Rural-character preservation? Think again

Daytona Beach News-Journal Editorial publish Monday June 18.

Bunnell city commissioners Tuesday are set to double the size of their city again, to 145 square miles, or four times the size of Miami, four and a half times the size of Daytona Beach, seven times the size of Palm Coast, and half the size of New York City. Needless to say, size, especially in Bunnell's case, means nothing. It's what Bunnell does within its new boundaries that will define the place. What's led to these mammoth annexations -- Tuesday's would be the third in two years -- and how Bunnell went about planning to develop the 10,500 acres it annexed in 2005, raises more questions than it settles about the city's future.

After the 2005 annexation, the city annexed 37,000 acres in 2006. The commission voted unanimously to annex 43,000 acres earlier this month. Tuesday's vote would finalize that decision. The official narrative, by the city and landowners, is that the annexations are necessary to preserve rural character. Affected landowners say they don't want to be annexed into Palm Coast. But unless a majority of landowners want to be annexed into Palm Coast -- which, clearly, a majority of landowners do not -- they couldn't be. They're embracing annexation because of the potentially huge windfall they'd reap from turning over their land to development. They find the county's limit of one-unit-per-five-acres, on agricultural land, too restrictive. Bunnell would accommodate higher densities. Land prices presumably would follow skyward.

If land owners were concerned about preserving the character of the region, they wouldn't push for any changes. They own their land. They own their land's character. What they're looking for isn't character. It's profit. The annexations are a land grab that would enable that. Inventing contradictory stories about character-preservation serves no one but those who think they can deceive their way to transforming Bunnell into Flagler's next ground zero of massive, if clustered, subdivisions.

Land owners are entitled to do with their land what they wish, within the confines of land-use designations. The state has no say in annexations (although courts do, should landowners or local governments affected choose to contest one; it's not clear yet whether Flagler County will contest Bunnell's latest.) Unfortunately, local governments have too readily been willing to accommodate radical changes in land-use designations to enable development. Bunnell's first attempt, with the 2005 annexation, didn't go well. The state's Department of Community Affairs does get involved when counties and cities make changes to their comprehensive plan. DCA rejected Bunnell's initial plan, calling it, unsurprisingly, a recipe for sprawl.

Bunnell did the right thing. It hired a planning firm (Tallahassee-based Plan Forward) that specializes in comprehensive plans. It hired Richard Diamond, a planner and the city manager of Palm Bay when that city was Florida's fastest growing in the early 1990s. And it envisioned transforming the new lands in clustered, high-density developments in exchange for setting aside large swaths for preservation, in perpetuity. It sounds good as long as the land being set aside isn't unbuildable land anyway. Unfortunately, the history of such preservation-for-development land swaps in Flagler and Volusia counties hasn't been good. Developers are in the habit of offering up land for preservation that they couldn't build on regardless, and local governments are in the habit of accepting the deal. Developers win by only appearing to be trading some development rights away, when, in fact, they're trading little. They're taking advantage of local governments' willing gullibility. If that's how Bunnell is modeling its future developments, you can forget about preserving the region's character.

Bunnell's ability to assume the costs of administering a city that geographically large -- suddenly it'll be responsible for policing a third of Flagler County and providing it with fire protection, water and sewer and other municipal services -- isn't just open to question. For now, Bunnell simply cannot provide those services. It's relying on the fact that most of the new land is empty and rural. But it's all still its responsibility. Bunnell appears less concerned with biting off more than it can chew, and too giddy at biting off all the development it can choke on.

BOOMTOWN BUNNELL

· Pre-2005 area -- 4.7 sq. miles.

· After pending annexation -- 145 sq. miles.

· 2005 annexation -- 10,500 acres.

· 2006 annexation -- 37,000 acres.

· Pending annexation -- 43,000 acres.

Divisions surface over saving old Ponce Inlet home

By EILEEN ZAFFIRO

Staff Writer

PONCE INLET -- Perched on a shady stretch of Beach Street sits a nondescript one-story home and a 19th-century fishing camp shack that's become an anachronism.

Some just see an aging home succumbing to neglect beside a rickety wooden shack collapsing in a coup by termites.

Others gaze at the sandy lot canopied by mammoth live oaks and see 1920s tourists heading into the cottages for some sleep after a long day of fishing.

And they see 78-year-old Gladys Meyer Davis moving into the cracker-style home as a girl during World War II with her mother, the town's last postmistress, and her father, the town's last civilian lighthouse keeper.

A tug-of-war has gotten under way between those opposing views of the vacant buildings that are a five-minute stroll away from the lighthouse, and it's not clear which side is going to win.

When four of the five Town Council members voted in April to tear down the house and restore the shack, those who cherish both buildings were stunned.

"I think everyone was under the impression that when the town bought the buildings it was for preservation," said Robyn Hurd, president of the Lighthouse Association Board. "It just seemed to make no sense to me."

BATTLING TOWN HALL

Hurd and other opponents of demolition are fighting back now, forming a nonprofit group that vows to raise money and form a team of volunteers who will oversee the structures and give them new purpose in the 21st century.

"I think people are finally seeing the whole picture," said Davis ' 49-year-old daughter, Julie, who grew up in the 1925 home and used the shed as a playhouse and studio for her all-girl band.

"It all ties in together," said Julie Davis, a member of the new nonprofit group. "This is our history down here."

Councilman Tony Goudie, who cast the lone no vote on demolition, couldn't agree more.

"It's worth saving. That house is part of our history," Goudie said. "We need to get it into preservation so it can be enjoyed for generations to come. Once you erase history it's gone."

The other four council members, including Mayor Nancy Epps, are resisting for reasons that go beyond history. They're worried about the property tax cuts the state is imposing on local governments, and coming up with $364,000 to fully refurbish the buildings and land.

"It boils down to money and no plan of what to do with it," Epps said.

Those are Councilman Gary Comfort's worries.

"I do not see any logic in spending a substantial amount of money to restore this building to some higher condition and then just watch it sit on the lot and rot, as has been the experience of the past few years," Comfort said.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY

More recent history explains the disagreement over the buildings' futures. In 1955, when about 50 people lived in what was then Ponce Park , Gladys and Earl Davis exchanged wedding vows. They also made a "till death do us part" vow with the house at 143 Beach St .

But as other nearby lots were elevated, they say their yard became a shallow retention pond during heavy rains. A few years ago, Gladys developed bacterial pneumonia when the standing water caused the septic system to fail.

So they reluctantly sold the property to the town in early 2003 for $270,000 and moved into another house a few blocks away.

"We'd move back today if we could," 82-year-old Earl Davis said.

Town officials at the time didn't develop specific plans for the land, but they talked of shielding the parcel from development expected less than a block away on Front Street . In the four years since, local leaders have discussed reviving Front Street for the first time in decades.

The old hotels, trading posts, fishing shacks and restaurants that once dominated the area have fallen one by one, leaving only Down the Hatch Seafood Restaurant, a boat service center, SunCruz Casinos and a marina under construction.

WHAT'S NEXT

Some have suggested the shack become a museum and the house become a combination welcome center, museum, meeting spot for clubs and place to display artwork. Epps said part of the three-bedroom house could even become the town's first post office in more than 60 years.

If the house is torn down, town officials have talked of using the half-acre site for a park or access road. Lyder Johnson, who owns 16 acres in the area including Down the Hatch Seafood Restaurant, said public parking might be the best use of the old Davis house property once his land is more developed.

What the two sides are increasingly agreeing on is that it might be best to do nothing at 143 Beach St. , at least for the next few months.

"If the house is gone, it's gone," Hurd said. "It's not hurting anything sitting there."

Delaying a final decision will give town officials time to deal with the special legislative session's tax reform, explore grant possibilities, follow steps in the revised historic structure rules, and fine-tune development plans for Front Street .

It will also provide time for a Georgia firm to complete its survey of historic buildings in Ponce Inlet. The firm started last week with the Davis house and adjacent two-room shed, which became the town's last post office in the early 1940s when Gladys Davis' mother was the postmistress.

A site visit by a consultant last year found the shed to have much more historical significance than the house. Some say mail used to come down the river by boat, and was dropped on the shed's porch for the few dozen town residents.

The consultant also noted the smaller structure, with its rotting wooden floors and walls, was screaming for repairs.

The wooden shelves are still lined with rusted cans of oil and paint thinner, circa 1950 or 1960, and extensive spider webs are laced through the ceiling rafters like vines. The tiny structure served the Davis family as a laundry room and tool shed, and a rake is still propped up on a wooden workbench.

The house is much more structurally sound, but the air is saturated with a musty stench, some walls are peppered with mildew, and floor tiles with asbestos need to be removed. A capped cistern in the yard, which once caught rainwater, provides a glimpse of decades past.

Some say it's getting nearly impossible to see the Ponce Inlet of days gone by, with only a handful of historic structures left in the town.

Just outside a door of the former Davis family home that leads from the backyard wooden deck to the kitchen there is a small metal plate attached to the stained siding. The words inscribed on the small sign were meant to be a joke, but could now prove to be prophetic foreshadowing of the home's demise.

"On this very site in 1782 something happened, but we forgot what it was."

West Palm Beach skips step to reuse its sewage water

The city bypasses a filtration process that takes two years. The mayor says the water is good.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published June 18, 2007

WEST PALM BEACH - Faced with a depleted water supply and extreme drought conditions, the city of West Palm Beach decided this spring to bypass a water filtration step and instead pump treated sewage water into its well fields, officials said.

Utility managers opted to not filter the treated sewage water through a marsh, a process that takes two years. Instead, officials blended the reused water with millions of gallons of water from old Palm Beach County quarry pits, then sent that water to well fields that serve more than 100, 000 customers.

"It sounds a little bit, it sounds - how should I say - disgusting. It doesn't sound appetizing, " Mayor Lois Frankel said. "But our water is tested every day, and we have very good water."

Officials developed the plan after water managers ordered the city on April 3 to stop pumping from Lake Okeechobee , which dropped to record-low water levels this year. Without Lake Okeechobee , the city had trouble replenishing its water supply.

"Changing a system cannot be done overnight, " Frankel said. "We got a little bit blind-sided."

City water managers decided to pump water from rock pits, blended it with treated sewage water, send it to the well field and refill Clear Lake . Customers were not informed of the temporary fix, but city officials said there was no public risk.

The phone at the city's public utilities office rang unanswered Sunday.

A call placed to the mayor's office by the Associated Press was not immediately returned Sunday.

Yacht resort developer has reputation for failed ideas

Critics say the Tarpon Springs project might just be another one that he doesn't deliver.

By ELENA LESLEY
Published June 18, 2007

Building a yacht resort facing the Sponge Docks isn't the first big idea Jerry Fletcher has ever had.

There was the "equine Disney World" near Lake City , as one former associate described it. And the redfish fishery in the Panhandle, designed to appeal to yuppie palates throughout the world.

Two weeks ago, the Tallahassee developer mesmerized the audience at a Tarpon Springs commission meeting with his grand plan to transform the city's waterfront into a playground for the rich.

The only problem, say many of those who know Fletcher, is that his ambitious plans don't always materialize into actual developments. And they have ended in legal disputes more than once.

"He's had a number of projects that never went anywhere," said Stephen Masterson, a Tallahassee lawyer whose client countersued Fletcher over a planned equine resort. "He goes from one failed idea to another."

"He totally defrauded my client," said lawyer Phil Snyderburn, who represented a man who won a nearly $700,000 judgment from Fletcher and his company, Bayland Fisheries Corp. "It was outrageous."

Fletcher declined to comment for this story. Former Congressman Mike Bilirakis, whose firm is representing Fletcher locally, was unavailable for comment. But another lawyer from his firm, Spiro Verras, said he thought Fletcher was involved in a number of marina and hotel projects in Florida , but "the only project I'm really familiar with is" the megayacht proposal.

Fletcher will come before the City Commission on Tuesday requesting to start negotiations for the proposed resort. At the last commission meeting, he outlined plans for the project, which he said would cost $700-million to build and would pump at least $300-million annually into the regional economy. By comparison, the Trump Tower in downtown Tampa was to have cost $300-million; the Memorial Causeway in Clearwater cost $70-million.

Fletcher also promised to help the city's working waterfront by reserving dock space for shrimp boats and organizing a fisheries co-op.

Given the number of zoning changes and the potential impact of the project, commissioners put off the decision for two weeks.

Those who know Fletcher encourage the City Commission to wait even longer.

"I had to testify to his reputation for truth and veracity," said Tallahassee lawyer Vinse Barrett, who at one time represented Fletcher. "In the legal community, I said his reputation was horrible."

Barrett was one of a number of investors in a late 1980s fishery project spearheaded by Fletcher.

Bayland Fisheries Corp. planned to raise redfish and hybrid striped bass in Panacea. Redfish, often used in spicy Cajun dishes, had become increasingly trendy, and even the Campbell Soup Co. was interested in the product, Fletcher told a St. Petersburg Times reporter in 1988.

Fletcher told the Tarpon Springs commission that he had experience developing fisheries in the Panhandle. He also mentioned his work as a former state auditor with experience investigating tax fraud cases. His personnel file from the Department of Revenue shows he worked there from 1968 to 1976.

But Bayland Fisheries, Barrett said, "totally went down the drain, and lots of people were left holding the bag."

One got his money back -- by going to court.

Investor George Mariani Sr., the late mayor of Belleair, sued Fletcher and his partners for defrauding him of $100,000 by ignoring an agreement to hold his investment in trust for 30 days before spending it, in case he changed his mind.

Mariani was solicited in 1988 by Bayland president Fletcher, his partner R. Ward Rodgers and former Speaker of the Florida House Don Tucker to invest in the fishery, court documents said.

He was told that Bayland was sure to be successful and that the company already had a lucrative contract with a buyer in Israel .

But Mariani was unsure of the venture and requested the 30-day refund clause. Fletcher agreed in writing.

A few days after turning over the money, Mariani asked for a refund. But the money had already been spent.

"As soon as it landed in the account, it was gone," attorney Snyderburn said. "They used it to pay car bills, utilities."

Mariani filed suit in Leon County . Fletcher and Rodgers denied they were liable, according to court documents. Tucker argued that he was purely a passive partner and had no knowledge of the company's accounting. In fact, he had filed suit against Fletcher because the Bayland president would not allow him to review the company's records.

The jury was out less than an hour, Snyderburn said.

"They all got whacked," Snyderburn said. "The jury was appalled by what had happened."

Rodgers and Bayland Fisheries Corp. were ordered to pay $428,480 under the civil theft statute. In a later judgment, Fletcher and Tucker were ordered to compensate Mariani $161,814 for sale of unregistered securities and $50,000 each for breach of fiduciary duty.

Another of Fletcher's former associates also claimed the developer defrauded her, but she hasn't been as successful in recouping damages.

April Holton, a nurse from Tallahassee , was persuaded in 2000 by her financial adviser to pledge $700,000 in annuities -- nearly all her family savings -- as collateral on a loan for Fletcher, said her lawyer, Masterson.

As president of One Hundred Horsemen Inc., Fletcher had drawn plans to develop five equestrian megaresorts in the United States and eventually four others worldwide, according to court documents.

He was starting with a facility near Live Oak in northern Florida west of where Interstates 75 and 10 meet.

Holton's adviser assured her "that the big guys were going to come in soon," but Fletcher needed the loan for seed money, Masterson said.

Soon after, Holton started to get nervous. No development was happening in Live Oak, and when she called various New York investment houses supposedly on board with the project, they told her they had no interest.

In a panic, she faxed a note to her bank saying she worried that her financial adviser had misled her. The bank declared the loan in default and demanded Holton surrender the annuities she had pledged.

"She would have been completely ruined," Masterson said. The $700,000 the bank loaned Fletcher was gone -- Masterson said it was never determined what happened to the money -- and liquidating the annuities prematurely came with a number of financial penalties.

A series of lawsuits followed. Fletcher sued Holton and the bank in Leon County . Holton countersued. The bank sued Holton in Suwannee County .

After some negotiation, Holton reached a settlement with the bank. She lost most of her savings but did not go into bankruptcy, Masterson said. Fletcher and Holton's suits against each other have never been officially resolved.

Meanwhile, the equine resort was never built. Fletcher said the project foundered "because of the bank tainting the development plan with innuendoes of 'fraud,' " court documents said.

But Masterson thinks the project was never really viable.

"How could a little nurse from Tallahassee bring down this Rockefeller-style deal?" Masterson asked.

In a still unresolved 2005 divorce filing in Leon County , Fletcher listed a potential liability of $850,000 to Holton. But he listed no personal assets. He wrote that his wife, Diane, paid all his living expenses.

"We've never found a way to get any money out of him," Masterson said.

Jared Leone contributed to this report. Elena Lesley can be reached at elesley@sptimes.com or (727)445-4167.

'Perfectionist' Works to Keep Pollution Out of Lakes

By Tom Palmer

The Ledger

BARTOW

Doug Gleckler grabs a discarded plastic bag from the opening of a storm drain.

"Urban jellyfish," he says.

Debris ranging from visible items like plastic bags or grass clippings to the invisible litter of chemicals - nitrogen from overfertilized lawns or heavy metals from automotive fluids - are the enemies of Lakeland 's lakes.

Gleckler, Lakeland's manager of lakes and storm water, sees his job as trying to come up with practical ways to reduce such pollution and to educate the public so they don't add to the problem.

"I'm seeing increased awareness," he said, explaining that just the day before, someone called to report a neighbor sweeping grass clippings into a storm drain.

That's illegal under city code and it adds to the storm water pollution and the muck buildup in lakes.

It's a message local lake advocates have been trying for years to get out to the public.

Johnna Martinez, executive director of Lakes Education/Action Drive, a local, private group that emphasizes public education, agrees it's a daunting task.

"He's (Gleckler) got his hands full," she said, but adds that he has the right attitude.

"He's very pleasant, easygoing and readily available," Martinez said.

Gleckler agrees education is key.

"We've got to get the word out to the public that their daily activities affect lakes," he said.

The biology and enjoyment of lakes are issues Gleckler's been thinking about for a long time.

OHIO NATIVE

Douglas Paul Gleckler, like a lot of people in Polk County, came from somewhere else.

He was born Sept. 20, 1961, in Columbus , Ohio , and loved being around lakes and water ever since he was a boy.

"I spent a lot of time fishing at Schrock Lake ," he said, referring to a lake at a local park. "The serenity of the water was part of it."

His interest in fish continued into his college years at Ohio State University , where he received a master's degree in natural resources management.

Then he needed a job.

Some friends had come to Florida and that got him thinking about going south. He contacted the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission - now the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission - to see whether they had any job openings.

Jobs were available and he landed one at FWC's Lakeland office, first in aquatic plant management and then in lake restoration.

In 1995, he took a job with Lakeland 's lakes program, working under Gene Medley.

Until he replaced Medley, who quit last year to take a job in the private sector with city contractor BCI, Gleckler had been in charge of the city's wetlands treatment site near Mulberry.

Medley describes Gleckler as "very conscientious."

"He's a detail-oriented person who gets into the minutiae of projects," Medley said. "He's very cautious."

Bill Anderson, a city environmental scientist who replaced Gleckler at the wetlands site, agrees with that assessment.

"He's a perfectionist," Anderson said, explaining Gleckler was his mentor.

"He taught me how to conduct business; that I should always be inspection-ready," Anderson said.

PRAGMATIST, NOT ENVIRONMENTALIST

During a tour of a storm water treatment area on Lake Hollingsworth , Gleckler mentioned that he plans to make some small improvements in the stormwater ponds.

He wants to put some logs into the water so turtles will have somewhere to sun themselves.

He has planted some marsh mallows, a type of wild hibiscus, at the edge of the pond and has some more in pots at his apartment that he will plant later.

They will add some color to the marsh, he said.

But then out of nowhere Gleckler says, "I wouldn't call myself an environmentalist."

When pressed, he said what he means by is that he is opposed to the impulse to do away with development and to return lakes to their pristine state.

He said he believes in a more pragmatic approach.

"This is not a natural system anymore," he said, explaining he can incorporate some natural design into whatever restoration projects he undertakes.

For instance, he doesn't think that aquatic vegetation should be allowed to grow to the point that it blocks the view to an urban lake. Also, he said he thinks it's acceptable to use a portion of a lake to build a treatment marsh when there isn't any land outside the lake that's available.

Gleckler is involved with the controversial project to construct storm water treatment areas on the west side of Lake Hollingworth - something Lake Hollingsworth residents have referred to derisively as "ditches" - that are intended to intercept the pollution streaming into the popular lake from storm water pipes.

"That's on hold for now until we evaluate all of the alternatives," Gleckler said, though he thinks the general approach is sound.

"Wetlands treatment of storm water pollution is a tried and true method, based on 30 years of research," he said.

He said the challenge on Lake Hollingsworth will be maintaining the system so that it's attractive.

Nevertheless, without some kind of additional treatment city officials won't be able to reduce pollution flowing into the lake enough to meet federal guidelines, he said.

A CHALLENGING AGENDA

Gleckler's office bookcase is lined with reports, textbooks and technical manuals covering subjects ranging from economics and calculus to wetlands biology.

The sign on his office door reads, "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance."

When pressed for a favorite motto, he quotes a long statement on civilization and barbarism that he remembers from a "Star Trek" episode, but then finds a shorter one on jobs.

"I can be a little long-winded," he admits.

Gleckler, who took over the $70,000-per-year position in March 2006, said the transition from staff member to supervisor has been challenging.

"My plan for the first year I was here was to get my head above water with the projects," he said.

The major projects confronting him, in addition to the continued restoration of Lake Hollingsworth , include additional storm water treatment projects upstream from Lake Parker and Lake Gibson to meet federal anti-pollution guidelines. Those standards, called Total Maximum Daily Loads, are required in order to limit the amount of pollution that can flow into water bodies.  

The catch is that you have to have somewhere else to put the water and to treat it and you have to find the money to design and build it .  

That's a recurring theme in the latest version of the city's lakes management plan.  

But there's more than that, Gleckler explains.  

He said no one has a clear idea exactly what kinds of pollutants in what concentrations are flowing into the city's lakes at specific points, information that is vital to reduce the source of that pollution.  

"The question is how much money to put into that," he said.  

The city's lakes plan includes a list of lake improvement programs - including data gathering to deal with the pollution standards - that total $114 million.  When you add the work needed to deal with the property the city expects to annex by 2010, the total jumps to $219 million.

 "With the money we get from the $2 storm water fee we have now, it would take 100 years to pay for that," he said.  

Gleckler agrees there will probably be public resistance to any increase in storm water fees - which will be up to the City Commission to decide - but argues it's something people need to start thinking about.  

"Storm water utility fees are user fees for the storm water system the city maintains," he said. "The lakes are a part of the system."Tom Palmer can be reached at tom.palmer@theledger.com or 863-802-7535. Read more views on the environment at http://environment.theledger.com and more views on county government at http://county.theledger.com.

High-profile Harborage alters Stuart landscape

By Eve Samples

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Monday, June 18, 2007

DEP to hear reef worries

By Nicole Janok

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Monday, June 18, 2007

LAKE WORTH — Divers, scientists and coral reef experts who have campaigned against discharging reverse-osmosis concentrate near a pristine coral reef will reiterate their concerns at a public meeting today with city officials and the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The 2 p.m. meeting at city hall was prompted after the DEP received hundreds of e-mails and letters from residents, scientists and environmental groups opposed to the state agency's issuing a permit that would allow 4 million gallons a day of nutrient-laden drinking water concentrate to be discharged near Horseshoe Reef, which is home to a 4-foot brain coral and thousands of species of fish.

"We're hoping that the DEP will reconsider issuing this permit," said Ed Tichenor, director of Palm Beach County Reef Rescue, who has led the fight against the permit. "They might be willing to back off this permit."

The county's environmental resources management also has raised questions about the permit and has asked that it not be issued without a better understanding of the potential impacts.

Those against the permit say the levels of nutrients such as ammonia, phosphorus and nitrogen predicted to be discharged through the city's 30-inch-wide, 92-foot-deep pipe are enough to cause harmful algae blooms, which smother coral reefs.

At today's meeting, experts hired by the city will discuss the city's need for a reverse-osmosis drinking water system, which uses high pressure to push the water through a membrane to filter out salts and impurities. They also will show why they believe the nutrient levels would be diluted to an innocuous level shortly after leaving the outfall pipe.

The city has spent years trying to get the permit, which would allow access to the brackish Floridan Aquifer as an alternate source of drinking water. Utility Director Samy Faried has emphasized that the city has met all the standards required by the DEP, including a Bioassy study, which measures the survivability of living organisms in the reverse-osmosis concentrate.

But what concerns those against the permit is that the DEP does not have nutrient loading standards for salt water. While Lake Worth 's draft permit would require the city to monitor the nutrient levels, without mandated restrictions scientists and divers are sure the coral reefs would be harmed before any action is taken.

Reef Rescue is bringing in two coral reef experts to give a 30-minute presentation. They are Thomas Goreau, a senior scientific affairs officer at the United Nations Centre for Science and Technology Development and president of the Global Coral Reef Alliance, and Mike Risk, a professor at McMaster University in Ontario, who specializes in detecting land-based sources of pollution and is a former member of the technical advisory committee for the South East Florida Coral Reef Initiative.

Both experts also will hold a news conference at noon today at Brogue's on the Avenue in Lake Worth .

Linda Brien, DEP water facilities administrator, said the department will look for any new science regarding nutrient pollution on coral reefs before making a determination on the final permit.

"I would like to have a productive meeting and hear people's concerns," she said.

Public comment will be allowed, DEP spokesman Stephen Webster said.

The DEP also will give a presentation explaining its permitting process.

Mayor Jeff Clemens said he hopes the correct information will get out to those concerned with the permit. "People need to stick to facts," he said. "Some of the e-mails I've received are not helping the cause by overstating their case and misstating facts."

The DEP could make a final decision on the permit in the next few weeks.

Shady Funding Advances Project

By PHIL DAVIS, The Associated Press

Published: June 18, 2007

ESTERO - An unexpected $10 million congressional earmark might seem like money from heaven for a fast-growing county needing billions for transportation improvements. Not when it comes to Coconut Road .

No local officials sought the earmark, which calls for a study on connecting Coconut Road to Interstate 75 in southwest Florida 's Lee County . The congressman who represents the area says he didn't ask for it, either. But U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, sent the money anyway, making it clear it could be used only on Coconut Road .

'It just came out of the sky,' Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah said.

Connections For Connector

The reason emerged a couple of weeks ago: Published reports disclosed that a Michigan builder who threw a fundraiser for Young in Florida two years ago owns undeveloped land that would become a lot more valuable if Coconut Road were extended and connected to the interstate.

Judah and other members of the county's Metropolitan Planning Organization voted Friday to proceed with the study, even though the source of its funding has raised eyebrows nationwide.

The organization, which comprises 15 local elected officials, had considered connecting Coconut Road to I-75 in long-term plans but pulled it twice - even after Young's appropriation. Young rebuked the group when members suggested applying the money to more pressing projects.

Young's response, in effect: Use the $10 million for Coconut Road or lose it.

The New York Times connected Young's appropriation to Daniel J. Aronoff of Bloomfield Hills , Mich. , whose companies own thousands of acres that would increase in value if a Coconut Road connector were built. During a 2005 visit, Aronoff held a fundraiser that brought in $40,000 to the congressman's campaign.

Aronoff did not return messages left at his Michigan offices.

Young, who gained national attention for securing $200 million for a bridge project linking an Alaska island community to its airport, the so-called Bridge to Nowhere, lost his influential post as chairman of the House Transportation Committee when Democrats took control of Congress in January.

His spokeswoman responded to an interview request by faxing several articles and editorials supporting the Coconut interchange. She declined further comment.

Study's Scope Expanded

With Friday's vote, the Metropolitan Planning Organization agreed to expand the scope of the study, an action seen as a compromise that would allow Lee County to keep the $10 million but have more control over where an interchange might go if the study determines it is needed.

Before the vote, director Don Scott had said a two-year, $800,000 interchange justification study would begin next month unless the board abandoned the interchange idea.

Connecting Coconut Road to I-75 could cost as much as $40 million and remains a low priority compared with the interstate widening project, Scott said. He said connecting Coconut Road east of I-75, where Aronoff's property is, would face a series of regulatory hurdles.

Lake Helen won't get wall to muffle interstate noise

By RON WHITE

Correspondent

LAKE HELEN -- Residents whose neighborhood has been exposed to a treeless landscape of traffic and noise won't get a wall to buffer the unwanted sights and sounds of Interstate 4.

But the Florida Department of Transportation is willing to try to soften the impact of the road-widening project through one corner of Lake Helen .

City resident Vernon Burton told commissioners last week that state Department of Transporation officials said a sound wall was not an option. Burton first brought the matter to the commission in May when he reported a sound barrier was desired by some Lake Helen residents, whose homes were affected when contractors removed much of the vegetation that served as a barrier between their homes and I-4.

Burton said he was told a sound wall would cost the state about $2 million to construct, or about $42,000 per home impacted. "That high figure meant that we were not eligible for a wall," Burton said.

However, he said, about $900,000 is set aside for landscaping in the project's budget.

"Because of the community outcry, which apparently got their attention, they indicated that funds would be available to create a tree line," Burton said.

Lake Helen Mayor Mark Shuttleworth said he met with transportation officials about the issue more than two years ago. Even then, Shuttleworth said, they said a sound wall was not an option. He advised that the city should take whatever the state has to offer, which includes funds for landscaping and the services of a landscape architect.

Burton said DOT officials told him it would take at least 100 feet of vegetation to reduce the decibel level and that there isn't enough of a gap to allow that.

"We don't have the distance to provide a vegetative buffer, and we don't have the number of homes to get us a wall. But at least we can improve the aesthetic quality," Burton said.

The consensus among commissioners was to accept FDOT's offer and begin moving forward with a plan.

Woman protects orchids along Florida highway

DAYTONA BEACH , Fla. (AP) -- When Jennifer Reinoso noticed wild orchids blooming along a stretch of highway, she wanted to protect the species she loves.

The scarlet ladies' tresses that bloomed along U.S. Highway 92 in central Florida might have been mowed over if Reinoso hadn't volunteered to look after the plants and mark their locations to alert highway workers.

Reinoso - who received permission from the Florida Department of Transportation's district office - has protected the plants for three years.

"Orchids are my passion," she said. "This is what I'll be doing for the rest of my life."

Florida has more than 100 varieties of wild orchids. They are classified by the state as threatened and have become adapted to life along the state's roads, said Paul Martin Brown, author of "Wild Orchids of Florida."

"It's an orchid of fields and pastures, but since we don't have a lot of grazed pasture anymore, the roadsides have replaced it as their habitat," Brown said.

Scarlet ladies' tresses are terra-cotta-colored orchids that grow best in regularly mowed areas, but must be sheltered during the plant's two-week flowering season.

When Reinoso first notices leaves appearing on the plants, she tags their location with a white flag and removes the marker after the flowering season ends.

Reinoso said when she started this year, she counted a few hundred orchids. This year, the stretch of highway she protects contains more than 800 orchids.

"It's beautiful when it's in full bloom," said Reinoso, a member of the Volusia County Orchid Society and the American Orchid Society. "It's a stunning thing when you see a whole group of them along the road. It can take your breath away."

If New York mayor prevails, driving in Manhattan will carry heavy levy

Published June 18, 2007

If you think highway tolls are too high in Central Florida , how would you like to pay an extra $8 per car or an extra $21 per truck for the privilege of driving downtown?

That's part of a plan proposed by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who wants to charge motorists entering traffic zones in Manhattan from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays. If your vehicle is already in that zone when day breaks, it will cost you $4 a day to drive.

The congestion-pricing system would operate through traffic cameras that read license plates and deduct fees from the electronic toll accounts of the drivers or send bills to those without accounts.

The idea is to reduce traffic and pollution, and it's similar to a system used in London . The New York plan, if enacted, would raise $380 million for other transit needs there.

But wherever you drive, you might want to consider the statement from New Jersey 's governor, who was in a serious accident. He was not wearing a seat belt and nearly died.

In his public-service announcement, he says: "I'm New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, and I should be dead."

Now to local commuters with concerns about Interstate 4 and a Seminole intersection that caught the eyes of two readers for different reasons.

Dear Road Wise: I was wondering why there are little lights on top of the traffic signals that go on and off when the signal changes. I saw this at Rinehart Road and Lake Mary Boulevard .

SHANNON SUTTER

LAKE MARY

Dear Shannon: Thank you for the colorful drawing that accompanied your question. I don't get a lot of hand-drawn sketches, so I'm assuming you are one of our younger readers. And we're glad to have you looking at the newspaper.

I checked with Charlie Wetzel, assistant Seminole County traffic engineer, who said that what you saw and drew are called "confirmation lights."

When the white light goes on, it confirms that a signal has turned red. That allows a police officer standing on the other side of the light to determine whether a driver is running a red light, even if the officer can't see the light turn red.

Seminole County has them in about 40 intersections.

The Orlando City Council has decided that its confirmation lights are not enough to solve the problem of red-light running, so members voted to install red-light cameras to take photos of violators. Which takes us to a second question about the intersection.

Dear Road Wise: I don't run red lights, but we have found that the light at the intersection of Rinehart Road and Lake Mary Boulevard is verylong. We found ourselves sitting for what seemed like 10 minutes recently. Finally, the drivers who were waiting decided to cautiously run the red light. Somebody needs to check this out.

CHARLOTTE ARLICK

FERN PARK

Dear Charlotte: We turn again to engineer Wetzel, who said he hasn't had any reports of 10-minute red lights there. But he noted there have been issues with the traffic sensors not detecting northbound vehicles,which could lead to a long red light. The problems arose while they were adding a turn lane to the intersection. "The new lane is now complete," Wetzel said. "And there should be no detector issues at this time."

Dear Road Wise: It's about time for Central Florida Parkway to have an I-4 eastbound access. There are two theme parks nearby now, and a third one -- Aquatica -- set to open next year. There appears to be land available for a new access lane to I-4 by the convention center. Will this happen?

GEOFFREY HAWKES

ORLANDO

Dear Geoffrey: The folks at the I-4 public-information office agree with you that more access would mean more convenience. And they have a preliminary design for how to route that new entrance ramp.

Unfortunately, there are so many other projects planned for the interstate that this one did not make it into the Florida Department of Transportation's five-year work plan. However, it is in the ultimate plan for I-4 improvement, said Derek Hudson, spokesman for the I-4 office.

At this point, there's no way of knowing when it might make it into the short-term building plans. But if you go to the I-4 information Web site at trans4mation.org and click on "contact/subscribe," you can make your case.

County Looks To Expand Preserves

By JULIA FERRANTE The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 18, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - Pasco County commissioners have their sights on a 12,500-acre wellfield long in the hands of Pinellas County .

Tuesday, the commission is slated to discuss adding the Cross Bar Ranch in north-central Pasco County to its list of preservation purchases.

Pinellas officials have expressed interest in selling the property, which they have owned since 1976. Tampa Bay Water, the regional water authority, owns the water rights to the ranch.

Many endangered or threatened species, including Florida scrub jays, gopher tortoises and wood storks, have been spotted on the property, said Rene Wiesner Brown, the county's environmental lands program manager. The property also connects with other critical preserves and wildlife corridors in Pasco .

Commissioner Ted Schrader suggested several months ago that Pasco contact Pinellas leaders about buying the land, north of State Road 52 and east of U.S. 41. The county commission asked staff members to talk with Pinellas officials about possibly buying the land and to make arrangements for a study of the property.

Pinellas County commissioners recently passed a resolution saying they would like to sell the property to someone willing to maintain it as a preserve.

Brown has suggested the county apply for a grant through the Florida Forever preservation program to help pay for the property, north of the 4-G Ranch. Appraisals and studies would have to be commissioned and completed first.

Also at Tuesday's meeting, the board also is to consider adding 116 acres in southwest Pasco to its preservation list.

The so-called Pasco Palms property, nominated by broker John Butler on behalf of owner Frank Darabi, sits next to the Coastal Marshes Ecological Planning Unit and is a feeding and wading ground for migratory birds.

The Environmental Lands Acquisition Selection Committee has recommended adding the property to the county's purchase list. If commissioners endorse buying the property, the county would order appraisals and begin negotiations.

The county's land preservation program, approved in 2004, is supported in part by revenue from the Penny for Pasco 1-cent sales tax. The tax proceeds are used as leverage for grants.

Several other properties have been purchased or are under consideration for purchase. Areas that provide critical links for water and wildlife are given priority.

The meeting will start at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the West Pasco Government Center , 7530 Little Road, New Port Richey.

Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220 or jferrante@tampatrib.com.

Group Wants Wal-Mart To Redraw S.R. 54 Plans

By KEVIN WIATROWSKI The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 18, 2007

ELFERS - Opponents of a Wal-Mart Supercenter proposed for Grand Boulevard and State Road 54 will ask county commissioners on Tuesday to throw out plans for the project and make the retailer start again.

Opponents of the 208,000-square-foot store include residents of nearby Colonial Heights and the St. Petersburg-based Wal-Mart Alliance for Reform Now.

The county's Development Review Committee approved Wal-Mart's preliminary plans in December. Opponents say the plans were full of holes and violated county land-development rules.

"Multiple variances are needed," said Schuyler Ellis of the Wal-Mart alliance.

The conditions attached to the December approval will result in major changes by the time construction actually starts, essentially creating an entirely different project, Ellis said.

This week, Wal-Mart asked the county for a variance to the land-development regulations that would allow for a traffic signal at the store's southern entrance on Grand Boulevard . The entrance is about 80 feet too close to the existing light at Grand and S.R. 54 to comply with the county's rule on the minimum distance between two stoplights.

Opponents say the recent request for a variance should nullify the earlier approval. Development Review Director Cindy Jolly said that's not the case. She is recommending that county commissioners uphold the DRC ruling from December.

The DRC will consider the variance next month, she said.

The 26-acre property was previously the site of a lumber yard and a car auction business. Wal-Mart selected it after neighborhood protests convinced the company to drop plans to build at a site in Holiday .

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

Wiregrass Project May Be Ready To Bloom At Last

By KEVIN WIATROWSKI The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 17, 2007

WESLEY CHAPEL - Seen from the air, Wiregrass Ranch looks like an enormous empty space at the heart of rapidly suburbanizing south-central Pasco County .

It won't stay that way for much longer.

The Porter family's long, bumpy road toward development may reach its end this week. County commissioners are expected Tuesday to weigh final approval for the 5,000-acre ranch at the core of the county's fastest growing area.

Wiregrass Ranch promises to add more than 35,000 residents to Wesley Chapel in the next two decades. There also will be millions of square feet of new shopping and office space, schools, a golf course and a downtown to focus the sprawling growth that surrounds the ranch.

Getting this close to final approval has taken longer than developers and county planners had expected.

The developers spent months in 2005 negotiating with the state for permission to proceed with limited development. That deal produced a JCPenney but little else.

Last year, they spent nine months debating with the county about the need for more public roads within the project. In the end, county planners got the roads they wanted, despite developers' objections.

As the regional review wound down last year, Wiregrass became the test case for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council's push to increase affordable housing in the region. Wiregrass will pay into a fund the county will use to offset rising home prices for working-class people.

The sluggish housing market has taken the steam out of Pulte Home Corp.'s plans for Wiregrass, delaying the county's long sought eastern extension of State Road 56, which Pulte must build across the ranch. The extension has won partial approval from state highway officials but remains unbuilt.

The negotiations have been tense, at times acrimonious and down to the wire. While developers and regulators debated, the landscape shifted - particularly with regard to zooming road-building costs and sagging home sales - prompting more negotiations.

Both sides say they could have gotten to this point sooner.

Wiregrass attorney Joel Tew says he has fought the county's effort to force his clients to shoulder more than their share of road construction. Wiregrass' road bill now totals about $580 million, more than twice what the developers say they should pay.

"The government has allowed development around Wiregrass Ranch to proceed to a point where it has absorbed most, if not all, [road] capacity," Tew said. "People aren't going to look at a big project as a victim. But we are in a perverse way the victim of that neglect."

County officials say Tew's penchant for conflict cost his clients time and money.

"My guess would be that 60 percent [of the delay] is their own arguing," said Sam Steffey, the county's growth management director.

Wiregrass' Past And Future

Before Saddlebrook Resort, before Meadow Pointe, there was Wiregrass Ranch.

Seventy years ago, the Porter family claimed more than 15,000 acres of south-central Pasco , stretching from Bruce B. Downs Boulevard east to New River and from the county line north to State Road 54.

James "Wiregrass" Porter sold off chunks of his property in the 1980s, giving rise to Saddlebrook Resort and Meadow Pointe, two of Wesley Chapel's iconic developments.

Over the years, those projects have inspired dozens of others. The cars of tens of thousands of new residents routinely clog Bruce B. Downs and S.R. 54.

Encroaching development finally convinced Don Porter, 66, and his brothers to offer the property for development in 2004.

"We fought change for a long time, because the lifestyle was very precious to us," Porter said during a visit to the family's property. "You get addicted to the land."

The Porter family has made millions of dollars selling its ranch to some of the nation's biggest developers, among them Pulte Home Corp., Wal-Mart, Forest City Enterprises and The Goodman Co.

As a group, those developers have spent millions more - the Porters estimate $20 million - pushing the massive development through planning agencies, all the while drafting their individual plans.

None wanted to speak for this story.

Tew has said the county's approach to Wiregrass has put some parts of the project on the verge of failure. He told commissioners in May delays in approving Wiregrass were putting at risk the future of Shops at Wiregrass, the plaza under development by Forest City and Goodman.

"The project has done everything to bring it to closure," Tew recently said of the contentious review process. "The county hasn't been prepared to bring it to closure."

County Caught Off-Guard

County officials said they were thrown by the size and complexity of the Porters' city-sized project.

"I knew eventually the Porters' property would develop," Steffey said. "I wasn't totally surprised at it. It just caught us short-handed."

For the first time, the county farmed out its review work to a contractor, Marina Pennington, a Tallahassee-based planner formerly with the state Department of Community Affairs. The DCA oversees massive developments such as Wiregrass.

Pennington declined to answer questions about Wiregrass Ranch.

The Porters considered slicing the ranch into smaller residential projects. That would have simplified much of the process while creating more of what Wesley Chapel already has, Porter said.

"Early on, people just wanted to build houses," said J.D. Porter, who joined his father, Don, during an interview at the ranch. The Porter brothers' seven children also have a stake in developing the ranch.

The design for Wiregrass Ranch aims to provide what the community will need in the future, not just what the market is willing to provide now, Don Porter said.

"We wanted to lay our imprint on the land," he said. "As long as we can keep sufficient blocks of land together, we can wait longer than the developers."

That approach has the support of Randall Stoval, chairman of the Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce. As a community dominated by commuters, Wesley Chapel could benefit from having stores and services in its midst, he said.

"It would reduce everybody's frustration level if we could get an area like that," Stoval said. "Everybody gets frustrated with how long it has taken."

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

Waive fees or wave goodbye to an ER?

Developers of a medical center and a mall ask for help from the North Port City Commission

By JOHN DAVIS

john.davis@heraldtribune.com

NORTH PORT -- The City Commission plans to discuss its impact fee dilemma this morning, weighing the city's long-term infrastructure needs and its desire for North Port 's own emergency room.

The city needs the impact fees, which are paid by builders, for infrastructure projects like water and sewer systems and roads.

But city leaders do not want the fees to scare away economic development, especially a proposed medical center that might be the first step in getting a local hospital. Already, the developer of the medical project has threatened to pull the plug unless the commission finds a way to make it cheaper to build.

"They've got some tough, tough decisions to make," said City Manager Steven Crowell of the commission's weeklong budget planning session beginning today.

A large impact fee increase, the last of a two-part phase-in of fees, is scheduled to take effect in October. Last year, experts told city leaders the increase was necessary in order to keep up with growth.

Besides the medical center, the price of building in North Port has put the future of another large development in question. The builders of a retail project have asked the city for relief from some of the millions of dollars in impact fees required.

But it is the medical center, considered a crucial step in North Port getting its own hospital, that commissioners are most worried about.

The 75,000-square-foot health care park has been dubbed the North Port Regional Medical Center , and commissioners say such a facility is critical. The project's developers have asked the commission to help shave about $2.5 million off the estimated $12 million to $14 million project.

Crowell advised commissioners against taking less for the construction of the medical center because lowering fees could mean putting off capital projects such as roads and utility lines. Just last week, the city pushed back the planned construction of Spring Haven Drive because impact fee money was not there.

Despite Crowell's advice, the commission has agreed to negotiate with North Port Regional Medical Center and look for options to save the health care park and emergency room money.

The commission is expected to get an update on these negotiations this morning. Options on the table range from giving the project years to pay the fees, deferring the fees so long as the business meets certain criteria or having the city pay the fees for the builder.

"It's a real ticklish situation," Commissioner Barbara Gross said.

North Port residents have clamored for a hospital, and bringing an emergency room to North Port is viewed by many as a major step toward that goal. But, beyond the emergency room, the medical center will also include 50,000 feet of space leased to doctors and other businesses.

Commissioner Jim Blucher said he fears waiving fees will prompt other builders to line up for reductions and waivers at City Hall.

"We forget, that is a for-profit. That it's not a not-for-profit," Blucher said of the medical center.

The options are no different for The Sembler Co. , which is putting up a 400,000-square-foot retail and commercial development at the intersection of Price and Sumter Boulevards. The company says it needs more than $1 million in impact fees waived to make the development "economically feasible."

Without singling out one or two projects, the commission could cancel October's rate hike or reduce the current impact fees, which are higher than at any time in the city's history.

Doing this would go against advice from outside consultants and in-house staff and could mean putting off or cutting city projects, even as commissioners worry the high fees will drive businesses away.

Of course, not every development is threatening a walkout.

"You got Lowe's coming in building a huge store without squawking a bit," Crowell said of the 170,000-square-foot store planned for U.S. 41 in North Port.
Whose lake is it anyway?

By CINDY SWIRKO

Sun staff writer
Lakeside residents and nonmotorized boaters are pressing for more regulations out of concerns over safety and noise.

Knox Bagwell has nothing against water skiing. He used to do it professionally at Cypress Gardens , which was about as cool as you could get in the sport at the time.

And Bagwell has on occasion tossed a baited line in the water, so he's got nothing against fishing.

But he does have issues with skiers and fishermen on Lake Santa Fe who speed across the water at full throttle with seemingly little regard for others on the lake.

So Bagwell is among some of the lakeside residents and nonmotorized boaters who are pressing for more regulations out of concerns over safety and noise as Alachua County develops its first waterways master plan.

"We were hoping to nudge the county in a direction that is a little more friendly, kinder and protective to the passive users of the waterways. I have lived on the lake for 47 years and I have seen a steady increase of the go-fast/go-loud group by default regulating some of the more passive users," Bagwell said. "You don't go out there because it's not safe. Indirectly, you are regulated by force - or sanity, one or the other."

Speeding boats, noisy boats and airboats are turning out to be one of the most divisive aspects among various interest groups who are helping develop the plan.

The plan will cover all waterways in the county, but Lake Santa Fe and the Orange Lake basin are getting considerable attention because they are heavily used.

From water-skiers who skim along at 40 mph to competitive fishermen who race their craft to the best spots, fast boats are a common sight on Lake Santa Fe .

It is something that skiers and fishermen believe lake residents should expect. Among them is Steve Persinger, an officer with various fishing organizations, including Bassmasters of Gator Country.

"Some of the folks are really upset about noise. Other people are upset about the use. But once you buy property on a lake, you are open to everything that comes down the lake - the skier, the personal watercraft, the canoer - unless we shut the lake down and say that it is private property that only belongs to the homeowners," Persinger said. "The fact of the matter is, everybody uses the lake. What I see is that the lake dwellers are voicing their opinion, and are coming out in droves. There are some pretty distinct lines drawn."

Those distinctly drawn lines are evident in the voting that has taken place in meetings held by the consultants who are developing the plan.

Conducting the process is a team led by staff at the University of Florida . Attending the meetings are representatives of various interest groups such as waterway residents, fishing organizations, water ski clubs and airboaters.

Issues were raised and now potential solutions are being sought. The representatives vote on whether they favor the solutions. One suggested solution to speeding is to create new no-wake/idle speed zones or speed limits in certain areas.

People who live along lakes support the measure as do canoers/kayakers and environmental groups. Motor boaters, skiers and fishermen oppose it. The same breakdown - with the exception of paddlers - occurred on the possible solution of horsepower limits.

Another issue is alcohol use. Most groups favored restrictions such as outlawing open alcohol containers on boats. However, watersports and skiing groups did not.

Noise restrictions were generally favored by lake dwellers and paddlers, but not by other groups.

Tournament fishing has been particularly cited by those favoring greater regulations. They say the tournaments draw contingents of fishermen who speed through the lake, causing potentially dangerous situations and creating noise.

Another complaint is that many of the problems are being created by an increasing number of people from outside the region who use the waterways, and may not be as respectful of waterway users from the area.

"They are entitled to use the waterways of Alachua County and are asserting their rights with an extraordinary amount of vigor - folks from other places where the lakes have dried up, are polluted or where they've been run off by regulations," said Mark Goldstein of the Santa Fe Lake Dwellers. "We have become a destination for much of the Southeastern United States ."

Fishing tournaments are a big draw and are frequently held on area lakes.

Persinger believes most fishermen are respectful of others on the lake and are responsible boaters.

Fishing clubs that sanction tournaments enforce guidelines that, for instance, ban alcohol use and promote courtesy.

"For the most part, tournament fishermen are skilled anglers and trained in how to operate a boat because of the fact that they run high-performance boats and have come up through the ranks. They have a code of conduct to go by," Persinger said. "There are pretty stringent guidelines, and if you don't adhere to them you are disqualified and can be barred from all future events."

Harold Hill has spent a lifetime on Lake Santa Fe - his father was a founder of the Santa Fe Lake Dwellers. He said he has seen boats speed by at 100 mph, been sprayed by hot-dogging skiers while sitting on his dock and endured boom-box music blasting from boats.

But Hill questions whether more regulations are needed. He said regulations now in place are rarely enforced because of a lack of patrols by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission or sheriff's deputies.

Hill added that a small percentage of the lake users are causing most of the problems. Hill said he believes a fair number of them are UF students.

"If they don't enforce what they've got, why make more? If they enforce what they have, we don't need extra restrictions," Hill said. "A lot of the people causing problems are the college kids from Gainesville . They come out here with the $75,000 ski boats and there will be eight of them on the boat. They figure they have the right of way of the lake. They want you to see them. I've had them come by my house 20 times, back and forth, and they'll have those boom boxes going."

UF journalism instructor Larry Schnell, a consultant, said the groups have agreed on a broad range of issues, but adds that not everyone will get what they want when the process ends.

Schnell said the consultants hope to have a recommendation ready for consideration by the County Commission in November.

Protection sought for canopy roads
Citizens committee plans public discussion
By Julian Pecquet
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

When SouthWood first was approved, city planners looked at its potential impact on the environment, traffic and quality of life.

But it's only now that SouthWood's effect on canopy roads is being discussed. New turn lanes are under consideration at Old St. Augustine, a protected canopy road, and Blair Stone roads.

"There was not a place in the process where canopy roads committee review would have been required," said Jennifer Gihring, chairwoman of the Tallahassee/Leon County Canopy Roads Citizens Committee.

As the city and county continue to grow, canopy-road activists are trying to make sure the tree-lined roads are no longer an afterthought. Right now, the committee gives advice only for developments along canopy roads. And the committee doesn't get involved unless developers are seeking permission to take down trees.

"We're missing the big picture of what do we want the future to be for canopy roads," said Brian Wiebler, a senior planner with the city/county Planning Department.

That's why committee members are meeting tonight, to prepare for a community discussion scheduled for mid-August. The goal is to get residents' input on what canopy roads should be so the committee can take a more active role in protecting them, Gihring said.

"What's the role the community wants them to play in the future?" she said. "Are they the same as any other road? Are they just to move cars? Are they there for any particular role that we should enhance?"

Tonight's planning meeting is set for 6 p.m. on the second floor of City Hall, 300 S. Adams St . The public is invited to attend, but public comments will not be taken at this point in the process.

Farmers meet with lawmakers

Suwannee Democrat Staff
Suwannee County Farm Bureau President Randall Dasher was among nearly 50 farmers and ranchers who held discussions with their national lawmakers and administrative officials during a recent trip to Washington , D.C. The group met with Florida ’s congressional delegation as well as officials from USDA. The key topics of discussion were immigration reform and various measures proposed for inclusion in the 2007 Farm Bill.
The farmers who attended were especially concerned that in an effort to reform immigration policy, Congress might overlook the need for a reliable source of farm labor. The group also asked the administration to consider funding for relief of growers who suffer losses from natural disasters, such as the hurricanes from the past several years, and also the current drought being suffered in Florida during this growing season.
Farm Bureau Director of Agriculture Policy Kevin Morgan said the citizens’ lobbying trip helped to express responsible public policy positions held by Farm Bureau. “There is no substitute for personal visits with our elected officials in Washington ,” said Morgan.
Suwannee County Farm Bureau has participated in the annual “Field to the Hill” meetings for several years. “We need to make an impact with our elected officials in Washington, and going there on a personal visit is the absolute best method of doing what is good for farmers and ranchers and agriculture in general,” said Dasher.
Farmers from Leon, Gadsden and Madison counties also made the trip to Washington this year.

Market for luxury homes rolls on despite downturn

Jerry W. Jackson
Sentinel Staff Writer

June 18, 2007

Bill Silliman has a waiting list for the homes he's building near Big Sand Lake in southwest Orange County . "We're so backed up, if you bought a house from us today, we start it in January," the veteran builder said last week.

The average sales price for the homes Silliman has under construction in Venezia: $800,000 and up.

Lake Nona Golf & Country Club, in southeast Orlando , had its best month on record in May, with six home purchases. Average price: more than $2 million.

In Brevard County , JERJEF Homes just introduced its latest gated community, Tralee Bay Estates. The "Tuscan-inspired homes" start at more than $400,000 each.

The home-building business has slashed its workload and its work force in Florida and elsewhere as demand for housing has plummeted in the past year. But many custom builders -- the ones who construct homes that cost $1 million or more -- are busier than ever as they continue catering to the high-end market.

Even the average sales price for a new home in a Central Florida subdivision has held up better than many have expected, with some production builders averaging $500,000 or more per house.

So, what's going on?

Wealthier families have always accounted for a higher percentage of new-home sales, but now they are buying an even larger share as prices have escalated and less-well-off buyers have balked, said Ron Kurtz, a South Florida consultant who studies high-net-worth households.

"They're less sensitive to the market situation," said Kurtz, a principal with the American Affluence Research Center in the Miami area. Interest-rate increases, rising gasoline prices and other factors that have knocked many families out of the home-buying market can be shrugged off by the wealthiest 10 percent of U.S. households, Kurtz said.

Those 11.2 million well-off households average $256,000 a year in income and have a net worth -- assets minus debts -- of $3.1 million, according to the latest Federal Reserve figures.

By Kurtz's estimate, the wealthiest 10 percent of households this year could account for as much as 49 percent of all new-home sales nationwide.

That would be up from about a third of the new homes purchased last year, said Kurtz, who has been surveying wealthy households since 2002.

High-net-worth households have pared their expectations for new-home and second-home purchases, Kurtz found in his most recent survey, which was conducted earlier this spring. They're looking for value as well, Kurtz said, so the pace of their home acquisitions has slowed as prices have soared.

But the rate of decline in the estimated number of new homes to be sold this year has been sharper, tumbling from more than 1 million in 2006 to a projected 864,000 this year, according to industry estimates.

So wealthier families should account for a higher percentage of homes purchased, because they are steadier consumers of big-ticket items, Kurtz said.

Even among the wealthy, the same trend is noticeable: Households with a net worth of at least $6 million were three times more likely in Kurtz's survey to say they expect to build a new primary residence this year as were those with net worths between $800,000 and $1.49 million.

Wealthier buyers also have continued to fuel existing home sales in Central Florida .

The number of million-dollar-plus homes resold in Metro Orlando, for example, continued to rise at a double-digit percentage rate last year, defying the overall slowdown in housing.

The number of super-pricey homes was up nearly 18 percent last year, to 569, according to the Orlando Regional Realtor Association and Attorney's Title Insurance Fund.

While builders of homes in all price ranges have been hit by the slowdown in sales, the market for moderately priced homes has been hit even harder by the meltdown of subprime-mortgage lenders and the resulting tighter lending standards, said Jeff Fleis, vice president of privately held JERJEF Homes in Brevard County .

"Banks have confirmed that for us," said Fleis, who, along with his brother Jerry, is building houses in the Capron Ridge community of Viera.

Homes in Tralee Bay Estates, the only gated community within gated Capron Ridge, will average about $500,000, Fleis estimated, and even the smaller ones, of about 2,500 square feet, will come standard with tile roofs, stone columns, brick-paver driveways and three-car garages.

But Tralee Bay Estates, with 75 home sites, will still be priced below many of the other new subdivisions in the area, Fleis said, where new-home prices average $700,000 and up.

For Silliman and partner Robert Reiche, custom builders in the Orlando area for nearly 25 years, the marketing of their new Venezia subdivision in the Dr. Phillips area has been low-key but successful.

They sent postcards to higher-income neighborhoods and to previous clients -- and quickly got hard contracts for more than one-fourth of the 53-lot subdivision. Sales so far total about $11.2 million.

One sign, though, that even successful custom builders are feeling the slowdown: More are taking on remodeling projects. If the recently high-flying stock market takes a big dip, that could discourage home sales even among wealthy buyers, so builders are diversifying to maintain cash flow.

"We're looking to get into commercial [construction] and remodeling," Fleis said.

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