Summer camp is in jeopardy

Dream Oaks, a refuge for disabled children, could be homeless if land is sold

BY CHRISTOPHER O'DONNELL

EAST MANATEE -- Since 2001, Dream Oaks Camp has given sick and disabled children from across Florida a place where they can swim, canoe, ride horses and sit round a camp fire.

Most of all, it is a place where, for one short week, no one stares at them.

"Outside they're looked at as that child with the disability," said camp head counselor Megan Evelyn. "They're kids here; they're normal."

But the camp, part of Camp Flying Eagle, faces an uncertain future.

The camp's owner, the Southwest Florida Boy Scout Council, received an offer to sell the camp to a developer for $12 million. Rumors of a possible sale led former scouts to file a lawsuit to block the deal.

Now the two sides have agreed the camp can be sold provided the Scout Council builds a new camp nearby.

But there is nothing in the agreement that guarantees the future of Dream Oaks. If Camp Flying Eagle is sold, Dream Oaks would likely be left homeless.

About 500 families a year send children aged between 7 and 17 for five-day camps at Dream Oaks.

The camp caters to children with physical and developmental disabilities, debilitating health problems or terminal illnesses.

It may be impossible, Dream Oaks officials say, to find a new site that it could lease cheaply with facilities for handicapped children and access to water.

"There's no other property like this left," said Andrew Romines, CEO of Foundation for Dreams, the non-profit group that runs the camp. "What are we going to do with the 18 kids in wheelchairs we've got this week? What are we going to do with the families?"

The group's hopes may rest with Manatee County commissioners, who could sink the agreement by sticking by their 2006 decision to bar development on the camp. On Tuesday, commissioners delayed a vote on the matter to Aug. 7.

The foundation signed a 30-year lease in 2001 with the boy scouts council for $1 a year that lets it use 10 acres of the wilderness camp and all camp facilities including a dining hall and swimming pool.

The foundation pays the scouts council $10 per day per child to cover operating expenses.

It has also invested $1.6 million to build and equip seven cabins with handicap accessible ramps and other facilities for children with special needs. Under the terms of the lease, the scout council would pay that money back if it sells the camp.

The proposed settlement does give the foundation and Manatee County the right of first refusal to buy Camp Flying Eagle. But the foundation would have to match developer offers for the 180-acre site that includes land along the Manatee River .

"If a developer comes in and offers $12 million for the camp, the right of refusal is meaningless," Romines said. "It would be very difficult to raise that much money."

Last year the foundation offered the Scout Council $6.5 million for the camp with a provision that the council could still use the camp. The offer was declined.

Dream Oaks runs camps from Monday through Friday, giving children plenty of time to explore the camp.

The philosophy of camp counselors is that whatever the disability, a child can still follow any Huckleberry Finn-inspired dream. If a child in a wheelchair wants to ride in a canoe, the counselors make it happen.

"The child you had at the beginning of the week is the not the same one you see at the end of the week," said Evelyn, the counselor. "They've blossomed, they've grown."

Running the camp costs $1,400 per child per week. The foundation charges parents just $650. About 90 percent of the children receive scholarships from local or state governments to further reduce the cost.

Rasing the money to buy and build a new camp could take up to a decade, Romines said. It is a point the foundation will be stressing when it lobbies county commissioners on the issue.

"This agreement was new to us; we really haven't had the time to solicit land from the county, the state or individual donors," Romines said.

MANATEE --

A resolution in the dispute over valuable Boy Scout and Girl Scout camps will have to wait another few months.

Nicholas Azzara, county reporter, can be reached at 745-7081  Bradenton Herald

Manatee County commissioners were set to approve an agreement with Scout executives Tuesday that would have required the Southwest Florida Boy Scout Council to keep Camp Flying Eagle open until a replacement camp is in place.

In exchange, the county would rescind land-use decisions that required the camp - along with the Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida 's Camp Honi Hanta - to remain recreational open space.

But the complicated legal agreement was postponed for attorneys to change a few minor stipulations in the agreement. The agreement is expected to come back to commissioners Aug. 7.

"We're not hearing it today," Commission Chairman Amy Stein said at the onset of an all-day meeting Tuesday morning. "We're giving the parties additional time to massage it. Part of the reason is to have additional conversation and assuaging concerns."

In August, county commissioners placed recreational limitations on the two camps ensuring that they'd remain recreational space for the future and preventing scout executives from selling their valuable properties.

On 187 waterfront acres on the Manatee River , Camp Flying Eagle is considered prime real estate and could have been sold for millions under its former urban-fringe designation.

Camp Honi Hanta is on 110 acres along the Braden River in East Manatee. Girl Scout execs have said they have no plans to sell the camp, but they want to retain the full-value potential of the land for the future.

 

Businesses Fight Push For Land Use Overhaul

By MIKE SALINERO The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 20, 2007

TAMPA - Florida 's largest business groups are mobilizing to crush a citizen initiative they say would slow development and kill the state's economy.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce is leading an effort to defeat Florida Hometown Democracy, and amendment that would take major land use decisions out of the hands of local politicians and put them to a popular vote. The initiative's appeal is growing among residents who feel increasingly stressed by traffic jams, crowded schools and a degraded environment.

Supporters claim the initiative is gaining steam and that they will get the 611,009 petition signatures necessary to put measure on the ballot in November 2008. The deadline for turning in the signatures is Feb. 1.

Until then, voters can expect to see petition gatherers at concerts, art shows and other public venues. Before the campaign is over, tens of millions of dollars will be spent on campaign advertising, perhaps more than for any other constitutional amendment campaign in Florida history.

The most expensive amendment campaign to date was the 1996 battle over a sugar tax to clean up the Everglades . Sugar farmers and environmental groups spent $36 million on the initiative, which failed.

"This is much more serious because it has effects all over the state," said Lance deHaven-Smith, a political scientist and author of books on Florida politics. "It will be a major change for the development community and local government planning. The stakes are a lot higher."

Supporters of the amendment have accused the chamber of dirty tricks. The business group pulled a video from its Web site that used actors pretending to be unscrupulous paid petition gatherers.

"The builders are looking to protect their pocketbooks," said Lesley Blackner, a Palm Beach lawyer and co-founder of the Hometown Democracy movement. "The citizens are looking to take back their state."

'Comp Plan' Changes At Issue

The amendment would require voter approval whenever counties want to change their comprehensive growth plans. "Comp plans," as they are popularly known, are supposed to guide growth, outlining where homes, industries, parks and schools should be located.

Under current law, county commissioners vote to approve or deny comp plan amendments with advice from county planners. Blackner maintains that commissioners, dependent on campaign contributions from developers, approve all land use changes that come before them. The result, she said, is runaway growth.

"There shouldn't be a change made unless there is a finding by local commissioners that the public's interest will be benefited, or at least not harmed," she said.

Opponents, however, say constantly evolving market conditions force planners and developers to re-evaluate growth plans. An example is the recent rezoning approved by the Tampa City Council for an Ikea furniture store in Ybor City . The store had to get a comp plan amendment because the area was zoned for heavy industry. The amendment changed the land use so the area could be rezoned to planned development.

"That would be a perfect example that, just as a knee-jerk reaction, if you don't know what's going on, you would vote against it," said Tampa lawyer David Mechanik, who represented Ikea.

Gathering Momentum

Blackner says Hometown Democracy has about 400,000 petition signatures, though only 242,445 of the petitions have been verified by elections supervisors as being from registered Florida voters, as required by law. It takes 611,009 for the amendment to be on the November 2008 ballot.

"We expect to see the number rise, and at the rate they're going, they will get on the ballot in 2008," said Adam Babington, who leads the chambers' effort to derail the amendment. Babington said the chamber's polling shows support for the amendment running at 43 percent to 31 percent opposed, with 25 percent unsure. It needs to be approved by 60 percent of voters to pass.

The movement is getting some support from environmental groups, including the Sierra Club's Florida chapter and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Federation.

Bev Griffiths, chairwoman of the Sierra Club's Tampa Bay Group, said her chapter has pledged $1,000 toward the Hometown Democracy campaign. Griffiths said her members think that growth in Florida is "off the leash," and they blame local government.

As an example, Griffiths cites the Hillsborough County Commission's decision to scrap a "livable communities" element proposed for the county's growth plan. The element had been recommended by the city-county planning commission after two years of meetings with neighborhood groups. It included development amenities such as green building codes, native vegetation requirements, sidewalks and bike trails.

Developers opposed the livable communities proposal, saying it was too expensive. Commissioners killed it with little public discussion at a work session in March.

"I think what made people change their minds was they would go to the meetings and try to make their ideas work through the system," Griffiths said. "And, in the end, they were frustrated by it."

Chamber On Attack

Business groups argue that the amendment will kill representative government and bog down the electoral process. They say it is unreasonable to expect people to spend time educating themselves about land-use technicalities to cast an educated vote.

"The fear is that [voters] would vote 'no' on everything," said Mechanik, the Tampa land-use lawyer.

Mechanik disagrees with Blackner's contention that county commissioners hand out growth plan amendments like candy.

"We go through a pretty rigorous process under zoning," he said. "If there are a large number of residents appearing at a zoning hearing, that rezoning is in trouble."

The fear that Hometown Democracy will bring growth to a halt has united business and development groups in opposition. Last year, they spent an estimated $3.1 million to persuade voters to approve Amendment 2, which requires proposed amendments to get 60 percent of the votes instead of a simple majority. Many businesspeople said the threshold was aimed at Hometown Democracy.

The chamber has assembled a "Hometown Scam Coalition" that includes developers, bankers and Realtors. The chamber Web site exhorts members to "Stop the Scam" and has a link for members who want to submit a letter to their local newspapers, opposing Hometown Democracy.

Babington maintains a busy schedule telling local chambers and business groups that Hometown Democracy is bankrolled by "special interests" who want to "hijack" Florida 's representative form of government.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see $10 million, $20 million, $30 million in out-of-state money come in to prop up that Hometown Democracy campaign, which means that here in Florida , we're going to have to come up with at least that much money and certainly more," Babington said.

Campaign finance records do not support Babington's claims, however. As of this week, Hometown Democracy had raised about $588,000. Just 12 donations, totaling $435, were from outside Florida .

Blackner is the largest contributor to the campaign, giving $375,000 Most of the remaining 1,065 contributions were less than $100.

Babington did not reply to questions about how much the chamber has spent on the amendment. Campaign reports show the chamber's Free Enterprise Political Action Committee raised $354,000 as of June 7 and spent $301,209.

Edie Ousley, spokeswoman for the Florida Homebuilders Association, said the Hometown campaign will be particularly expensive because it will be fought during a presidential election year when television air time is costly.

Researchers Diane Grey and Michael Messano contributed to this report. Reporter Mike Salinero can be reached at msalinero@ tampatrib.com or (813) 259-8303.

Don't Abandon Wetlands Protections

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 20, 2007

Hillsborough commissioners may try to use the state-mandated budget cutbacks as an excuse to eliminate the county's wetlands protections. Some members say the program duplicates the state's effort.

This is an old ruse. The development industry has long tried to get rid of the county's wetlands program, and duplication is the common - and false - accusation.

The county's wetlands ordinance is tougher than the state's rule and was adopted precisely because state regulators were allowing the piecemeal destruction of Hillsborough's natural systems.

Commissioners, meeting as the Environmental Protection Commission, are scheduled to discuss the county's wetlands program Thursday.

The $2.3 million annual cost of the program is a good investment for taxpayers, as the wetlands prevent flooding and erosion, filter and store water and sustain wildlife.

Unlike the state, Hillsborough protects wetlands smaller than one-half acre, which can have great ecological value. The rule is reasonable, and allows wetlands to be destroyed if their preservation prevents the reasonable use of a property.

But when that occurs, local regulators are far better able to monitor projects to ensure the proper steps are taken to create marshlands elsewhere.

These man-made wetlands can be effective, but only if carefully constructed. The state's record for overseeing restoration efforts is spotty.

Make no mistake. If the commissioners abandon the county's protections, they won't be gaining efficiency. They'll be sacrificing wetlands. And it will be clear to the public what they are up to.

New Water Limit May Be on Tap

By Tom Palmer
The Ledger

LAKELAND - South Florida Water Management District officials are considering first-ever year-round lawn irrigation restrictions.

The restrictions, which allow lawn irrigation three days per week, are more permissive than the lawn-watering limits the Southwest Florida Water Management District imposed in 1992, which limit lawn watering to two days per week except during severe droughts, when lawn watering is allowed only one day per week.

South Florida officials will explain the proposal at a public meeting Thursday from 1 to 3 p.m. in Room 162 at Osceola Heritage Park , 1921 Kissimmee Valley Lane , Kissimmee .

The boundaries of both water management districts meet in eastern Polk County . The eastern areas of the county, including Poinciana and Indian Lake Estates, lie within the South Florida district. All of Polk's 17 cities lie within Swiftmud's boundary. County water regulations dictate that the Swiftmud lawn-watering restrictions apply countywide.

SFWMD's proposed mandatory measures now apply only in Lee and Collier counties.

They follow the rationale in Swiftmud's 15-year-old restrictions by directing residents to avoid irrigating in the middle of the day when irrigation is the least effective because water loss from evaporation is the highest.

"This water shortage has taught us all critical lessons about the limitations of our water resources," said Carol Ann Wehle, the West Palm Beach-based agency's executive director.

"We have also learned more about the benefits of individual water conservation, and that with moderate rainfall our lawns can survive and thrive on as little as once-a-week watering. These measures represent a responsible water use ethic, while providing for the protection of our citizens' economic investment in their landscapes."

SFWMD's governing board is scheduled to consider the new rules July 12.

Tom Palmer can be reached at 863-802-7535 or tom.palmer@theledger.com. Read more views on the environment at http://environment.theledger.com.

 

 

Is growth pushing tax boosts?

By MARK LANE – opinion Daytona Beach News-Journal
FOOTNOTE

One of the more interesting documents generated by the Legislature during this past special session was a ranking of which counties and cities raised taxes the most and the least.

This was important to know because under the tax-relief plan, the cities and counties that increased their per-capita tax levies the most would get their property-tax rate cut the most. And cities and counties that increased their property taxes the least would not have to cut.

And this was good information to have out there. The actions of local governments have been painted with a very broad brush in Tallahassee over the past few weeks. In fact, painted with something that looked rather like a broom.

In fact, there was quite a big range in local taxation. From Southwest Ranches in Broward (population 7,447), which cut taxes 18 percent a year between 2001 and 2006, to Briny Breezes in Palm Beach County (population 417), which raised taxes 39.1 percent a year.

(Don't feel bad for Briny Breezes taxpayers: The whole trailer-park town was sold to a developer this year and each of the residents got more than $1 million.)

In Volusia County , according to the Legislature's numbers, one town raised its taxes less than 1 percent a year since 2001, or 10.77 percent below the state average. Hold-the-line honors here goes to Pierson. Congratulations, you're the only place in the county that won't suffer state-mandated rate cuts.

Not so coincidentally, Pierson also is the slowest growing of Volusia's towns and cities. It lost population between 2004 and 2005 and gained only 1.4 percent between the 2000 census and 2005. (The most recent range available from the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research.)

It's a lot easier to hold the line on spending when people aren't lining up demanding new roads, new fire stations and lots of new stuff in general.

At the other end of things, look at Flagler County . In recent years, it has been the fastest-growing county in Florida and in most years since 2000, the fastest in the nation. It grew in population by more than half again between 2000 and 2005 -- 57.8 percent.

It also ranked fifth among Florida 's 67 counties in per capita tax increases.

Surprise! Across the state, fast-growth counties raised taxes a lot. Slow-growth counties raised taxes a little.

In the 10 counties with the smallest increase in taxes between 2001-2006, the population between 2000-2005 grew by a tepid average of 7.4 percent a year. Well below the state average of 12.1 percent.

In the 10 counties with the biggest increase in taxes between 2001-2006, the population grew by a mind-blowing average of 23.9 percent a year. Just under twice the state average.

Angry taxpayers often ascribe tax increases to greed, corruption and maladministration. And while there's certainly enough of that to go around in the Sunshine State , there's a good argument that runaway growth is a major force driving up city and county budgets all around the state.

Turning rural land into suburban land, and turning the countryside into subdivisions full of people demanding urban services is not a cheap process.

Growth doesn't pay for itself. And by the time tax reform is finished, it might pay even less than before.

mark.lane@news-jrnl.com

County won't budge on interchange

Project remains on 5-year plan

 

BY CHRISTOPHER CURRY

STAR-BANNER

 

 

OCALA - Over objections from a residents' group from the Shady area, a proposed interchange at Interstate 75 and Southwest 95th Street remains in the County Commission 's five-year road construction plan.

 

County officials say the interchange would only allow access from the west on Southwest 95th Street and give residents along the rapidly developing State Road 200 corridor another way to get on I-75.

 

Members of the Shady Greenway Conservation Alliance argue construction of the interchange could revive plans to extend 95th Street east of I-75 toward U.S. 441. They fear that could lead to an onslaught of development where horse farms still make up the local landscape.

 

"This interchange is, you might say, like a snake in the grass, I prefer to say a gator in the grass, that could literally eat the Shady greenway up," Shady-Greenway Conservation Alliance member Michelle Shearer said.

 

In 2005, the group successfully battled to get the Southeast 95th Street extension removed from the Ocala/Marion County Transportation Planning Organization's long-term plan. County Commissioner Andy Kesselring said it's not coming back.

 

"We're not putting any road through there," he said.

 

The Shady-Greenway Conservation Alliance members wanted assurance future commissioners would not do it. They argued that assurance only comes if the interchange doesn't.

 

"Let's forget this thing," group member Darlene Weesner said. "Let's put a resolution on the books that you're never going to have it."

 

The County Commission passed the annual update of the five-year road construction plan 3-2. Commission Chairman Stan McClain and Commissioner Barbara Fitos dissented. The interchange was the sticking point for both of them. McClain said his problem was "more of the cost than necessarily having one there."

 

According to an estimate from the Transportation Department, the cost for design, right of way acquisition and construction of the interchange and the widening of Southwest 95th Street from Southwest 48th Avenue to I-75 would be in the $14 million range. The county needs additional impact fee money to pay for the project and construction is currently planned for the 2011-12 fiscal year.

 

Ocala/Marion County Transportation Planning Organization Director Greg Slay said the federal government will decide if the interchange is warranted at the end of an ongoing county-funded justification study.

 

Slay said the three top construction priorities in the five-year plan were the former Belleview Bypass, now known as Southeast 92nd Loop, the completion of Southeast 31st Street and the proposed 42nd Street bridge over I-75 to link SR 200 to Southwest 27th Avenue.

 

Christopher Curry may be reached at

867-4115 or chris.curry@starbanner.com.

I don’t blame these residents for not wanting a concrete plant in their neighborhood, but the real culprits here are the commissioners who allowed a developer to convince them it was ok to build a subdivision next to a known industrial area.

Not in our backyard!
Arlington Ridge rails at cement plant site

 

Joshua Davidovich
Staff Writer LEESBURG –

Residents of an upscale "active adult" subdivision are dreading the relocation of a concrete batch plant to their neighborhood, but the county may not be able to do much to stop the plant's opening.

About 50 residents of Arlington Ridge, a, which backs up to the Rogers Industrial Park in Okahumpka, showed up at the Lake County Commission meeting Tuesday to voice their complaints about the dusty and noisy plant that will soon be their neighbor.

And Prestige Concrete isn't exactly happy about having to move next to the 55-plus community either.

"This is one of those businesses you have to have. You just wish it was somewhere else," said Prestige General Manager Thomas Lang. But, he added, there were no other options in the county, which does not have a buffered industrial park.
The AB Ready Mix concrete plant will be built to replace a similar one closing in Clermont in November. That plant was an object of neighbors' complaints of dusty, barely breathable air and loud noises, even in the middle of the night.

Arlington Ridge residents, much like those of a subdivision in Groveland that ended up with a Prestige concrete plant built in their backyard last year, fear that the same fate may befall them.

"Small wonder we are concerned, given that reputation," said Bob Merriam, speaking on behalf of Arlington Ridge residents. Merriam said he had a petition signed by more than 550 people against the plant and a handful of residents from the nearby Plantation of Leesburg also agreed with his sentiments.

Prestige admitted the Clermont plant was troublesome and called it an anomaly.

"That plant is unfortunate for the county, unfortunate for the people living there and unfortunate for us and we are leaving that site for a properly zoned one," Prestige's attorney, Gary Cooney said.

County Code Enforcement Director Tommy Leathers was a frequent visitor to the Clermont plant, which often ran afoul of various protection agencies, but said the plant has recently made some improvements.

Rogers Industrial Park , which predates the subdivision by several years, is already home to another concrete plant, as well as the Covanta garbage incinerator and allows for heavy industrial uses.

Prestige officials have said the new plant will correct many of the problems cited by its Clermont neighbors by using special silos to keep dust out of the air and placing buildings and buffers to minimize light and noise pollution.

"We're going to be spending significant dollars on landscaping to improve the view for six homes in Arlington Ridge," Lang said.

Even so, residents are still unhappy because company officials maintain that the concrete plant will operate around the clock. One complaint is that the firm won't undergo a voluntary dust emissions check every six months.

But because Prestige is not seeking a zoning change for its relocation to the industrial park, county officials can do little beyond listening to concerns and making sure the site stays within code.

"There isn't anything for the county commission to do here," said County Attorney Sandy Minkoff.

Attorney Leslie Campione, who is representing Arlington Ridge, said the county could challenge the plant's right to locate because they would not be hooking up to Leesburg's central water system, which she said was called for in the county's comprehensive plans.

"I don't think this is just a site plan issue, it's a "comp plan' issue," she said.

Minkoff said his staff would look into that allegation, but said the county's growth management department already made the allowance based on the fact that much of the water used in the plant would be non-potable and therefore didn't apply.

Commissioner Elaine Renick, who had initiated the information session, said she was unhappy about the county's lack of options.

"We have an obligation as far as the health and welfare of our citizens goes," she said. "I'm very disappointed."

Wiregrass Vote Is Postponed

By KEVIN WIATROWSKI The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 20, 2007

WESLEY CHAPEL - The developers of Wiregrass Ranch will have to wait three more weeks for a final vote on their massive project.

Pasco County commissioners postponed a final decision on the development after a three-hour public hearing that included two hours of public horse-trading with Wiregrass attorney Joel Tew.

Commissioners will return to the Wiregrass issue when they meet July 10 in Dade City .

Tew came to Tuesday's hearing in New Port Richey looking for commissioners to help him and County Administrator John Gallagher navigate a tangle of thorny issues.

Roads remain the chief dispute.

Tew is asking the county to pay for part of Porter Boulevard , Wiregrass' north-south spine road, along with Mansfield Boulevard coming north from Meadow Pointe and a loop road that will reroute the northern end of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard .

County officials say those roads will benefit Wiregrass primarily and don't merit credits on Wiregrass' $579 million road-construction bill. Tew argued the county asked for those roads years ago, so the county should pay at least half the costs.

Wiregrass Ranch promises to add more than 35,000 residents to Wesley Chapel in the next two decades, plus millions of square feet of shopping and office space, schools, a golf course and a downtown area.

The county has agreed to give Wiregrass 100 percent credit for adding two lanes to Meadow Pointe Boulevard and extending State Road 56 to the east as a six-lane highway.

Without more credits against its county-mandated road bill, Wiregrass won't work economically, Tew said.

"Houdini can't make the project work," Tew said. "The math does not work for that kind of numbers."

The county also wants Wiregrass to pay about $25 million to widen Interstate 75 between S.R. 56 and Interstate 275. Tew has refused.

Road costs for Wiregrass have ranged from $192 million when the project was first proposed in 2004 to the county's estimate earlier this year of $733 million.

Skyrocketing construction costs in the Bay area are driving the unprecedented costs. Several large projects that followed Wiregrass into the review pipeline are confronting similar road bills, said Michele Baker, the county's chief assistant administrator.

For their part, commissioners hacked away some of the tangles but added some of their own.

Commissioner Pat Mulieri, who represents the Wiregrass area, insisted on building the long-delayed S.R. 56 at six lanes instead of two, despite giving an effective road subsidy to future developers in the region.

Commissioner Ted Schrader demanded Wiregrass contribute money to buy land for widening S.R. 54 east of Curley Road .

Tew agreed to both requests without a fight.

Commission Chairwoman Ann Hildebrand acknowledged that what happens at Wiregrass will be a model for future developments.

"The eyes are on Wiregrass," Hildebrand said. "The eyes are on the county for what we do in this region."

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

Appeal Against Wal-Mart Upheld

By JULIA FERRANTE The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 20, 2007

ELFERS - Developers of a Wal-Mart Supercenter planned at State Road 54 and Grand Boulevard must go back before the Development Review Committee to resolve dozens of issues, including the location of a traffic light and turning lanes.

After nearly two hours of testimony Tuesday, the Pasco County Commission upheld an appeal by a residents group opposed to the store, sending the retailer's plans back for more changes.

It is the second time the plans have been remanded to the review committee in what has become nearly a three-year effort to build a 205,000-square-foot store and garden center.

At issue are dozens of discrepancies between the retailer's site plans and requirements in the land development code. Pasco officials made approval of the site plan contingent on the necessary modifications, but opponents argued those issues should have been resolved at the outset.

Schuyler Ellis of St. Petersburg-based Wal-Mart Alliance for Reform Now and residents of Colonial Heights in Elfers said the retailer is trying to fit too much onto a small site and in a congested area.

Ellis said Wal-Mart should have sought numerous variances rather than amending the site plan, which he said violates the land development code.

"The fact that there are 50 conditions &hellip means the original site plans can't be in compliance," Ellis said.

Pasco Development Director Cindy Jolly said most of the issues with the site plan have been addressed. One issue, the spacing of a traffic light, is to be considered at a review committee meeting next month. If the variance is not granted, Wal-Mart must return to the drawing board.

Commissioner Michael Cox suggested that the board uphold the appeal without remanding the project to the Development Review Committee. That would have forced Wal-Mart to resubmit plans and restart the process.

Wal-Mart attorney Glenn Smith objected.

"That's unfair," he said, standing and throwing his arms up. "Why would you make us start all over?"

Smith said Wal-Mart is making numerous improvements to Grand Boulevard , and that should be considered.

Commission Chairwoman Ann Hildebrand, who represents Elfers, said she appreciates the plans to improve Grand Boulevard but also wonders whether Wal-Mart is trying to do too much.

Cox maintained his stance, saying Wal-Mart is "taking a size 12 foot and putting it into a size 8 shoe."

The board, at Commissioner Jack Mariano's suggestion, remanded the plans to the review committee.

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

County Must Reduce Expenses

By JULIA FERRANTE The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 20, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - County commissioners likely will have to reduce spending by $5 million in the coming fiscal year to meet state-mandated property tax decreases.

The big hit, however, could come in fiscal 2008-09, when a proposed constitutional amendment could cost the county as much as $24.5 million, said Michael Nurrenbrock, director of management and budget.

As they shape their spending plan for fiscal 2007-08, Nurrenbrock and County Administrator John Gallagher asked county commissioners Tuesday to keep in mind the impending cuts. The predictions are based on the expectation the real estate market will continue to decline and that state aid and certain tax revenues will drop.

"It's pretty evident that any new programs you are going to add, you're going to have to eliminate them next year," Nurrenbrock said.

The Legislature last week approved the biggest property tax decrease in Florida history, ordering counties to cut as much as 9 percent from their current property tax revenue. Pasco fared better than most counties, with a directive to collect 3 percent less than it did this fiscal year. The county did not have to cut as much as other counties because officials here have lowered the tax rate for the past six years.

Residents in unincorporated Pasco would see a reduction of about 50 cents per $1,000 of valuation in their bills, down from the $6 per $1,000 they paid this fiscal year, Nurrenbrock said. Those who live within the fire taxing district also will pay less - about $1.02 per $1,000 of valuation, compared with the $1.10 per $1,000 they pay now.

Property Appraiser Mike Wells has estimated the county's taxable property value at $29.4 billion, including about $2 billion in taxable new construction. The new construction tax revenue, estimated at $11.8 million, will help offset the county's losses from tax reform, but anticipated reductions in other funding sources would quickly eat up the difference, Nurrenbrock said.

The 2007 losses will be small in comparison with fiscal 2008 if voters approve a constitutional amendment to create a homestead superexemption that would protect 75 percent of the first $200,000 of a home's value and 15 percent of the next $300,000. That plan would replace the current $25,000 homestead exemption and the Save Our Homes property tax cap.

Homeowners likely will choose based on how it affects their wallets, Nurrenbrock said. Those who have lived in the county for a few years may be better off keeping Save Our Homes and the current exemption, while people who purchased more recently could see immediate savings with the superexemption but face steeper increases later.

A person who bought a home in fiscal 2007 for $250,000 and took the $25,000 exemption, for instance, paid $1,595 in property and fire taxes, Nurrenbrock said. In the years that follow, that same property owner would pay $1,509, $1,559 and $1,611 by 2010 under the current plan.

If that person took the superexemption, the tax bill would drop to $834 in 2009 then increase to $964 in 2010.

Commission Chairwoman Ann Hildebrand said the amendment seems to create more disparities among taxpayers.

"If we were trying to get rid of the inequities, the more people that stay in Save Our Homes, the more inequities there will be," she said.

Despite the savings in tax bills, residents could see dramatic decreases in services, especially in fiscal 2008, Nurrenbrock said.

Even if Pasco 's taxable property value increases by a healthy $3.6 billion, the county would lose an estimated $5 billion in taxable property under the superexemption, Nurrenbrock said. That could mean cutting an additional $8 million from the general fund. In the more likely case that property values increase by a smaller amount, such as $600 million, the county would have to cut $24.5 million.

County commissioners, who are slated to begin their budget review process next month, will have to decide where to make up the difference. The general fund, which is built with property taxes, pays for services including parks and recreation, libraries, community services and some judicial services.

It also pays for a good portion of the budgets for constitutional officers. The sheriff alone has requested an $11 million increase from his current $54 million budget.

Gallagher has ordered a hiring freeze and has asked his staff to submit department budgets with no increases.

Dan Johnson, the assistant county administrator for public services, said making the cuts in fiscal 2008 will not be as simple as asking all departments to slash 18 percent. Some departments depend on state and federal grants, which are based on county contributions. Some expenses also are recovered with fees.

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

 

Charlotte toughens dirt mining restrictions

By ZAC ANDERSON

zac.anderson@heraldtribune.com

CHARLOTTE COUNTY -- In the end, it came back to trucks and the idea that thousands more could clog the roadways if Charlotte County does not crack down on dirt mining.

The concerns about increased truck traffic persuaded county commissioners Tuesday to rewrite the dirt mining rules again after learning that the number of new mines could explode from 22 to 57 if every application is approved.

The commissioners asked for more information before a formal vote on new dirt mining rules July 16.

"I still have concerns about where we're going and the main concern is traffic," said Commissioner Tom D'Aprile.

Dirt miners generally approved of the new regulations, accepting larger fees and increased restrictions.

Under the new rules, the county will collect $1 per truck to compensate for damage to roads. Expensive traffic calming devices such as turn lanes also can be required.

But environmental activists said the regulations do not go far enough to protect wildlife such as the endangered Florida panther or make roads safer in eastern Charlotte