper and a fellow with the German Marshall Fund, a nonpartisan public policy institution

Neighborhoods, dirt mining proposed for Mecca Farms in Palm Beach County

County administrator calls for a mix of homes, agriculture and waterways

By Andy Reid

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

July 28, 2007

Taxpayer-owned land once intended to house a high-tech science "village" featuring The Scripps Research Institute could instead become a mix of homes, agriculture, dirt mining and waterways, according to a proposal for Mecca Farms released Friday.

Palm Beach County Administrator Bob Weisman on Friday called for jump-starting stalled discussions on uses for the 1,919 acres of former orange groves north of Northlake Boulevard, which cost taxpayers $60 million to buy and another $60 million to get ready for Scripps.

Environmental concerns last year moved Scripps' planned research labs and headquarters to Jupiter. Since then commissioners have had on-again, off-again discussions about what to do with the property.

Weisman's proposal calls for:

•Offering up to 750 acres of Mecca Farms for sale to developers by early next year. He suggested allowing as many as 1,500 homes but said proposed changes to development guidelines for western areas could push that to 2,400 homes.

•Selling 100 acres to the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County. Storing hurricane debris, recycling yard waste and excavating dirt to cover mounds of trash at the county landfill are among proposed uses for the property.

•Set aside land for the "flow way," a man-made filter marsh, envisioned in the Scripps plan. The flow way would help clean and deliver water that could replenish the Loxahatchee River. County officials on Friday met with representatives from the South Florida Water Management District to discuss the flow way and other water cleaning features that could be included on Mecca Farms.

•Keep at least 750 acres to use for agriculture, environmental improvements, water treatment or other needs.

The idea was to offer commissioners "max flexibility" but also to start taking action on what to do with Mecca Farms, Weisman said.

"I'm just laying out a plan to start talking," he said. "It depends where the board wants to go."

Commissioner Burt Aaronson welcomed Weisman's proposal. Aaronson has called for allowing about 2,400 homes and commercial development on Mecca Farms in order to boost its sales value.

In addition to the money spent to acquire Mecca Farms and plan for Scripps' construction, paying the debt service on the deal costs the county between $5 million and $8 million a year.

"We should get the taxpayers' money back." Aaronson said.

Commissioner Jeff Koons said he was "intrigued" by Weisman's proposal to reserve land for agriculture.

Koons said he supports carving out a portion of Mecca Farms for the Solid Waste Authority. Pits left from digging out dirt for the landfill could become water storage areas that help with Everglades restoration efforts, he said.

"We have been kind of ducking on it," Koons said about deciding Mecca Farms' future. "I think we need to take a look at it."

No price has been set for the 100 acres Weisman proposed selling to the Solid Waste Authority, but the agency would be ready to "move quickly," the authority's chief administrative officer, Marc Bruner, said. Opponents to developing Mecca Farms have argued that allowing thousands of homes there would cost too much for the roads and community services required when suburbia spreads to rural land.

They have called for returning Mecca Farms to its natural state and leaving it as open space. The county could sell its development rights to builders elsewhere who are willing to pay for the chance to build more homes than otherwise allowed.

"Why are they so gung-ho to develop it right now?" asked Joanne Davis, spokeswoman for the growth watchdog group 1,000 Friends of Florida, which opposed building Scripps on Mecca Farms. "They have got all these grandiose ideas. ... They have jumped way ahead of themselves."

Andy Reid can be reached at abreid@sun-sentinel.com or 561-228-5504.

Rediscovered documents 'flush out' history of Estero Bay preserve

By Julio Ochoa

Saturday, July 28, 2007

There is no mystery to what makes Estero Bay a fisherman’s paradise.

Take away the jagged, mangrove-lined shore and the seagrass beds and the fish will follow.

The bay is a massive seawall and dredging project away from looking like, and fishing like, many of Florida’s once productive estuaries.

With the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve in place, the area is safe from the scenario that made so many bays in Florida barren.

But the protection didn’t come without a fight.

A developer had purchased waterfront property along the bay and drew up plans to develop it. Then, locals took a stand.

The documentation of exactly how local fishermen and residents saved Estero Bay from dredging and a concrete lip was recently uncovered.

Searching for material for a video for the preserve’s 40th anniversary, a researcher uncovered 21 nearly forgotten boxes of records stored in the Southwest Florida Museum of History.

“If this stuff were lost, it would be a loss of local history,” said Neil Ayers, a resource management specialist for the Estero Bay Aquatic and State Buffer Preserve who created the video based on much of the information.

An archivist is working to index and catalog the information so it one day may be put on display or digitized and placed on a Web site.

The files document in full detail the history, the lawsuit and the personal struggles to save Estero Bay by creating the state’s first aquatic preserve.

It all started in 1958 when Barry C. Williams and Investors purchased 5,500 acres along the northern and eastern coast of Estero Bay for $1.6 million.

Robert Troutman, an Atlanta attorney representing investors, drew up a plan to expand a seawall deep into Estero Bay along 18 miles of coastline.

The seawall, called a bulkhead, would straighten out the jagged coastline by using 17 million cubic yards of fill. Along the way it would swallow up submerged lands and islands, creating 1,100 acres that previously was under water. For fill, Troutman proposed dredging a 12-foot channel through the seagrass beds around his bulkhead.

The same technique had been employed along the east coast and in areas to the north, such as Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota.

The results were well-documented. Some of the most productive estuaries in the state turned barren when developers removed the mangroves and seagrass beds that served as a nursery for fish, shrimp, mammals and birds.

Determined to keep Estero Bay from the same fate, local residents and fishermen formed the Lee County Conservation Association.

“This was a homegrown effort by local citizens interested in preservation,” said Matt Johnson, general manager of the Southwest Florida Museum of History. “They battled some pretty large developers and corporations interested in development and won.”

At one point during the 1960s, it’s estimated that about 50 percent of the registered voters in Lee belonged to the association.

Lee County Commissioner Frank Mann was a state legislator when the association still was active.

“That group lived in my office for two years,” Mann said. “That little committee was very active and very loud and they single-handedly beat Troutman.”

Up until the creation of the Lee County Conservation Association, residents had quietly tolerated local developers mowing down mangroves to create small communities along the waterfront, said Wayne Daltry, director of Smart Growth for Lee County.

But Williams’ plan was destruction on a much larger scale.

“There was a casual tolerance of the little things,” Daltry said. “But there became an awareness, a realization that if they didn’t have protection, it was going to be toast.”

The members of the association wrote letters, engaged politicians and used their voting bloc to change leadership in Lee County.

They argued that submerged lands belonged to the state and tried to create the Estero Bay State Park.

The law clearly states that any land above the high tide mark can be owned privately but property below it belongs to the state.

Their efforts led to the creation of the first aquatic preserve in Florida.

The state eventually would use the preserve as a model to create 41 others along Florida’s coastal waters.

“We now have over 2 million acres in the program protected from dredging and habitat loss and damage to resources,” said Larry Nall, environmental administrator for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas.

Johnson is working with members of the Estero Bay Aquatic and State Buffer Preserve to find grants so the historical data can be preserved and archived.

Knowing about Southwest Florida’s history is important as the environmental battle rages on, Johnson said.

“This is the cornerstone of a success story in preserving our environment, which down here is a major issue,” he said. “The battle between development and preservation is not something that’s gone away.”

As deadline looms, Lee eyes Weeks property

County is interested, but can't make promises, in a last-minute deal for land that includes one of the few boat ramps on eastern Estero Bay

By Charlie Whitehead

Friday, July 27, 2007

Lee County and state officials are looking hard at Weeks Fish Camp, and the historic home of one of the area’s oldest families may yet become a county-owned boat ramp.

Current owner Michele Pessin of the 131 Group is staring at a Tuesday deadline to get a deal done — or at least started. A bankruptcy court judge has held off creditors that long.

Pessin bought the waterfront portion of the old fish camp in 2003. Many members of the Weeks family, who carved the little community they called Coconut out of the scrub in the 1940s, still live there on streets named for pioneer couple Draine and Mamie Weeks.

Some of them welcomed Pessin as a savior when she bought the land, but it hasn’t worked out that way. Legal, land-use and financial hurdles drove her into Chapter 11 early in 2006.

Part of her plan was always to keep the marina open to the public, and she and bankruptcy receiver Gerald McHale have been talking to the county about a sale or at least an easement agreement.

Commissioner Ray Judah said he’s interested.

“I’ve indicated I can’t make any promises,” Judah said. “It takes a whole board and a vote.”

Judah said he has met with McHale and with Tom Gilhooley. Gilhooley isn’t invested in the property, but he and Pessin live together and have children. The county’s Conservation 2020 environmental lands program is negotiating to buy another Pessin property, but the same program balked at the asking price for the marina property.

Judah said there are concerns about water depth and what an increase in boat traffic could mean to the shallow bay.

“There is a channel,” Judah said, “but it’s a very shallow channel. Obviously, the state and the county would be very concerned about the amount and the type of boat traffic.”

Estero Bay is the first Aquatic Preserve in Florida, so designated in 1960. Preserve Director Heather Stafford has also been involved in discussions, but she couldn’t be reached for comment.

Steve Boutelle, marine science director for the county, said the state’s most recent check found about 3½ feet of water in the channel.

“As far as the site goes, the channel now severely limits the use,” he said. “That’s the main part of why we recommended to commissioners it wasn’t a good opportunity for a public boat ramp.”

That was several months ago, when Pessin and Gilhooley first approached the county. Boutelle said the state found deeper water than he expected, however, and the last complete engineering assessment was done in 1999.

“My opinion is there will clearly be boating impact from any facility,” Boutelle said. “But there are boating impacts from the use now.”

Judah and other commissioners are hearing from boaters, hundreds of whom have signed petitions urging the county — or someone — to keep the ramp open. One of them is Capt. Ron Kowalyk, who’s been fishing Estero Bay since 1978.

“Sure, there’s more use,” he said. “But there’s a demand for it.”

Kowalyk said the county would have to balance the increased boat traffic with the prospect of boaters hauling their trailers down 41 and out Bonita Beach Road and Hickory Boulevard to reach the Lovers Key/Carl E. Johnson State Park boat ramp, the next closest public ramp on the bay. He said the channel is shallow, but good local knowledge is always the key to boating back bays.

“There’s plenty of water to get in and out of there, usually,” he said. “You can get a boat drafting 24 to 30 inches in there. Like with any boat ramp, you have to know what you’re doing.”

Kowalyk described Weeks as unique, situated as it is on the eastern shore of the bay. There’s a ramp on the Imperial River a few miles down 41, but launching there means a long slow ride down the river to reach the bay. There’s also a ramp at the Koreshan State Historic Site, but it’s also designed for smaller boats like canoes and kayaks.

“It’s the only area that’s reasonable on the entire east coast of Estero Bay,” he said. “I really think it’d be a disaster if it disappeared and we didn’t have access.”

North Collier development deal reached, fight moves to federal level

By Eric Staats

Saturday, July 28, 2007

A deal between a developer and a local environmental group has put a controversial development in northern Collier County a step closer to breaking ground, but opponents are vowing to keep up the fight.

Saturnia Falls is one of three projects — the others being Parklands and Mirasol — that environmental advocates are working to defeat to save what is left of a natural flowway that is being choked off by development southwest of Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.

A series of legal challenges to the projects have focused on their effects on wood stork habitat and wetlands north of Immokalee Road and west of Collier Boulevard. Now, one of the challenges has run its course.

Earlier this month, the South Florida Water Management District approved a deal between Saturnia Falls developer G.L. Homes and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida by which the district would issue the Saturnia Falls permit when the developer transfers 154 acres to the district as mitigation.

G.L. Homes vice president Rick Elsner said Friday that the company is working to close on the purchase of three parcels to satisfy the requirement. The parcels could be in district hands within weeks, he said.

The developer is paying some $3 million for the acreage in Lee and Collier counties within the boundaries of the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed preservation project.

G.L. Homes then would sell the land to the district for $713,000, the amount of money the developer paid the district as mitigation for a 2004 permit for an earlier version of the Saturnia Falls project.

The district was supposed to use the money to buy land for mitigation for Saturnia Falls, but the district never spent the money. G.L. Homes paid another $547,000 to the district for restoration and management of the land.

In 2006, the district issued a modified permit for Saturnia Falls to reflect changes to the project’s water management system, and the Conservancy challenged the permit.

In May, an administrative law judge issued a recommended order siding with G.L. Homes on issues of water quality and wood storks but found that the $1.26 million payment for the 2004 permit was inadequate “as a result of the passage of time and market forces” and that the district shouldn’t issue the Saturnia Falls permit.

Conservancy President Andrew MacElwaine said the deal with G.L. Homes resolves the issues with the district permit and sets up the next legal fight in federal court over a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit for Saturnia Falls.

“That’s the next battle,” he said.

The Conservancy, the National Wildlife Federation, the Florida Wildlife Federation, the Collier County Audubon Society and the National Audubon Society filed the federal lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the corps and the Interior Department in April. The case has been on hold awaiting the outcome of the challenge to the district permit.

Elsner called it “unfortunate” that environmental groups are continuing to challenge the Saturnia Falls project in light of the Conservancy’s failure to stop the project from getting the district permit.

“We feel very confident we’ll be successful (in federal court),” he said.

Environmental groups lost a second administrative challenge this past week, when a different administrative law judge issued an order recommending that the water management district issue a permit for Mirasol.

The corps rejected an earlier version of the Mirasol project, citing worries that a manmade flowway proposed to wrap around the golf course community would damage the environment. The corps has said it will issue a permit for a new version of the project, without the flowway. The environmental groups have pledged a federal lawsuit if that happens.

The corps settled a federal lawsuit over the Parklands project by agreeing to take another look at its permit for Parklands. That review is ongoing.

Parklands, Mirasol and Saturnia Falls would destroy some 1,100 acres of wetlands in the Cocohatchee Slough, but developers say the wetlands are degraded and their projects will help the environment.

© 2007 Naples Daily News and NDN Productions. Published in Naples, Florida, USA by the E.W. Scripps Co.

Old, old Florida: Academics trace Florida's geography over eons

By LONA O'CONNOR

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Planning amendment statement revised after justices rejected it
By BILL KACZOR
Associated Press Writer
  
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - State economists on Friday revised a financial impact statement that would go on the ballot with a citizens initiative designed to give voters a say in local planning and development decisions.

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The Florida Supreme Court ruled the initial statement was misleading in a 5-2 opinion July 12.

The proposed Hometown Democracy Amendment to the Florida Constitution would require local governments to hold elections so voters can decide whether to adopt new comprehensive land use plans or make changes in those designs. The impact statement is required to give voters an idea of how much an amendment may cost.

The Supreme Court objected to the second of five sentences in the original statement: "Over each two-year election cycle, local governments cumulatively will incur significant costs (millions of dollars statewide)."

The statement, drafted by the state's Financial Impact Estimating Conference, failed to indicate the estimate is dependent upon how many times local governments have to hold special elections to adopt or amend land use plans, the majority wrote in the unsigned opinion.

The conference, made up of legislative and executive branch economists, revised the offending sentence to include a statement that "probable" costs will depend on the frequency and method of the elections. It also reworked a following sentence to indicate the potential costs include such expenses as ballot preparation and election administration.

Portions of the statement saying local costs cannot be precisely determined and state expenses would be negligible were left unchanged.

The commission has separately said the minimum cost of holding special elections within a two-year period would be $2.4 million assuming elections are held by mail - the cheapest method - and ballots are sent to 25 percent of Florida's 10.5 million-plus voters.

The attorney general's office next will submit the new financial statement to the Supreme Court.

Florida Hometown Democracy so far has collected about 45 percent of the about 611,000 signatures from registered voters that it will need to get the amendment on the November 2008 ballot.

Neither the group nor its lawyer, Ross Burnaman, immediately returned calls seeking comment on the language change.

In a letter to the commission earlier this week, Burnaman argued local governments could pass election costs on to developers and other parties that request planning amendments and piggyback referenda on other special or regular elections.

___

On the Net:

Office of Economic and Demographic Research: http://edr.state.fl.us

Report: More than 5,600 new homes still sit unsold in the Orlando area

Jerry W. Jackson

Sentinel Staff Writer

July 27, 2007

The number of individuals and families moving into new homes in Orlando-area subdivisions plunged 26 percent during the second quarter, and home builders continued to slam on the brakes.

Starts, or new homes getting under way in the region, fell more than 41 percent in the period ending June 30 compared with the same time a year ago, a report by Metrostudy showed Thursday.

And despite efforts by builders to entice buyers with discounts and deals, more than 5,600 new homes still sit empty in the Orlando area, a number that's virtually unchanged from a year ago, the Houston-based research company reported.

Unsold inventory did fall overall, a helpful sign for the health of the industry, but it was mostly in the under-construction category, said Anthony Crocco, director of Metrostudy's Central and Northeast Florida divisions.

"The Orlando MSA [metropolitan statistical area] is experiencing the same problems many Florida markets are experiencing -- large new- and existing-home inventories," Crocco said in his quarterly report, which goes out to builders, researchers, academics and other professionals in the housing industry.

"The high percentage of finished, vacant inventory remains a major concern," Crocco said. "On the upside, the Orlando MSA continues to add jobs and housing demand remains strong relative to most other markets in the state."

In the four-county Orlando metro area -- Orange, Seminole, Lake and Osceola counties -- 3,299 single-family homes were started in subdivisions during the April-through-June time frame. That was down 41.4 percent from the same period a year ago when 5,631 units were started. On an annual basis, local housing starts are down 38 percent.

Closings, or the number of homes sold and physically occupied in the Orlando area, totaled 4,004, or 25.9 percent lower than a year ago, Metrostudy found in its survey. On an annual basis through the second quarter, closings were down 8.2 percent.

The survey data are considered valuable to the industry because Metrostudy, which charges fees for its reports, physically drives through subdivisions to verify whether new homes remain vacant or are occupied, a more reliable third-party measure of closings.

One of the Orlando area's top retail-property brokers said Thursday that the slowdown in home construction in the suburbs means retail construction also will slow, particularly in outlying areas.

"Retail follows rooftops," and the trend now toward urban in-fill development means that retail construction will shift from suburbs to downtown, said Martin Forster, a director with Cushman & Wakefield of Florida Inc., and a partner in his own firm of Pocklington, Pocklington & Forster Retail Investment Group.

Forster spoke during a monthly meeting for the Central Florida Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties.

With residential construction slowing nationwide, commercial construction has been taking up the slack, absorbing unemployed residential construction employees in many cases and generating ongoing economic impact.

Forster and other local experts who spoke, including top brokers Ron Rogg of CB Richard Ellis and Bo Bradford of GVA Advantis, said that strong global capital flows and low interest rates have kept commercial properties in hot demand and construction in high gear.

"Money drives the juggernaut," Forster said, and financing has shifted from residential construction to commercial.

Jerry W. Jackson can be reached at 407-420-5721 or jwjackson@orlandosentinel.com.

County bottled up over water plants

By TONY BRITT tbritt@lakecityreporter.com
Thursday, July 26, 2007 11:15 PM EDT

Columbia County officials have sent letters of concern to local and state representatives regarding several applications which have been filed to draw water from the Santa Fe River for use by bottled water plants.

Copies of the letter were sent to Gov. Charlie Crist (R), State Sen. Debbie Boyd (D-Dist. 11), State Rep. Will Kendrick (R-Dist. 10), State Sen. Steve Oelrich (R-Dist. 14), State Sen. and Charles Dean (R-Dist. 3).

Lisa Roberts, assistant county manager, said the letter was sent to state officials July 18.

“They usually respond in writing,” Roberts said of the letters.

The letter, which was signed by all five county commissioners, indicates that the commission has concerns regarding the issuance of new and renewal permits for the extraction of water for bottling plants from the aquifer underlying the Santa Fe River .

“The bulk removal of water will prove to be detrimental to this fragile ecosystem and sustainability of Florida 's groundwater and springs is essential,” it says.

According to the letter, new applications for water withdrawal at July and Santa Fe , LLC Springs in Columbia County and at Lily Springs in Gilchrist County were submitted in early 2007.

“This means that five applications for water withdrawal on the Santa Fe River have been applied for or approved by the Suwannee River Water Management District,” it states. “If these permits are granted, the amount of water approved for extraction from a three-mile area would total over one billion three hundred and fifty million gallons (1.35 billion) per year. This is in addition to water that is removed for existing residential and agricultural purposes, which would eventually be returned to the aquifer; water removed by bottling plants is not.”

Jon Dinges, Suwannee River Water Management District Director of the department of resource management, confirmed that several applicants have applied for permits to draw water from the Santa Fe River . He said the Suwannee River Water Management District has received at least five permit applications for water bottling facilities on the Santa Fe River .

The applications and their status:

n Lilly Springs - Permit applied for;

n July Springs (in Columbia County ) - Permit applied for;

n Ginny Springs - Active; (owned by Coca Cola); withdrawing an estimated 350,000 gallons of water per day.

n Blue Springs (in Gilchrist County ) - Not active; permit issued in 2003;

n Santa Fe Springs “Saw Dust Springs” (in Columbia County ) - Permitted to withdraw 150,000 gallons per day, but currently not in operation.

Dinges said the proposal from the permits are to drill a well,

or wells, and access ground water for bottling purposes.

“The water would normally flow through the spring into the river,” he said.

Water Management District officials have scheduled Minimum Flows and Levels testing on the Santa Fe for 2008. Minimum Flows and Levels testing are scientific studies used to determine the minimum amount of water necessary for the optimal health of the river.

The Water Management District has budgeted more than $250,000 in its 2007-08 tentative fiscal year budget for minimum flows and levels testing on the lower Santa Fe River and its springs as well as the upper area of the river.

“We urge you to take the necessary action to preserve our valuable water resources until such time as there is a completed scientific study essential to determining the minimum amount of water necessary for the optimal health of the river and springs,” Commissioners urged in the letter. “Without establishing this scientific basis for our future water use, Florida 's valuable resource, it's aquifer, will be permanently depleted.”

High Springs decides what areas of the city will remain rural

By Rachael Anne Ryals

Herald Staff Writer

HIGH SPRINGS -- The line in High Springs designating what area in the city can be developed to a higher density and what area in the city will remain rural has been drawn.

The High Springs Plan Board and the High Springs City Commission approved a long awaited Urban Service Area boundary that will guide the city as it approves development in the future.

The Urban Service Area approval from the joint meeting of the Board and the Commission on July 24 separates the city into two areas.

The Urban Service Area is the area in the city that will be served by utilities and be more highly developed, while the Rural Fringe will only be allowed to have a maximum of one unit per five acres.

To view the map and zoom in to see street names, click here: http://www.highspringsherald.com/content/current/multimedia/pdf_072607/urbanservicearea.pdf

The approval of the Urban Service Area is not a final designation; rather, the approval allows the planning staff to move forward with an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan, a guide that the city will use to plan projected development for the next 20 years.

The approval comes after more than a year of meetings and workshops that allowed the public to voice their opinions on what area in the city should be included in the Urban Service Area, City Manager Jim Drumm said. 

The Urban Service Area and the final Comprehensive Plan Amendment will not change any of the zoning designations that city currently has -- the amendment will simply designate what area in the city can be more highly developed and what will remain a rural area.

The Rural Fringe does have two clauses that allows subdivisions in the rural area.

A "conservation subdivision" may be developed in the Rural Fringe, with a minimum of one-acre lots and 50 percent of the land must be protected conservation land.

A "cluster subdivision" may be developed in the Rural Fringe, with a minimum of one-half acre lots and 20 percent of the land must be protected conservation land.

The plan also designates protection of open spaces and primary and secondary conservation lands, meaning that land with sinkholes, wetlands or otherwise environmentally sensitive land will be protected from development.

The boundary was drawn with consideration of residents who gave input at public meetings, as well as the consideration of future traffic patterns, future annexations and protection of environmentally sensitive land near the Santa Fe River .

The meeting lasted for more than two hours with both the Plan Board and the City Commission making changes to include pieces of land not on the initial map.

And that was the point of the meeting, to get the input of the Board and the Commission on the map that the planning staff designed.

"The outcome of this meeting is a consensus from the group to see what they like or don't like," High Springs City Planner Christian Popoli said.

The members were given markers to draw changes on the map.

Two changes that were approved included one area proposed by Plan Board Member James Forrester concerning a tract of land in the northeast area of the city.

The area included several large tracts of land that Forrester said the owners may one day want to annex into the city and develop the land with city utilities and a higher density than the Rural Fringe designation would allow.

The other change was brought forth by Commissioner Jim Gabriel, who said that a large tract of land in the southwest corner of the city, near the railroad tracks and the sewer plant, could have the potential to be a good industrial area.

"Are we providing an adequate place for industry in this core zone?" Gabriel asked. "We can't just say we are going to have a community of little cottages with white picket fences. That is not going to sustain itself."

Commissioner Larry Travis and City Planner Gene Boles agreed that the area should be included.

The two additions were all that the Board and the Commission chose to change because the plan has to start somewhere, members said.

"We could sit here all night changing lines, but we have to start somewhere," Forrester said.

The planning staff said they were happy that the Urban Service Area was approved so that they can move forward with the Comprehensive Plan Amendment that may include up to eight new zoning designations that will be added to the current zoning designations.

These new zoning designations may include conservation, rural residential, residential subdivision, residential mixed, mixed use, commercial, business industrial and public.

The staff will spend the next few months working with the state Department of Community Affairs to get its approval of the plan.

Boles said he is happy with the plan.

"People may have different ideas of where the boundaries should be," he said. "But we took many peoples' ideas into consideration as well as professional expertise."

Coal-fired plants among nation's dirtiest

Big Bend, Crystal River on non-profit report's hit list for pollution, lack of efficiency

By NINA KIM

Published July 27, 2007

Tampa Electric Co.'s coal-fired Big Bend power plant in southern Hillsborough County is one of nine U.S. plants to rank in the top 50 for carbon dioxide emissions both in sheer tonnage and in amount per megawatt of electricity, says a new report.

From the movie An Inconvenient Truth to Gov. Charlie Crist's recent Climate Change Summit in Miami , greenhouse emissions, such as carbon dioxide, and global warming have received unprecedented publicity - and pressure for change.

The nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project report - Dirty Kilowatts: America 's Most Polluting Power Plants - issued Thursday ranked 378 U.S. plants based on their total output of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury. The ranking was based on data reported to federal agencies by the utilities. Nationwide, power plants produce 40 percent of carbon dioxide, about two thirds of sulfur dioxide, 22 percent of nitrogen oxides and about a third of mercury, according to the report.

"We do not need to take this dirty route for our energy needs," said Valerie True, spokesperson for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. "Most southern states have a lot of energy-efficiency potential, some even up to 40 percent."

While high in the carbon dioxide ranks, Tampa Electric's Big Bend plant overall ranked 45th out of the nation's 50 dirtiest power plants.

Progress Energy's Crystal River coal-fired plant ranked 21st as the only other Florida plant on the list. But it ranked 3rd in tons of nitrogen oxide emitted - 35,412.

The Big Bend plant generated 30,714 tons of nitrogen oxides and produced 11.7-million tons of carbon dioxide.

"The global warming debate is over," said Dean Hulse of the Clean Electricity Committee of the Dakota Resource Council. "We are heating up the earth, and the burning of coal is one of the biggest contributors of global warming pollution."

Carbon dioxide pollution could rise 34 percent by 2030 if large, old and inefficient power plants continue operating unchecked, according to the report.

To address some of the concerns over traditional coal-fired power plants, Tampa Electric recently proposed to the Florida Public Service Commission building a so-called "clean coal" or IGCC baseload plant in Polk County , said Rick Morera, Tampa Electric spokesman. IGCC, or integrated gasification combined cycle, technology gasifies coal before it's burned to cut the amount of pollutants.

"The current technology to deal with carbon is just in the developmental stages and is not ready for application in a coal-fired plant," Morera said. "If the requirements are that we have to capture a certain amount of carbon, this new technology will allow us to be able to do that."

The Big Bend plant, which sits on the shore of Tampa Bay, already has scrubbers to manage pollutants and has installed one of four catalytic-reduction technology units, which control nitrogen oxide emissions. The company will install one a year until 2010.

"After all four have been installed, we should come off this dirty plants list completely," Morera said. "By 2010, just Big Bend alone will have reduced sulfur dioxide by 84 percent, nitrogen oxide by 85 percent and particulate matter by 61 percent."

In the ranking of dirty plants based on the emission rate of the pollutant sulfur dioxide, Progress Energy's Anclote power plant in Holiday was No. 41. And in the rankings for nitrogen oxide, Florida plants of Progress Energy, Tampa Electric, the Seminole Electric Cooperative and the Jacksonville Electric Authority were cited.

Nina Kim can be reached at nkim@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8913.

Angry crowd defends wetlands

By BILL VARIAN

Published July 27, 2007

TAMPA - They came wearing green and seeing red.

An overflow crowd filled the commission chambers at Hillsborough County Center on Thursday to blast the board's tentative vote to eliminate its Environmental Protection Commission's wetlands protection program.

They placed a tip jar on the lectern, with speaker after speaker depositing 60 cents - the cost, they said, of the wetlands program per resident. And they voiced outrage at the 45 minutes set aside for public comment - one minute per speaker.

"You're a mockery," said Roger Stewart, former head of the EPC, as his time expired. "If your time is so valuable, get the hell out and do something else."

The crowd dispersed not knowing the fate of the wetlands office. That decision, plus another public hearing, is scheduled for Aug. 16.

The audience was left to interpret the general silence of the commissioners it's dubbed the "gang of four" - Republicans Brian Blair, Jim Norman and Ken Hagan, and Democrat Kevin White.

The three other commissioners -Republicans Rose Ferlita, Al Higginbotham and Mark Sharpe - did most of the speaking from the dais, voicing support for what the EPC dubs a "hybrid plan" to streamline its $2.2-million wetlands permitting program.

In a preliminary vote, county commissioners voted 4-3 last month to kill the wetlands division. The majority said the county can no longer afford the division, given budget cuts being mandated by the state.

"We're getting the same vibrations we got in the 1980s, when three commissioners were taken away in handcuffs" for selling land-use votes, said Cam Oberting, a longtime activist and president of the Taylor Road Civic Association.

Grand jury hears Sunshine testimony

By BETH KORMANIK,

The Times-Union

The Jacksonville City Council auditor and a top official in the city's planning department testified Thursday before the grand jury investigating the council's compliance with the state's open meetings law.

Council Auditor Kirk Sherman and John Crofts, deputy director of the Planning and Development Department, were accompanied by Cindy Laquidara, the city's chief deputy general counsel.

They refused to discuss their testimony. The oath they took prohibited them from doing so.

State Attorney Harry Shorstein described the proceedings as "an introductory session" for the grand jury, which decided at its last meeting two weeks ago to investigate the council.

"It's important to educate the grand jury on issues of government in the sunshine and issues related to the operation of government," including the responsibilities of the planning department, Shorstein said.

Land use and rezoning decisions often draw controversy and have been the subject of several lawsuits, some of which allege Sunshine Law violations.

A Times-Union investigation published last month uncovered a deeply flawed system of public notification, dozens of meetings about public business held without public notice or written minutes and several meetings in private places, a violation of the city's ethics code.

Shorstein said the grand jury will meet again on the issue Aug. 23.

beth.kormanik@jacksonville.com (904) 359-4619

Water worries: When and where is it safe to go in for a dip?
By Bruce Ritchie
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

Mary Ann Lee says if there's an advisory against swimming at St. George Island because of bacteria, she won't go.

But that doesn't mean she doesn't have questions about the advisories.

The state this week reissued an advisory against swimming at the island's Franklin Boulevard test site. Other beaches in Franklin, Wakulla and Taylor counties also remain under advisories.

The swimming area at Ochlockonee River State Park was reopened on Wednesday after being closed for the first time because of bacteria, park manager Kevin Patton said.

With the recurring beach advisories, Lee said she wonders: What's causing the bacteria? How far away is it safe to swim? And why don't they test inside St. George Island State Park?

"I like to go to the park - it's beautiful," she said. "But I haven't gone swimming when they said there is an advisory against it."

State health officials say they don't have all the answers.

But the Franklin County Health Department in August does plan to begin sampling at St. George Island State Park, said Bart Bibler, bureau chief for water programs at the Florida Department of Health.

While the Franklin Boulevard site on St. George Island had continued high bacteria levels, that wasn't the case at two other test sites at 11th Street East and 11th Street West .

The advisories only apply to the test sites, Bibler said. So there is no scientific way to determine whether it's safe to swim a block away or a mile away or to go snorkeling offshore.

"We only have the information at the sample stations that we are sampling from," he said.

The bacteria - enterococci and fecal coliform - are indicators of human or animal waste, Bibler said. Scientists say it's impractical to test water for all of the harmful bacteria and viruses found in waste.

There is no obvious source of the bacteria near most test sites - such as a sewage treatment plant, Bibler said. Other possible sources include septic tanks, livestock farms, wildlife and dirty stormwater runoff.

But a new University of South Florida study found data that "strongly indicates" human waste in the Ochlockonee River is the source of bacteria at Mashes Sands park in Wakulla County . The report points to septic tanks upstream along the river and malfunctioning toilets at the beach and boat ramp at Mashes Sands as possible sources.

Other studies are underway to examine nearshore and offshore currents in the Gulf of Mexico . They could show whether currents prevent bacteria from being carried away from beaches, Bibler said.

"We are hopeful that will start to help us understand things much better in this region," he said.

It should be safe to eat fish and shellfish caught near beaches with advisories as long as it is cooked, Bibler said. Other advisories are in place for limiting fish consumption because of mercury.

Lee said she hasn't always known about the beach advisories. She wonders whether she suffered health problems as a result.

"Do you get the flu?" she said. "If you have an open cut do you get a sore?"

Infections or stomach upset and more serious ailments are possible from swimming in the water, Bibler said

Carrabelle Mayor Mel Kelly said people may not know about the advisories. She points out that other states use more visible signs or flags to notify the public.

"There is a high percentage of people who use that beach who come from a distance," she said. "Warnings are not as obviously placed as public interest might demand."

Bibler said he has no way of knowing how many people heed the warnings or whether beach visitors actually are aware of them.

The minimum requirement for local health departments is posting a sign at the beach sampling location.

The Florida Department of Health also posts the advisories on its Web site. The department encourages also encourages local health officials to publicize advisories through the news media.

"We are doing it to protect public health at the beaches," Bibler said.

Scientists puzzled over catfish dying in Santa Fe River
By Jennifer Keil
For The Herald

Several of the meandering, tea-colored rivers of North Central Florida have recently been marred by the unsightly, and currently unexplained, appearance of dead fish floating in the water.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is investigating a recent rash of reports of dead fish in the Suwannee, Withlacoochee and Santa Fe rivers.

The commission has been receiving reports of dead catfish for the past five to six weeks, according to Gary Byerley, fishery biologist for the FWC. Reports have spanned from northern Florida , where the Withlacoochee meets the Suwannee, down to the intersection of the Suwannee and the Santa Fe rivers.

"I've never seen fish dying for an extended time like this," said Byerley, who has worked for the FWC for 28 years.

Byerley has been out to the rivers several times to sample fish. Some of the dead fish have been sent to a lab for analysis, but the results are not all in yet.

Although channel catfish make up the vast majority of affected fish, he said six mullets and two largemouth bass have also been found dead. The sick and dying fish had lesions and patches of fungus growing on them.

The cause of the fish kill remains a mystery.

Originally, Byerley said he thought it was because of algae. With the overall lack of rain the past few years, the rivers are shallower than usual, and that allows sunlight to penetrate deeper into the water.

This encourages the rapid growth of blue-green algae, which releases toxins that are harmful to fish. The toxins do not affect humans. The algae tests, however, came back negative.

Now the FWC is looking into the possibility that the fish might be suffering from Channel Catfish Virus Disease, an illness usually connected with commercial catfish farms.

With little rain and shallower water, the catfish have been crowded together, an environmental stressor that could aid in the contraction and spread of the disease.

"It's like having a group of people in a room where one of them is sick. Everyone gets it," Byerley said.

He said the North Central FWC office has never tested for the disease before, so the samples are being sent to an out-of-state lab where the samples will be compared to samples of fish from the St. John's River .

A similar outbreak is happening there. Even if the tests come back positive, there isn't a way to treat the virus, Byerley said.

There is also a possibility, though slim, of it affecting humans.

"I don't foresee, at this point, that happening," he said.

Jim Wood, owner of Santa Fe Canoe Outpost in High Springs, said he hasn't seen or heard anything about dead fish in the local portion of the Santa Fe River yet, but he wouldn't be surprised if the low water levels had something to do with it.

He said with little rain, the water flows slower and is thus much clearer than its normal tea color. Similar to shallow water, the clear water allows plants to grow thickly, which depletes much of the dissolved oxygen needed by fish to survive.

The recent rains that broke the drought from earlier this year didn't help very much, Wood said.

"It's like spitting in the ocean," he said. "We really need a three to five day tropical storm to start getting water levels up in the aquifer."

Annette Long, president of the environmental activist group Save Our Suwannee (SOS), echoes Woods concerns on the lack of rain.

"This is one of the worst droughts we've had," she said. "The river being low stresses everything in it."

Long said members of SOS have been performing their own tests on the water to determine why the fish have been dying, but have not been successful.

"It's kind of baffling," she said. "I hope the FWC and the Suwannee River Water Management District manage to figure it out."

Despite the mysteriously sick and dying fish, Byerley said he doesn't expect the event to be catastrophic.

He said that as a part of natural selection, the stronger fish will survive and spawn, creating a more resilient species for the future.

"There's still a good number of catfish out there that are healthy," he said.

To report dead, dying or sick fish, call the Fish Kill Hotline at 1-800-636-0511 or visit the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at http://myfwc.com

Muck removal to begin
by Terry Witt

A state agency has selected a contractor to remove tons of muck from the Duval Island Board Ramp near Floral City , County Commissioner John Thrumston said Thursday.

Pospiech Contracting Inc., will meet with officials of the Florida

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on Monday at the boat ramp to discuss

the $73,800 project, Thrumston said.

The muck removal project comes at a time when water levels in the Floral City Pool are low and heavy equipment travel in areas where water once stood. The plan is to scrape the thick black muck from the bottom and haul it away to a pre-approved disposal site.

Thrumston lobbied for the project after giving officials from several agencies a helicopter ride over the Floral City Pool on May 5 to show them how accumulated sediment and the growth of small hardwood trees has filled areas where water once flowed.

In the case of the boat ramp, sediment has added several feet of muck to the boat ramp floor.

Thrumston said the removal project will improve navigation and the local fishery.

“This is a baby step toward improving the health of the lake system,” Thrumston said.

Thrumston said FWC scientists are also looking at the intrusion of hardwood trees into marshy areas at the edge of the Floral City Pool in the area of Moccasin Slough and the Dead River areas.

Buried trash could taint water in Forest

BY FRED HIERS

STAR-BANNER

OCALA NATIONAL FOREST - The water that comes from Debra Thompson's well is as good as any that bubbles out of Marion County 's springs.

The 50-year-old restaurant worker has enjoyed that water from her home - just a block away from the Ocala National Forest in Shockley Heights - for the past 10 years.

But for the same period, the Forest has served as some people's dumping ground for garbage, abandoned cars, boats and sometimes even hazardous materials such as used motor oil.

Two months ago, U.S. Forest Service rangers found a dump site abutting Thompson's subdivision, which is just over the border into Lake County .

The site, just a stone's throw from Thompson's house, is 3 acres of vehicles, engine parts and even a makeshift hog kennel with a dilapidated septic system.

Most of the trash has been removed. What scares Thompson is the waste that rangers and Environmental Protection Agency officials suspect is underneath the ground, potentially affecting the groundwater.

There is evidence that people dug several pits many feet wide and deep and buried additional waste, including petroleum-based chemicals, before covering them again.

"You can actually dig around a little bit and smell it," said District Ranger Rick Lint, who oversees the 384,000-acre Ocala National Forest .

"Usually the dumping is on the surface and not buried. It's definitely unique and potentially very big," he said of the site. "I've never had anything this extensive."

U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Denise Rains said the investigation was still in its early stages.

"Until more testing is done, all we know is it's on the surface soil. Whether it's permeated into the drinking water, we don't know yet," she said.

The area off Lake County Road 445 is cordoned off with yellow tape. Mostly trailers line the National Forest property. Old cars, boats, motor parts and broken household appliances are scattered in backyards and up to the Forest .

Authorities have made no arrests. They said it's too early to estimate the cost of cleaning the area if, as they suspect, oil and other chemicals were buried there.

They still do not know if only one person was responsible for the dump site or if more families participated.

Meanwhile, Thompson continues to wait and suspiciously examine her water to see if its taste changes for the worse.

"They're ruining nature and everybody's way of life out here," an angry Thompson said of the dumpers.

"You can't repair the damage they're doing," she said. "Eventually it's going to seep down into our well and drinking water. But it's also going to seep down into their drinking water, too."

Misty Miller, 29, has lived two years in her home only two blocks from the dump site. Like all her neighbors, she gets her water from a well.

Miller said she didn't understand why people, probably many of whom lived in the area or knew people who did, would throw garbage in the Forest when the subdivision already had waste pickup service.

In addition, there is also a county waste transfer station just a 10-minute drive away, she said. Miller also wants to know what will become of her groundwater.

"It would concern anybody," she said.

"We like it here," Miller said. "I moved here because it's quiet and they can't over develop it because of the national forest right here. Now we find out they dump their trash in it."

Fred Hiers may be reached at fred.hiers@starbanner.com and 352-867-4157.

State utilities: Florida no California
By Aaron Deslatte
FLORIDA CAPITAL BUREAU

When it comes to harnessing the sun or wind for powering homes and offices, Florida is no California .

But it does have lots of crops.

That was the overwhelming theme from Florida 's utilities and growers, who urged regulators Thursday to tread carefully in deciding how to respond to Gov. Charlie Crist's renewable energy goals.

The Public Service Commission gave its first public airing to Crist's executive order asking it mandate that utilities draw 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources ''with a strong focus on wind and solar energy.''

Crist's directives signed at his Miami climate change summit don't set a date for when utilities should meet that goal, but does set targets for cutting carbon emissions from utilities to 2000 levels within a decade.

But any leap into the world of renewables will be financed on the backs of consumers, utility officials warned.

''At the end of the day, it's the consumers that are going to pay the price for electricity,'' said Vincent Dolan, a vice president with Progress Energy.

Solar and wind power could help, but with 27 million acres of forest, farm and pasture lands that could be used partially for energy production, Florida should keep its renewable strategies grounded on the crops.

Gus Cepero, with sugar giant Florida Crystals, told PSC members that using sugarcane and other crops would keep more money paid for energy within the state instead of shelling it out to outside companies.

''You pay for transportation, or you pay to the company in Texas ,'' he said. ''Biomass in Florida is local.''

Even Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Bronson's office distanced itself from mandating any level of renewable energy sources.

''Generally speaking, Commissioner Bronson prefers reasonable goals for incentives over mandates,'' said Deputy Commissioner Jay Levenstein.

''We need to insure our ability to produce and deliver this energy is not out paced by our desire to meet this goal.''

The meeting coincided with Crist's announcement that St. Petersburg-based Progress Energy was building a wood waste power plant in Liberty County . Crist used the news to brush aside skepticism of his greenhouse goals coming from conservatives in his own party like House Speaker Marco Rubio, who called it ''European-style big government mandates.''

''I love a healthy debate,'' Crist told reporters. ''I think it's important for Florida and I'm encouraged ... that he realizes what a big, bold, important issue this is.

''It's innovative and we have to continue to look for ways for Florida to do better.''

Rubio said Thursday he wasn't opposed to the goals of carbon reduction.

''The only question is how do you get there, with a mandate or with incentives that create technological innovations?'' Rubio said.

''If you get there with a mandate, it is going to raise utility rates.''

Utilities and energy experts testified that California was already halfway toward its goal of drawing 20 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources when it inked the requirement, and can draw renewable energy from surrounding states.

'' Florida doesn't have that capacity,'' said Paul Barber, a consultant with Salt lake City-based Energy Strategies, which works with Florida Crystals.

''We have a better chance of having electricity beamed down from the Starship Enterprise than from some of the technologies we see today.''

Concern for patriarch oak tree moves couple to avoid demolition
By Jennifer Jefferson
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

Soon after Marty and Angie Sipple moved into their home on Woodside Drive , the family noticed that the beautiful yellow house was not as perfect as they thought.

The house, which has a large patriarch oak tree in the front yard, was falling down. They decided against tearing down the house and rebuilding because it might have harmed the old and beloved tree.

“Our concern was always the oak tree,” said Angie Sipple.

They decided to gut the house and renovate it instead. They've gotten advice from arborists and taken other steps to protect the tree, including pruning the tree by hand.

The time and money spent trying to protect it is adding up. And the renovation is expected to stretch to August, more than a year after it began.

"It's been a project that's about to give us a nervous breakdown," she said.

Neighbors are concerned, too. Sandler Dickson, president of the Waverly Hills Neighborhood Association, remembers when the tree was named a patriarch oak. It was 1974, the same year the city turned 150.

“I love this tree,” Dickson said. “It's my favorite tree.”

Oaks in Tallahassee are are called patriarchs if they were around when the city was founded in 1824, said Stan Rosenthal, an extension agent with the University of Florida IFAS Extension in Leon County. They have a diameter of six feet or more.

Some 91 patriarch oaks are located in the county, Rosenthal said. The trees can live for 400 years. The tree in the Sipples' yard is believed to be at least 183 years old.

Construction Is Halted At The Grove

By LISA A. DAVIS The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jul 27, 2007

WESLEY CHAPEL - The classic quote "If you build it, they will come," from the 1989 film "Field of Dreams," took on a new meaning Thursday at The Grove at Wesley Chapel when the fire marshal issued a stop-work order.

Construction was continuing on the 736,500-square-foot retail and restaurant complex despite numerous warnings that the project lacked the proper emergency vehicle access road, county officials said.

"They had been forewarned several times before," lead fire investigator Mary Jo Short said. "We don't like to do that and put people out of work, but our primary concern is safety."

Fire Marshal Larry Whitten stopped by the massive construction site off Oakley Boulevard near Interstate 75 and saw that the road still didn't make the grade, Short said. As Whitten was about to red tag the project, he saw crews pouring a concrete slab for a building.

If construction workers other than a road crew are found on the site before getting the proper clearance, fines could be imposed.

Once the slab was finished, the workers were ordered off the site until a road that can carry up to a 32-ton vehicle is completed, Short said.

"They have a dirt road now and it's a total puddle," she said. "The water is about ankle deep."

Whitten's inspection determined no emergency vehicle could use the road without trouble, she said.

"If one of their workers fell from steel or something, we wouldn't be able to get to them," Short said.

Elizabeth Vocke, spokeswoman for The Grove, said Thursday evening the problems should be smoothed out by today.

"They've corrected the situation and they expect to be up and running by 9 a.m.," she said, though she couldn't provide details about how the problem was resolved.

Pittsburgh-based Echo Real Estate Development began construction on the plaza in the spring and it is supposed to open in the fall. Best Buy, Dick's Sporting Goods and a 16-screen Cobb Theatre are signed as tenants.

Reporter Lisa A. Davis can be reached at (727) 815-1083 or ldavis@tampatrib.com.

Legacy Development Wins Approval For 860 Homes

By KEVIN WIATROWSKI The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jul 27, 2007

ODESSA - County officials on Thursday approved the newest development in the shadow of the Suncoast Parkway .

The Development Review Committee signed off on a residential project proposed by the Behnke family for land it owns about a mile west of the toll road.

The 534-acre project, known as Legacy, will build 860 single-family homes and town houses. Committee members approved the proposal despite a still-unresolved lawsuit filed landowner Carl Behnke filed against the county over the rezoning of a neighbor's property.

The property includes a 1,100-foot-wide wildlife corridor and 178 acres of wetlands.

Legacy is bounded on the north by a 142-foot-wide corridor the county plans to use to build a four-lane western extension of Tower Road . Long-range plans call for using an overpass above the Suncoast to carry Tower Road from Starkey Boulevard to U.S. 41, making the road an east-west alternative to State Road 54.

Legacy's developers will have to pay $3.1 million to build their part of Tower Road , a sum attorney David Smolker said "breaks the camel's back."

Also on Thursday, committee members:

•Approved construction plans for Wilderness Commons South, a shopping plaza on the south side of the entrance to Wilderness Lake Preserve in central Pasco County . The plaza will include two retail buildings and a bank, totaling about 27,000 square feet.

•Approved a six-building medical office complex in the Trinity Oaks Professional Center at Welbilt Boulevard and Photonics Drive .

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

North Port finds no strength in numbers

By JEREMY WALLACE

H-T POLITICAL WRITER

jeremy.wallace@heraldtribune.com

NORTH PORT -- At 103 square miles, this sprawling city is hard to miss on a map. It is also near the top of the census charts for Florida 's fastest-growing cities, with a population that recently passed 50,000.

North Port 's leaders predicted that such growth would make their city a political powerhouse.

It has not.

It has been more than 10 years since a North Port resident was elected to an office outside the city limits.

Fewer than half of the city's residents are registered to vote, and only half of them turned out for the latest major election. In neighboring Venice, registered voters cast ballots at nearly three times the rate that they do in North Port.

North Port has also proven barren ground for political fund-raising, as well.

During the 2006 governor's race, North Port residents gave $6,100 to the four major candidates. Venice -- with less than half North Port's population -- gave six times as much.

Even residents in rural towns such as Wauchula and Arcadia, which combined have less than 12,000 residents, were able to muster $16,000 in donations.

And while North Port is not giving much to candidates, it is not getting much back, either. A recent city study showed it will cost $6 billion to update North Port's failing infrastructure -- a cost that dwarfs the city's annual $160 million budget.

City leaders say the state and, particularly, Sarasota County has not offered enough support.

"Nobody cares about us," said retiree Ray Corbin.

But political experts see it differently, saying North Port must become more engaged in voting and campaigning.

"They've taken themselves out of it," said Mac Stevenson, a Republican political consultant based in Manatee County.

Most politicians have found it easier to simply ignore North Port.

None of the current presidential candidates have visited North Port. Charlie Crist, who bills himself as "the people's governor," did not campaign once in North Port.

When White House senior adviser Karl Rove came to the region in May to stump for the GOP, his motorcade traveled through North Port -- without stopping -- on the way from Sarasota to a Port Charlotte fundraiser.

In his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney has made Florida a virtual second home. Over the past eight months, Romney has stopped in Bradenton, Osprey, Venice and Sarasota. But not North Port, despite pleas from local Republicans there.

"Nobody comes here," said Levko Klos, president of the North Port Republican Club.

Lack of identity

This was not how it was supposed to be.

As North Port annexed thousands of acres, leaders predicted, without a hint of mirth, that the county seat would move south one day, to the city that is on track to become the most populous municipality in Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte counties.

Now, residents are frustrated that clout has not followed growth.

North Port could certainly use some more influence. Hundreds of miles of roads need of repair. Schools are crowded. Parks are few. Much of the city lacks sewers and city water. Nort Port does not have a hospital, YMCA or movie theaters.

Political influence will not solve all its problems. But in decisions made at the state level, such as permitting a new hospital (North Port was rejected), influence is important. Influence in county government is even more important, and North Port leaders regularly complain that they are not getting the city's fair share of county funds and services.

Undoubtedly, North Port would get more political attention if more residents voted and donated to political campaigns.

Sarasota Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent said age is a big factor in North Port's low electoral turnout. The city's median age, around 40, is more than 20 years younger than it is in neighboring communities. Younger voters tend to participate at a far lower rate than older voters.

At the same time, few outside efforts have been made to engage North Port voters.

Dent's office has no program aimed specifically at raising North Port's voter registration and participation.

The county's political parties have also been distant.

In September, for the first time ever, the Sarasota County Democratic Party will hold its countywide meeting in the city. Republicans have held their countywide meeting in North Port once in the last two years.

While political parties say they will try harder, North Port's sheer vastness makes it hard.

Another challenge is the city's large group of Ukrainian immigrants, now estimated at 3,000.

Klos, of Ukrainian heritage, who has twice run for North Port City Commission and lost, said many immigrants distrust government because of experiences back home.

Because North Port does not have many high-paying jobs, many younger residents are forced to commute to work, cutting down on time for civic involvement.

It is hard to stay involved in politics or the community when you are always on the road to get to work, said Evelyn Kivlen, who has lived in North Port for seven years. Kivlen is in the medical profession and said, like a lot of others that make up the city, she has to commute to other cities in the region to find work.

"They're too busy raising their families," added Yvonne Marconi, a voter and mother of two who has lived in North Port for three years.

With more of a say in county and state politics, many North Port residents are convinced they could get money for schools and parks.

But the slighting of North Port by county, state and national leaders has gone on for so long, residents say, that even older voters have become convinced their votes do not matter.

Sarasota County commissioner Jon Thaxton said he is baffled that North Port has not been able to exert more power in politics. If the city's residents flexed their political muscle by voting and getting involved in political campaigns, Thaxton said, they would find the system very responsive to their needs.

"But you have to vote," Thaxton said. "If you don't vote, you don't get heard."

Joe Fink, a former North Port city commissioner who now lives in Arcadia, said the city's residents still think like a small town, despite the population explosion. Instead of acting like a city that is close to the same size as Sarasota and Bradenton, their political involvement is more similar to small rural towns.

"They don't realize how powerful they could be," he said.

Jeremy Wallace can be reached at 361-4966 or jeremy.wallace@ heraldtribune.com

Plans underscore long road to a green Florida

By LLOYD DUNKELBERGER  

TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday announced plans for the nation's largest waste-wood biomass power plant, which will be built in rural Liberty County.  

He could not have picked a better symbol for his far-reaching energy plan -- or, perhaps, one that better illustrates how far the state has yet to go.  

As a means of reducing greenhouse gases in Florida, Crist wants the state's utility companies to generate 20 percent of their power from renewable energy sources, like biomass or wind or solar power.  

With the Liberty County power plant, which should begin operating in 2011, Progress Energy Florida president Jeff Lyash said his company will have added the potential for 200 megawatts of renewable energy to its system in the last year. But he also said Progress Energy only generates about 5 percent of its power from renewable sources.  

The lack of renewable energy was highlighted in testimony before the Florida Public Service Commission on Thursday, where experts said Florida only has about 1,000 megawatts of renewable energy generation. To reach the governor's goal, it would have to increase renewable sources tenfold to account for 20 percent of the roughly 50,000 megawatts of power generated in the state.  

In contrast, California, which has set a similar 20 percent goal, already generates about 11 percent of its electricity from renewable sources.  

Nonetheless, Crist said the new biomass plant represents the "tremendous opportunities in going green."  

Progress Energy, the state's second-largest private utility company, will buy enough electricity from the 75-megawatt plant to power 46,000 homes. The plant, which will burn waste wood, yard trimmings and paper mill byproducts, will be built by Biomass Gas & Electric, an Atlanta-based company.  

"Government can't do it alone," Crist said. "These companies have stepped up to the plate. They're doing the right thing."  

But later in the day, utility representatives were raising some cautions about the governor's energy plans.  

Bob McGee, a representative for the Gulf Power Corp., said the state has to set realistic goals and timetables.  

"I encourage us to be careful about how ambitious we are in setting that goal," he said. "It would certainly be a disincentive to set it too strongly."  

The utility representatives also urged the PSC to consider nuclear power as a "carbon free" renewable energy source. Florida Power & Light, the state's largest utility, and Progress Energy have advanced plans to build more nuclear plants in the state. And Crist has said he sees nuclear power as a "clean" energy source.  

Tom Hartman, an FPL representative, said wind, solar and energy efficiency initiatives should "play prominent roles" in meeting the governor's goal of reducing greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide. But he said nuclear power may be the key.  

"Our analysis showed that only by including large amounts of carbon-free electric generation made possible by nuclear energy does Florida have a realistic prospect of achieving the greenhouse gas emissions targets that we all want to achieve," he told the PSC.  

In addition to nuclear, utility officials said the state should also consider energy efficiency programs as another factor in meeting the greenhouse gas reductions.  

Over the last 25 years, Lyash said, Progress Energy has initiated energy savings programs -- such as encouraging the use of more energy-efficient appliances -- that have saved consumers $825 million and eliminated the potential for 7 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.  

"None of these solutions by themselves are adequate," Lyash said about the renewable energy options. "But a combination of those solutions will get us where we need to be."  

Barry Moline, representing the 34 public power companies in the state, said programs that save a kilowatt of electricity should be considered as valuable as a kilowatt generated by wind or solar energy.  

"Why not go after both?" he asked. "Why not go after every tool in the box?"  

Under the governor's executive order, the PSC must begin developing a rule on renewable energy sources by Sept. 1.  

And highlighting the governor's keen interest in the issue, Chris Kise, one of Crist's top aides, appeared before the PSC.  

Offering a rebuttal to criticism launched earlier this week by House Speaker Marco Rubio, who asserted Crist's energy initiatives could be bad for consumers and businesses, Kise cited the newly announced biomass plant in Liberty County.  

He said it represents "an extraordinary opportunity economically and environmentally" for the state.  

Kise also said Crist believes the goals outlined in his executive orders earlier this month are achievable.  

"It can be done," he said. "All of it can be done."  

And some of the PSC members appear ready to act. Commission Nathan Skop dismissed a suggestion that a study should be conducted on the renewable energy issue.  

"Let's stop the excuses and start putting some stuff in the ground," he said. 

Uproar silences plan for kennel

Commissioners turn down Sheldegren Pet Resort's request to add 30 more dog runs.

By EILEEN SCHULTE

Published July 27, 2007 

They are rich. They are organized. And they got what they wanted.  

Several residents of the swanky Signature Estates neighborhood helped persuade the Pinellas County Commission on Tuesday to defeat plans to expand a dog kennel in Safety Harbor.  

In a 6-1 vote, elected officials decided they would not permit Sheldegren Pet Resort's owners to build 30 additional enclosed dog runs because the racket would bother the neighbors.  

"It was like a reverse O.J. Simpson trial," said Mary Ann Engelmann, who owns the kennel with her husband, Jes Engelmann. "The noise concerns they talked about were unfounded."  

She was disappointed in the commission's decision because there is a great need for facilities like hers in Pinellas County, she said.  

Most of the people who spoke against the project live next door to the pet resort in the upscale Signature Estates community that comprises more than a dozen million-dollar-plus homes.  

"The noise levels are insane," said Donna Carollo, a Signature Estates resident. "You can't open your windows ... you can't enjoy your porch."  

Said her husband, Santo Carollo: "We have 5 feet between us and (the kennel). We want quality of life ... we don't want (the kennel) intruding on our life."  

Opponents said the cacophony ruins neighborhood barbecues and parties, and that the yipping and yapping can be heard even through closed windows.  

Engelmann said she plans to install soundproofing materials throughout the kennel.

Signature Estates homeowner William Schumacher called the Engelmanns' expansion plans "unneighborly."  

The pet resort was built in the 1960s; Signature Estates was built about a decade ago.  

The Engelmanns bought the 1.7-acre property at 3440 Enterprise Road in 2003.  

The kennel averages about 35 guests a day; capacity is about 70 dogs. If the Engelmanns had been allowed to expand, that would have increased to 120 animals.  

Gary Borland, who boards his pet at the resort, is one of their supporters. He said people shouldn't "move next to an airport and then complain about the planes flying overhead."  

Likewise, he said, they "shouldn't move next to a kennel and complain about" dogs.

In case you didn't have enough to worry about:

Killer bees aren't here yet

Despite news report which seems to suggest otherwise

By Robert Bridges, Editor

Contrary to what you may have heard, killer bees are not terrorizing the local landscape. Some viewers came away from a TV news report on WJXT Channel 4 Monday believing Africanized bees had killed a horse in Live Oak. However, the incident actually occurred in Hendry County in southwestern Florida .
According to an online transcript of the WJXT report, "experts to the west of Jacksonville in Live Oak said killer bees killed a horse." The expert was Jacksonville entomologist Linda Prentice. Contacted Thursday by the Democrat, Prentice said she told the WJXT reporter she "thought" the incident had occurred in Live Oak, but wasn't sure. She said she told the reporter it may have happened downstate. She was right. In 2004 a 900 lb. horse died in LaBelle after swallowing the insects.
Nonetheless, Prentice said residents throughout Florida should be aware of the danger Africanized bees pose. She offered some pointers on how to recognize killer bees and how to protect yourself from them.
"Unusually aggressive behavior in high numbers -- that's going to tell the story," she said. She noted that small children, the disabled and the elderly are most at risk.
As for how to escape a swarm of the bees? For one thing, Prentice said, do not dive into the water. She said the bees hover overhead, and when their prey surfaces and gasps for air they rush into the victim's mouth.

Killer bees have a well-established presence in Texas as well as in south and central Florida . They have also been spotted in Jacksonville . Prentice said the bees will eventually establish populations throughout Florida.