Florida showing toll of warming, scientists say

By CATHY ZOLLO

cathy.zollo@heraldtribune.com

TAMPA -- Fishermen first noticed the change near Cedar Key, a quiet community on the Gulf of Mexico north of Tampa , surrounded by bays and marshes and known for its primitive beauty.

Cabbage palms along the coast, ones they had used for years for navigation, were gone. Dying off as well were the cedar trees for which the island is named.

Researchers who studied the trees came to alarming conclusions: A rise in sea level that is accelerating with global warming is taking out Florida 's coastal forests.

The oceans have been rising for 17,000 years, creeping up the state's beaches at the rate of roughly 0.6 millimeters a year. But since the Industrial Revolution, that rate has accelerated, and since 1993 it has reached about 3 millimeters a year, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

That does not sound like much. But with Florida 's low topography, a few millimeters can bring the sea a considerable distance inland, poisoning trees with salt water, said Jack Putz, a professor of botany at the University of Florida .

"When you go along the Gulf Coast of Florida, it's not hard to find areas of dead trees," Putz said. "What we are seeing is a pretty rapid transition from forests to salt marshes."

It is one among many clues that a changing climate will have a powerful effect on Florida , the subject this week of the state's first conference on global warming. Recommendations from the conference will help state leaders form policies to deal with the impact of climate change and take steps to lessen it.

In the case of retreating forests, the state should limit development in threatened areas, allowing wooded areas to move inward to provide a continued buffer against the sea, he said.

"We need to think about upland extensions of our parks to allow for the migration of these upland communities," Putz said.

Otherwise, Cedar Key might have to change its name.

"(Cedar trees) will retreat inland," Putz said. "They won't be on Cedar Key.

Another sign that global warming is already being felt is found in the state's 7,800 lakes.

Scientists using lake temperatures in 50 of the largest lakes, not including Lake Okeechobee, to gauge climate change in Florida found that those temperatures are rising.

The warming has been most pronounced since 1975: Since then, the average temperature in the lakes has climbed about one degree.

The temperature shift means the lakes have less time for the important process of mixing that comes each winter. Mixing enhances the lakes' oxygen levels and helps support plants and fish.

When a lake is very warm in the summer, the water stratifies, like layers of a cake. Without mixing with water at the surface, little oxygen reaches the bottom.

Most affected will be lakes in Central and northern Florida .

"North Florida lakes are just as warm as South Florida lakes in summer," said Danny Coenen, a researcher from the University of Florida . "The big change comes in winter."

That is when those lakes have had months to mix as the air temperature cools surface waters and surface water sinks.

The evidence of climate change in Florida seems slight, but researchers said as it continues to pile up, even an apathetic public will find it difficult to ignore.

"Global change is not just a problem for people in Bangladesh and the islands of the Pacific," Putz said. "It's something we need to think about here."

Last modified: May 11. 2007 4:22AM

110-degree summers in city's future?

City Lights Turn Off Fireflies' Love Lives

Published: May 11, 2007

TAMPA - The light on your front porch could be affecting the future of fireflies.

More lights illuminating streets, garages, gardens and other outdoor areas could be one reason there seem to be far fewer fireflies than in the past, said Marc Branham, professor of entomology with the University of Florida.

Too much light disrupts fireflies, which use their nocturnal flashes and glows to find mates.

Branham, who has studied lightning bugs for 15 years, said scientists can't put hard numbers on the apparent reduction of fireflies in Florida because no one established how many were around 10 or 20 years ago.

"But folks all have the same story. They don't see as many as they used to," Branham said. "There are probably other factors, too, like more chemicals people put on their yards."

Some of Florida 's 200 species of fireflies are becoming so hard to find they may vanish in a decade or so, he said.

Branham's research shows that outdoor lights affect firefly mating.

Male fireflies hover above grass or brush and flash to convince the females on the ground they are suitable mating material. If the female is impressed, she flashes her own light directly at the male that caught her fancy.

Females of many species seem to prefer males that flash the brightest and fastest.

Branham set up a light equivalent to a porch light in areas where male fireflies gathered and used tiny lights on the ground to mimic the response of females, repeating the test with the light off.

"What we found was the males stayed away from the light source and had a harder time seeing the females flash back," he said.

Not only do outdoor lights make the males shy away, but the artificial light also disrupts their ability to tell when to search for a mate.

Various species emerge to mate at different times, judging when to fly by how light it is. Some come out for perhaps an hour after dusk, then another species takes flight.

"They take their cue from how dark it is. With light pollution, fireflies don't know when to start flying," Branham said.

In yards with outdoor lights, males tend to keep to the darker areas, restricting where they can find mates.

"One of the worst lights is a bare bulb stuck in a socket. It throws light everywhere," Branham said.

People can help by using outdoor lights that illuminate specific areas and not broadcast light over large spaces. At the very least, they should turn off outdoor lights when they go to bed, Branham said.

It's difficult to tell how the loss of fireflies would affect the environment. The insects, members of the beetle family, feed on things such as slugs and snails.

"I don't think we know the exact answer to what the loss of fireflies will mean," Branham said.

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

Big changes facing lifetime grove man

Citrus farmer John Floyd has overcome many setbacks, so he's not worried about new rules.

By ERIN SULLIVAN
Published May 11, 2007

DADE CITY - Everything could be taken from him, all John Floyd has worked for since he can remember.

Things are already changing so much, what with the new state laws trying to prevent disease from taking hold of the citrus industry - second to only tourism in Florida in terms of power. All his life, Floyd has worked groves outside. Now, all nurseries have to grow their trees indoors. There's a hill on Floyd's grove where he and his wife were going to build their dream home. Instead, by the end of the year, the view they would have had from their front porch is not going to be of trees, but of huge, long, white greenhouses.

But it's okay, Floyd says. Everything will be fine.

And he's sincere. His eyes crinkle up at the corners as he smiles in that soothing, somewhat shy way he does. He said growing in the greenhouses will be different, but that's what has to be done to keep the citrus safe.

John Floyd was born with the hunger for success, the flint-edged desire only the dirt poor know; the gnawing kind that whips fire at your heels. This hunger has made millionaires and presidents. It's also driven men mad, this need that never seems filled and this fear that they'll end up where they began.

Floyd grew up one of six kids in a two-bedroom house on the west side of Dade City . His dad was a kind man, a fruit picker and World War II veteran who showed Floyd the meaning and merit of hard work. At 4 years old, Floyd was out picking fruit with him. But Floyd's dad was an alcoholic. The beer and whiskey killed him young, when Floyd was only 17. Floyd's mother, who married at 16 and never learned to read, did the best she could with what she had, which was not much at all.

Though Floyd knew he didn't want the life he was born into, he had a good childhood - they had food, a roof over their heads, shoes even if they had holes. When he wasn't working odd jobs, Floyd spent his time outdoors: fishing, hunting, roaming. He hung out at the city auction and bought and sold things for extra money. He often bought new furniture for the house well, new for them, but used. He never knew if his parents noticed or appreciated it. Maybe one old couch looks the same as another.

Hitchhiking nets a job

Floyd liked to hitchhike around town, no particular place to go, just out. One day, when he was 12, a citrus farmer picked him up and changed his life. This man asked Floyd if he wanted a job.

Buddy Triplett did bud work - which is grafting citrus trees. Floyd took to the work easily. He loved it, being out in the sun, knife in hand, the focus and rhythm of the work sweeping his mind clean of everything else clogging it. Floyd could make $300 a day doing bud work. He also learned about citrus harvesting and everything else he could about the business.

He was never into school - that wasn't going to be his path to success. He was making so much money in citrus farming that he dropped out and proposed to his girlfriend, Sabrina, who also dropped out of school. They lived in a 10- by 50-foot trailer. They had a daughter and then a son. Floyd worked sunup to sundown, trying to make his fortune.

He devoured self-help books like How to Win Friends and Influence People, Think and Grow Rich and The Magic of Thinking Big. He bartered citrus trees for a patch of land so he could start a citrus tree nursery on the outskirts of Dade City , 55 acres off a quiet dirt road, brushing up against the thick cypress and pines of the Green Swamp in Pasco County . Floyd used his self-help book skills to talk people into lending him money, since the bank wouldn't.

So this was how Floyd & Associates Inc. was born - which Floyd started with his brother, Chester , who later opted out of his half of the business.

But at the same time Floyd was so desperate to carve out a good life for himself and his family, he also was tearing it down with whiskey and drugs. Floyd was in his 20s. And he was wild. Something had to give - he couldn't keep on going like this forever.

The path that killed his father could easily kill him.

Avoiding dad's path

While trying to find good role models, he met some other businessmen who became his mentors. Many of them were religious and Floyd started reading the Bible.

Something in him just clicked.

He gave it up - all of it, the drink and the drugs and the late nights.

"I don't think I'd be alive today if I hadn't, " Floyd said. "I was on a train going really fast."

The gnawing void that sometimes never gets filled in some men, no matter how many things they have, felt full in him. He still wanted success, sure. Who doesn't? But he let go of the worries he couldn't control - the ones that can drive farmers to early graves: cold snaps, freezes, droughts, parasites, disease. He believed what the Bible told him, that God had a plan for him, a purpose, and if he kept his faith, things would always work out for the best. He felt secure and loved.

A business success

Floyd still worked hard, up at dawn, out on the grove. He built his nursery into one of the largest in Florida , shipping more than 400, 000 trees out to citrus farms each year. He branched out into niche markets - designing a fruit cocktail tree that blooms (on the same tree) lemons and limes and oranges year-round. He and Sabrina built a 3, 000-square-foot home with a pool, then downsized to the one they have now (a 2, 000-square-foot one, also with a pool).

Floyd is 48 now. He said he's not a millionaire. But he's comfortable. He wears old jeans and work boots and baseball hats and still, even though he's the boss, looks like he feels more at home outdoors than he does in his office. He and Sabrina just celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary - beating the odds that were against them, marrying so young.

He keeps posters of nature - of flowers and mountains and streams - on the far wall from his desk. Looking at them helps when worries creep in. He says they remind him of God, of how he created all things and has a plan for all things, including him, a dirt-poor cracker boy desperate for material wealth but who, in the end, got much more.

Erin Sullivan can be reached at esullivan@sptimes.com or (813) 909-4609.

Drought Forces State To Tighten Taps

Published: May 11, 2007

WEST PALM BEACH - South Florida residents and golf courses were placed under the region's most severe water restrictions on record Thursday, as officials try to cut use by up to 45 percent to offset unprecedented drought conditions.

"The seriousness of this drought and the public's role in cutting back cannot be overstated," said Carol Wehle, executive director of the South Florida Water Management District.

The new rules mean outside watering will be cut to once a week in Broward and Palm Beach counties. Residents in Martin and St. Lucie counties will be allowed to water outside plants and lawns only twice a week.

Pumping from four coastal wells in Lantana, Lake Worth , Hallandale and Dania Beach will be cut back or eliminated as officials try to stave off saltwater intrusion that could taint the fresh-water sources. More than 90 other wells are also in jeopardy and are being monitored.

"If we don't shut them down and the salt gets in the wells, they won't recover for decades," district spokeswoman Julie Huber said.

New development in South Florida must find alternative water sources such as reuse or desalinization as cities and counties are forced to use only currently allotted supplies, Wehle said.

"We are not allowing any increase to the amount of water that is being withdrawn," she said.

The drought is also hitting the agriculture industry, which was forced to curtail use by 50 percent last month. It is digging into tourism dollars as many inland waterways dry up, removing boating and fishing opportunities.

U.S. Sugar Corp., the nation's largest cane-sugar producer, is feeling the pinch as a new crop is getting started on 160,000 acres in Florida . Harvest season ended last month.

"If the rainy season doesn't begin in the near future, we'll certainly start seeing some dramatic impacts on the crops," company spokeswoman Judy Sanchez said.

During a 2001 drought, U.S. Sugar lost about 30 percent of the sugar content in its cane. The sugar industry as a whole lost $100 million in Florida , Sanchez said.

"And this drought is worse at this stage than we were in 2001," she said.

Karen Nenno, manager at Meyer's Turf & Landscape Nursery in West Palm Beach , estimates her business has lost up to 20 percent of its customers. "It's been real slow," she said.

The new rules come less than a month after the water district instituted strict restrictions aimed at cutting residential use by up to 30 percent. The agency now says those rules weren't enough and another 15 percentage point reduction is needed.

Golf courses in the affected counties will have to cut water use 45 percent and continue reporting weekly usage levels to the district.

The rules mean residents could face fines of $25 to $500 a day if they don't comply. District officials will use helicopters to monitor large-scale users such as farms, which could be fined up to $10,000 a day for noncompliance.

Last month, the district fined 81 golf courses $500 each for failing to report how many gallons they were using. Most cities and counties have now also begun fining violators instead of issuing warnings.

The state has been plagued with some of the worst drought conditions on record. Lake Okeechobee, a backup drinking-water source for millions in South Florida and the lifeblood of the Everglades , is nearing a record low. And although summer months typically bring steady storms, officials say even average rainfall won't break the drought.

It has also left the state's swamps and forests vulnerable to wildfires. Gov. Charlie Crist said there were 228 fires burning 80,000 acres, or 125 square miles, on Thursday in Florida .

Testing The Waters

By CHRISTIAN M. WADE The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 11, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - Hundreds of millions of gallons of drinking water is drawn from wellfields across the state every day - not only to quench the thirst of a growing population, but also to nourish lawns and gardens.

Though most municipalities limit irrigation to one day a week, Floridians on average still use more water on their yards than they consume.

It's something this west Pasco County city wants to change.

New Port Richey officials are preparing to expand the city's nascent reclaimed water system as part of a long-term conservation effort.

The ambitious venture will begin with an estimated $2.2 million project that will offer reclaimed water to the city's North River neighborhood.

Eventually they hope to hook up the entire city to the system.

Reclaimed water is treated wastewater from sewage treatment plants used for agricultural purposes such as lawn irrigation.

The project's cost will be split between the city and the Southwest Florida Water Management District, which has pledged a matching grant. The city will pay half through its stormwater reserve fund.

City Manager Scott Miller said the city is expected to receive the bulk of the grant - or $700,000 - this year and the rest in coming years.

Users will be charged a flat rate of $10 a month for unlimited water.

"That's a deal," he said. "I'd like to make it available to everyone."

City planners say they chose the North River neighborhood because residents had expressed strong interest in participating in a reclaimed water project as part of a long-term redevelopment plan for the area.

Miller said it's a matter of getting a return on the city's investment

"We want at least 50 percent of the people to commit to doing it," he said. "If we don't get that, the system is not going to pay for itself."

It's also an issue of higher consumption levels in the neighborhood.

There are 483 households in North River , and residents use more than 109,000 gallons of water a day on their lawns, according to figures submitted for the grant proposal to Swiftmud, a common name for the water district.

The project would provide more than 217,000 gallons of reclaimed water a day to the neighborhood, city officials have estimated.

Waste Not, Want This?

For several years, the city quietly has been tying new customers into the reclaimed system, targeting areas where the demand is strong.

Hundreds of residents in the Jasmine Hills and Woodridge Estates subdivisions and east Grand Boulevard now use reclaimed water.

Most of the city's public parks, downtown streetscaping and median flower and tree displays are irrigated weekly with reclaimed water.

It also is provided to several public schools in the city and to Magnolia Valley Golf Course.

City officials laud the results of these pilot projects, saying the neighborhoods served boast some of the finest lawns in the city.

"It's been very successful," Miller said. "All the lawns are green."

A mix of Swiftmud grants and local funding has fueled the expansion.

"We'd like to provide it in every area where people are going to use it," said Tom O'Neill, the city's public works director. "But we need to get the commitments from these areas or we don't get the state funding."

The Call To Conserve

New Port Richey buys more than 85 percent of its drinking water from Tampa Bay Water, and city officials say they have an ample supply.

Still, as in many other municipalities, officials here are concerned about the state's growing level of consumption, which has strained reserves.

The city council recently reduced lawn watering to one day a week.

"With the amount of people coming to Florida , we're eventually going to run out," Miller said. "We're wasting a very important resource."

Regionally, Tampa Bay Water managers envision replacing drinking water with reclaimed water for irrigation by 2025.

In the past 20 years, Swiftmud planners partially have funded at least 275 reclaimed water projects in the district, which spans 17 counties along the west coast of Florida , from Levy to Charlotte .

That translates into more than 200 million gallons a day.

"Our ultimate goal is to supply an alternative water source so people aren't using high-quality groundwater on their lawns," said Anthony Andrade, a senior reclaimed water project manager for Swiftmud.

Statewide, less than 1 percent of the drinking water from regional wellfields and reservoirs is consumed by Floridians. Most of it is used for lawns, crop irrigation and other commercial uses.

Initially It Was Free

Several reclaimed water projects are in the works across the county.

Since 1990, Pasco has used wastewater for irrigation. The county now serves 10,000 customers, pumping about 11 million gallons of reclaimed water in 2005, officials said.

The demand is strong. Every drop of the nearly 20 million gallons produced daily typically is used, county officials say. It takes about six households to make enough reclaimed water for one household.

In the beginning, county officials were giving away the recycled water, agreeing to free long-term contracts with some bulk commercial customers. Now such customers have meters and pay based on the amount they use.

"When we started doing this, we had to literally beg people to take reclaimed water," said Bruce Kennedy, Pasco 's assistant administrator for utilities. "Now we don't have enough to go around."

The county is building a reservoir for reclaimed water on 35 acres next to its wastewater treatment plant on Parkway Boulevard, which will conserve more than 300,000 gallons a day of drinkable water.

Swiftmud and the county will split the $3.8 million price.

In Timber Greens, a $500,000 project will give about 300 residents access to reclaimed water. The project includes creating a storage pond to hold up to 500,000 gallons of reclaimed water and a pump station capable of putting out 1 million gallons a day.

Zephyrhills supplies several neighborhoods and schools with reclaimed water. Dade City has several projects under way but only provides reclaimed water to a handful of farms.

AT A GLANCE

Here are a few facts and figures pertaining to the Southwest Florida Water Management District, which spans 17 counties, from Levy to Charlotte , including Pasco :

•More than 45 percent of wastewater is reused.

•Six power plants use reclaimed water as cooling water.

•More than 160 golf courses irrigate with reclaimed water.

•Almost 9,000 acres of crops, mostly citrus, are irrigated with reclaimed water.

•More than 78,000 residential customers irrigate with reclaimed water.

Information from Swiftmud. Figures are from 2005, the most recent available.

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tampatrib.com.

City avoids showdown over development plan

The proposal would have displaced thousands of people.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published May 11, 2007

RIVIERA BEACH - Two national advocacy groups Thursday dropped lawsuits aimed at stopping one of the nation's largest eminent domain projects after this downtrodden city said it would not force residents from their homes.

The move comes one year after Florida enacted a law that prohibits the use of eminent domain for private development.

"The fact that Riviera Beach has backed down and decided not to use eminent domain is the first real evidence that the new state law has teeth, " said Steven Geoffrey Gieseler, an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation, which sued the city on behalf of residents fighting to stay in their homes.

The Arlington , Va. , Institute for Justice also dropped its lawsuit against the city on behalf of residents.

"Our clients' right to keep their homes and businesses has been vindicated, " said Bert Gall, a senior attorney with the group.

Even after the state law was enacted, then-Mayor Michael Brown vowed to fight it in court and proceed with the $2.4-billion redevelopment project that could have displaced several thousand people.

Brown heralded the project as a way to revamp one of Palm Beach County 's poorest cities with a new marina district, high-end condominiums, houses, shops, offices and yacht slips. But he was ousted from office in March, and a new City Council and mayor pledged to abide by state law.

Governments have historically used eminent domain to forcibly buy property to build public facilities like schools or roads. But after a 2005 Supreme Court ruling that gave local governments the right to seize properties for private development to increase tax bases, cities across the country began projects much like Riviera Beach 's plan.

In response, more than 30 states, including Florida , passed laws restricting such eminent domain seizures.

Floyd Johnson, executive director of Riviera Beach 's redevelopment agency, said Thursday the entire project would likely be scaled back and that no residents would be forced from their homes.

Meanwhile, the developers of the project, Viking Inlet Harbor Properties, a joint venture between Viking Yacht Co. and resort-development firm Portfolio Group, have already spent more than $50 million acquiring property in the redevelopment zone.

It was not immediately clear how the company would proceed.

'Big box' ordinance being tackled

By MICHAEL D. BATES
mbates@hernandotoday.com


SPRING HILL — Fresh from their victory against Wal-Mart, the grass roots committee that helped defeat the retail behemoth plans to regroup and take on its newest mission: Revamp Hernando County’s “big box” ordinance.

“It needs updating,” said Fred Maier, co-chairman of the United Communities Save our Neighborhood. “It needs to be more specific as to where (stores) can go.”

And Maier already has one avid supporter: County Commissioner Chris Kingsley, who agrees with the idea and has offered to help tighten up the ordinance’s language.

Adopted in 2001, the county’s big box ordinance revised the landscaping and exterior design standards for stores 25,000 square feet or larger to make them more esthetically attractive and to attempt to make them more compatible with the surrounding neighborhood.

The 20-member committee, Save Our Neighborhoods, formed shortly after Wal-Mart announced plans for a 185,000-square-foot supercenter on the east side of Barclay Avenue , between Suncoast Villa Apartments and the Publix-anchored Barclay Square .

The committee was made up of people from local homeowners’ associations, including Silverthorn, Pristine Place , The Oaks and Sterling Hill. Its focus was to block the development of a Wal-Mart or any other big box store near their Barclay Avenue homes.

They achieved success Wednesday when county commissioners voted 5-0 to deny Wal-Mart’s request.

Through the process, committee members spent hours poring through complicated zoning ordinances, documents and learning much about the development process.

They believe the big box ordinance, while important, is in drastic need of updating because there are too many holes in it for retailers to squeeze through, Maier said.

“Our idea is (to) put some teeth into it,” Maier said.

To that end, the committee will take a month off, trim membership down to a more manageable half dozen core members and rename itself to reflect its new scope.

Maier, who hasn’t decided whether he will remain a member, said the idea is to work with the county planning department and other government staffers to draft a document that will prevent others in the county from having to go through what they did with Wal-Mart.

Already, members have bandied about suggested revisions.

Maier said one idea is to establish set distances between stores to prevent an overkill of chain stores in the county.

For example, if the radius is five miles, Wal-Mart could not build another supercenter within five miles of the other supercenter.

Another idea is to set clearer standards preventing large retailers from locating so close to schools or residential communities, Maier said.

“We have the backing and support of the people in the county, Maier said.

With the help of the county staff and possibly the school district, the committee will work on a finished product to present to county commissioners.

Kingsley, a staunch supporter of the big box ordinance in 2001, said he lauds the committee’s new focus and welcomes the opportunity of working with them in making revisions.

Kingsley said Wal-Mart’s attempts at locating to Barclay Avenue revealed glaring deficiencies in the ordinance, especially in terms of compatibility of retail establishments in residentially zoned areas.

Just because a property is zoned commercial does not give retailers an inherent right to build there, he said.

“There needs to be a much stronger section on compatibility,” Kingsley said.

While stores greater than 25,000 square feet fall into the big box category, Chief Planner Jerry Greif said the ordinance imposes even stricter design standards on stores greater than 65,000 square feet.

Stores such as Lowe’s, Home Depot, Target and Wal-Mart, whose facilities are well over 100,000 square feet, must go through a planned development process to address more site concerns.

Hernando County incorporated bits and pieces of other counties’ big box ordinances in drafting its own in 2001. An engineering firm representing Wal-Mart and other large retailers also made suggestions for language inclusion, Greif said.

Part of the reason for creating the ordinance was to address a big retailer headed to Osowaw Boulevard and U.S. 19 — a retailer that also happened to be Wal-Mart.

That Wal-Mart was the first large retailer in Hernando County to conform to the stricter standards.

Reporter Michael D. Bates can be contacted at 352-544-5290.

Sinkhole drains Lake Jackson
By Bruce Ritchie
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

Lack of rain apparently caused Lake Jackson to be sucked into Porter Sink off Faulk Drive early Thursday.

There wasn't the drama of 1999 when residents watched the spectacle of water and huge fish being sucked underground.

The lake flowed down the sinkhole overnight Thursday, said Michael Hill, a state fisheries biologist. Several large pools of water remain, including one over another sinkhole at the U.S. Highway 27 boat ramp.

"There probably weren't big fish" sucked down, Hill said. "The lake has been so shallow for so long the fish probably migrated to the remaining pools."

The lake has remained low since 1999. The lake has gone dry at least 10 times since 1837.

Hill said the region has been in a serious rainfall deficit for the past 10 years. But he said that's a "blink of an eye" in geologic history.

"That's all we're waiting on is rain," he said.

Someone also apparently has been dumping concrete blocks and a tarp into Porter Hole in an attempt to clog the sinkhole, Hill said.

He said filling the sinkhole requires a state permit.

Drought keeping manatees out of Ichetucknee River
By Rachael Anne Ryals

Herald Staff Writer

 

THREE RIVERS ESTATES -- The Santa Fe River is filling up with swimmers, tubers and boaters enjoying the warm weather, but right below the water’s surface there is another group playing in the river as well.

Manatees, an endangered species, are on the move in the Santa Fe River , and concerned residents want the public to know to watch out for these gentle giants as boaters travel the river.

A recent drought has caused the water level in the river to be lower than normal, which is affecting a limerock ridge that manatees usually swim over from the Santa Fe River into the Ichetucknee River, said Jim Stevenson, chairman of the Ichetucknee Springs Basin Working Group, a group dedicated to protecting the waters flowing to the Ichetucknee.

The low level of the Santa Fe River is preventing the manatees from having a high enough water depth to swim over the limerock ledge, Stevenson said.

This is a great threat to the manatees because the waters in the Ichetucknee have a greater food supply of vegetation and are also safer because of boating restrictions in the state park portion of the Ichetucknee River , he said.

“Motor boaters in the Santa Fe need to operate under great caution and be on the lookout for manatees,” he said.

Debbie McClelland and her husband were helping to clean up the Santa Fe River when they spotted 13 manatees in the river on April 21 and nine manatees the next day, more than they had ever seen in their 27 years living near the river.

“It looked like they were playing, going up the river and back down again,” she said.

McClelland said the manatees were bumping noses, eating grass near the bank and splashing around.

The manatees stayed in the same area for more than an hour, she said. At one point, a pontoon boat had to turn around because the manatees were blocking the river.

While the number of manatees that McClelland spotted was a large number, it is not unusual for this time of year, said Karen Parker, public information coordinator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

“It is getting warmer, and the manatees are on the move,” Parker said.

The number of manatees on the Santa Fe River differs each year depending on the water level and the amount of food in the river, Parker said.

The biggest risks to manatees, according to the FWC, are watercraft collisions, loss of warm weather habitat caused by the closing of power plants and reduction in natural spring flows.

Parker said boaters and personal watercraft riders should be on the watch for manatees and abide by posted speed limits.

Approximately 25 to 30 percent of manatee deaths are caused by watercraft injuries, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

McClelland said she wants the public to watch out for manatees on the river.

“We would like to see people be more careful and show the manatees respect, especially because they are an endangered species,” McClelland said.

 Lakes are shrinking from lack of rainfall

Some boaters are having trouble navigating in the county's waterways, but the fishing is good.

Daphne Sashin and Mark Pino
Sentinel Staff Writers

May 10, 2007

KISSIMMEE -- The persistent lack of rainfall has shrunk Osceola lakes so low that some boats are having trouble navigating, and regional water managers continue to keep water from flowing to the Kissimmee River.

On the flip side, the low water levels have helped produce good conditions for bass fishing throughout the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, some anglers say.

Early this week, the lakes were as much as 1.1 feet below average for this time of year.

Because of the continuing dry conditions -- 2006 was a record dry year for the Kissimmee waterways -- the South Florida Water Management District hasn't released any water from Lake Kissimmee to the Kissimmee River since November.

Particularly in the warmer months, the river relies on that flow to maintain the levels of dissolved oxygen that fish and wildlife need to survive, said district spokesman Bill Graf.

Usually at this time of year, the district would be releasing between 300 and 500 cubic feet per second from Lake Kissimmee into the river.

District workers are out on the river regularly to pull samples and make sure oxygen doesn't plummet to dangerous levels, Graf said.

"It's a tightrope walk," Graf said. "You're trying to maintain water levels in the Upper Chain of Lakes while at the same time maintaining the environmental integrity of a very important river restoration, in the Kissimmee ."

Next month, however, the district will begin releasing water from the lakes to prepare for the rainy season.

Bill Teat, who owns an airboat and lives on East Lake Tohopekaliga, said water levels are fine there and in Lake Toho . But in lakes Kissimmee , Cypress and Hatchineha, the low levels have deterred access for some boats that can't navigate the dry patches.

"All three are down in areas where airboats normally travel. A lot of the lower-power airboats can't go there anymore," Teat said.

Teat added: "A lot of the picnic areas and stuff in some of the lakes are way back, and some of the boats can't access them. You can have a concentration of boats in a smaller area because you can't go back in shallower areas."

In order not to tear up their engines, boaters with outboards might avoid some shallow areas, Teat said.

Mark Detweiler, owner of Big Toho Marina in Kissimmee , said the lake level is about normal for the summer.

"There are no issues on this lake," he said. "It is still fishable. The whole chain is fishable."

Detweiler said boaters have to be careful navigating between Lake Tohopekaliga and Lake Cypress because the canal that links them needs to be cleaned out.

Although levels may be low in Lake Kissimmee , Detweiler noted there was a fishing tournament there at Camp Mack last weekend, and there was plenty of water to navigate.

The low water levels, combined with hydrilla growth and warm temperatures, have made ideal conditions for bass fishing, Detweiler said. Toho is a premier lake for bass anglers, and the fish will hide along the vegetation line or in deeper parts of the lake when water levels drop.

Daphne Sashin can be reached at dsashin@orlandosentinel.comor 407-931-5944. Mark Pino can be reached at mpino@orlandosentinel.comor 407-931-5935.

 Group to sue over lack of coral protections

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Friday, May 11, 2007

A San Francisco-based environmental group has filed notice of intent to sue the federal government because it has not met requirements to protect two threatened species of coral.

The Center for Biological Diversity led the charge to have elkhorn and staghorn corals listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act last year.

 

The listing gives the government a year to establish rules protecting critical habitats for the species, the deadline for which passed Wednesday. The center filed a 60-day letter of intent to sue Thursday.

Palm Beach County is the northernmost home to staghorn coral, which marine scientists have said is threatened by ocean discharges of partly treated sewage.

 Another water panelist leaving

Friday, May 11, 2007

Another board member is departing the South Florida Water Management District, giving Gov. Charlie Crist a chance to appoint a majority of the panel that controls the powerful agency.

Lennart Lindahl, an engineering consultant from Tequesta, announced Thursday that he is resigning today because of health problems. He had open-heart surgery in 2004 and suffered "sudden cardiac failure" last fall, prompting his family and doctors to urge him to scale back his activities, he wrote to the governor this week. "It's not what I want to do, but it's what I must do," Lindahl, 63, said Thursday at the end of a board meeting near West Palm Beach .

Then-Gov. Jeb Bush named Lindahl in March 2001, and he was due to leave in 2009. He held an at-large seat representing St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach , Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.

For six years, the nine-member board was entirely Bush-appointed. But Crist has replaced three in the past month, and Chairman Kevin McCarty of Delray Beach said last week that he is not seeking a new term.

The agency oversees all or part of 16 counties, boasts a $1.4 billion budget and leads Florida 's part of the $10.9 billion Everglades restoration.

The board has taken harsh criticism over the years, especially from environmentalists who accused it of backsliding on the Everglades cleanup. But Lindahl said he's proud of steps the board has taken to protect the Loxahatchee River , buy land for the restoration, expand water supplies and borrow up to $1.8 billion to speed Everglades projects.

"That's just a portion of what we did," he said. "But it's pretty incredible."

In another transition, the board unanimously elected one of Crist's appointees, Miami lawyer Eric Buermann, as its new chairman. Another Miami lawyer, Bush appointee Nicolas Gutierrez, is the new vice chairman.

Buermann is a former chief counsel for the Florida Republican Party and the state Bush-Cheney campaign. He also was general counsel for Crist's inaugural committee and the registered agent for Floridians for Truth and Integrity in Government, a group that bashed Crist rival Tom Gallagher in last year's GOP primary.

Buermann has donated more than $125,000 to GOP candidates and causes in the past decade, campaign records show.

Buermann also serves on the Miami River Commission and oversaw Crist's environmental transition team, which encouraged the governor to take on issues such as global warming.

"You might describe me as a citizen-soldier trying to do the best job I can for the people," Buermann told The Palm Beach Post in March.

The governor's office said it has not received any applications for Lindahl's seat. The position is unpaid.

Dry spell affects availability of reclaimed water

 

 

News Chief staff report



BARTOW - The squeeze on water usage by Polk County residents is getting tighter.

Polk County Utilities announced Thursday that high demand for water has exhausted all reclaimed water supplies in the county's Southwest Regional Utility Service Area.

As a result, utilities officials have decided to periodically shut down reclaimed water service - at least until current drought conditions improve and reclaimed water supplies recover.

"Extended dry weather conditions are creating high demands for water, straining both potable (drinking) water and reclaimed water sources managed by Polk County Utilities," states a news release distributed by the department Thursday afternoon. "Lawn and landscape irrigation are causing water use to approach and sometimes exceed water system capacities. Earlier this year, the Southwest Florida Water Management District (Swiftmud) declared a severe water shortage emergency; however, customer water usage has continued to climb."

To minimize the frequency and duration of service suspensions related to reclaimed water, county utilities officials are urging customers to use all water sources "wisely and conservatively."

"The more water used by customers, the longer the current shortages will apply, so, ultimately, customer usage determines the extent and length of water service problems," states the department's news release. "Even in service areas where water supply conditions are not yet critical, high demands result in reduced water pressure, reduced reserves and strain on equipment."

Swiftmud's water emergency declaration includes all of Polk County and is in effect until July 31. Except in cities that have stricter schedules in place, residents using potable water, private wells or lakes for irrigation are being directed by Swiftmud to water just one day per week on the following schedule:

n Monday for house address numbers ending in 0 or 1.

n Tuesday for house numbers ending in 2 or 3.

n Wednesday for house numbers ending in 4 or 5.

n Thursday for house numbers ending in 6 or 7.

n Friday for house numbers ending in 8 or 9 or no address.

Assuming reclaimed water is available, all customers using reclaimed water may water two days per week as follows:

Tuesday and/or Saturday with house numbers ending in 0, 2, 4 6 or 8.

Wednesday and/or Sunday with house numbers ending in 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9.

According to the Swiftmud limits, watering hours are from midnight to 8 a.m. and from 6 p.m. to midnight. No customers may irrigate with potable or reclaimed water between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Customers may water only one time per designated watering day.

Additional information is available on the Polk County Utilities Web site at www.polk-county.net/county_offices/utilities and the Swiftmud Web site at www.WaterMatters.org. For details, customers can call Shaun Simmons of Polk County Utilities at 863-298-4228.

 County wins lawsuit: Riverside Resort claims victory

By Terry Witt

A judge has ruled that Save the Homosassa River Alliance members were not denied a fair hearing when the county commission approved a resort expansion last year.

Circuit Judge Charles Harris made an identical ruling earlier, but clarified what he meant this week after attorneys for the county and Homosassa River Alliance said the wording of his original order was unclear.

Harris said the alliance was not denied due process during the county commission hearing in 2006 where the resort was approved. He said the questions about due process are resolved.

An attorney for resort owner Gail Oakes hailed Harris’s ruling as a legal victory in one of the two lawsuits filed against the resort.

“We consider this latest order a solid win, so we’re halfway there,” said attorney Derrill McAteer, who represents resort owner Oakes. “We also sense the court is skeptical of the individual standing of alliance members.”

Alliance members could not be reached for comment.

Homosassa Riverside Resort was given approval on July 13, 2006, to expand its motel to a four-story condominium complex. County commissioners voted 3-2 for the project. The alliance filed two lawsuits challenging the board’s decision.

The suit claiming the rights of alliance members’ rights were violated argued, among other things, that Commission Chairman Dennis Damato had read from prepared notes before voting for the resort, indicating his mind was made up before he heard the evidence, and that Commissioner Gary Bartell may have had business ties to Oakes that were not disclosed, concealing a hidden bias.

The judge found no basis for either allegation. Bartell was adamant he has no business ties to Oakes, although his married daughter works for Oakes. Harris said the alliance never provided anything more than innuendo to support its claims about Bartell.

The second suit argued the county commission violated its comprehensive plan when it approved more housing units in the expanded development than is permitted by the county’s comprehensive plan or the overlay district in Old Homosassa. That lawsuit is pending.

Alliance members also say the overlay district, a set of land development regulations aimed at preventing highrise developments like the one planned by Riverside Resort, was violated by the county commission when it approved the expansion.

The county argued the resort expansion is not a violation of the comprehensive plan and overlay district. Attorneys for the county and the resort also questioned whether the alliance members had legal standing to challenge the expansion.

Harris threw out the alliance’s lawsuit that focused on comprehensive plan issues, but gave the alliance the opportunity to appeal. The alliance has filed a clarification of its position on standing. McAteer has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on grounds alliance members lack standing.

 Oak Trail property gets Edgewater rezoning OK

By KELLY CUCULIANSKY

EDGEWATER -- After postponing their decision to zone a property three times over the last six months, members of the City Council finally made up their minds.

On Monday night they voted to zone the 10-acre Frank and Donna Morris property on Oak Trail to rural transitional.

The decision could allow the future construction up to 10 houses, an issue of contention for several nearby residents who say the property has wetlands and want their quiet neighborhood to remain unchanged.

The zoning, however, isn't official until a second public hearing and vote is held May 21.

Mayor Michael Thomas was the only council member to vote against the zoning. He observed wetlands when he walked the property.

"I would not have approved any of Oak Trail, all the way up to the first houses. Somebody has got to stand up and say no," Thomas said, causing a handful of residents to applaud his decision.

About eight homes are located in the mostly unincorporated neighborhood on Oak Trail.

Resident Cecil Secrest, who built his home on wetlands property, said he wanted the city to determine whether the land is environmentally sensitive before approving the rural transitional zoning.

"It's wrong, they're not protecting the wetlands," Secrest said after the meeting.

He argues Volusia County rules are more stringent than the city's, pointing out the county would only allow one house per five acres on that type of property.

"There's no reason the council had to pass it tonight," he said.

The decision, however, has already been postponed three times.

City Council members wanted to talk to the Morrises about their plans for the property, but the landowners were not present at the public hearings.

Delaying the decision has cost the city more than $3,000.

Officials said this expense includes legal fees and advertising charges to notify the public of the rezoning discussion.

In an interview Tuesday, Donna Morris said she has no immediate plans for the 10-acre site, which has two, 5-acre parcels.

She needs a city zoning so she can split the eastern parcel into two, 2.5-acre parcels.

The couple may decide to give one parcel to their son, one to their teenage grandson and sell or keep a parcel for themselves.

Building a subdivision there is not feasible because the property is too wet, said Donna Morris, a local real estate broker.

The St. Johns River Water Management District probably wouldn't permit it anyway, she said.

"If they did, it would cost a fortune and why would anyone want to ruin the integrity of the area?"

Darren Lear, Community Development Services director, said building more than three lots would require the property owners to pave Oak Trail to Air Park Road and install sewer lines.

Without knowing the Morrises plans at the meeting, some council members said even if the couple did want to build a subdivision, they would have to present their development plans to the city for review.

City staff would negotiate appropriate development and the City Council would have to approve it.

Councilwoman Harriet Rhodes also argued there was no reason to continue to delay the decision.

"It doesn't matter when we (zone) it, that is still the lowest zoning we have," she said. "(The Morrises) are entitled to that zoning."

kelly.cuculiansky@news-jrnl.com

 Cargill Closing AP, Frostproof Juice Processing Facilities

By Marc  Valero of Highlands Today

Published: May 11, 2007

AVON PARK — Juice company Cargill will be closing its orange and grapefruit juice processing facilities in Avon Park and Frostproof, citing an increasingly difficult industry environment.

About 150-200 employees at the two plants will be laid off in phases over the next 18 months as remaining customer commitments are fulfilled, according to a Cargill press release.

"I'm proud of what we accomplished in the last few years despite declining demand for 100 percent juices, four damaging hurricanes, spread of citrus diseases and encroaching real estate development that have combined to severely reduce the local citrus harvests," said Tom Abrahamson, president of Cargill Juice North America. "Ultimately, the combination of those events made it impossible to deliver sustainable and acceptable returns."

The Cargill facility in Highlands County (formerly operated by SunPure) is located north of the Avon Park city limits at 1552 SunPure Road . It is the county's only citrus juice processing facility.

"We hate to lose a processing plant; growers hate to lose an option of where they can send some fruit," said Ray Royce, executive director of the Highlands County Citrus Growers Association.

"It seems a little inevitable that as we have a smaller supply of fruit that you are probably are going to get a contraction of processing capacity," he added.

At the current level of production, this does not negatively affect the grower's ability to get their fruit processed, he said.

"It's very possible, that sometime in the upcoming months, that some other entity may buy that facility and reopen that facility to process fruit in the future," Royce said.

Louise England, executive director of the Highlands County Economic Development Commission, said "we're, of course, unhappy to have any business close in Highlands County ."

Heartland Workforce is on hand to assist people who are laid off by helping them find new jobs and assuring that they get their benefits, she said.

There are people who work in the Polk County plant who live in Highlands County and, of course, many of the workers at the Avon Park facility live in Highlands County , England said. "We are trying to determine right now how many from each county because our workforce boards do not overlap."

Departing employees will be offered transition and outplacement support, according to Cargill. To the extent possible, Cargill will seek to place interested, qualified employees in other positions within the company.

Cargill is still exploring options for the properties and hopes to make a decision soon, according to the company's press release.

 

 Already-low Florida orange forecast dips slightly

ORLANDO , Fla. (AP) -- The forecast for Florida orange production dipped slightly in federal estimates released Friday.

The decline amounted to less than 1 percent of the 130.7 million boxes of oranges previously expected. But that would be the state's worst harvest since freezes thrashed crops in 1989.

Sparse rain has hampered production recently, but hurricanes, fruit diseases and cold weather over the past several years have hurt it more.

California, the nation's second-leading producer, is expected to produce 37 million boxes of oranges - each of which weighs 90 pounds - after a January freeze devastated its crop.

The shortage has sent orange juice prices soaring nearly 30 percent over three years ago.

Before two nasty hurricane seasons in 2004 and 2005, Florida averaged about 220 million boxes of oranges.

The state's grapefruit crop is doing better, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture also trimmed that estimate Friday. Twenty-seven million boxes of fruit are expected, down from 28 million boxes predicted last month. The total would still be much higher than the 12.8 million and 19.3 million boxes harvested the past two years.

We've got a remedy, all we need is the cash

St. Johns struggles to fund extension to Florida 9B

 

By ANNE MARIE APOLLO, The Times-Union

By 5:30 p.m., it's the same old story on Interstate 95 in St. Johns County .

The exit ramp at County Road 210 is backed up onto the interstate - an annoyance now that could someday be an abomination.

County commissioners, foreseeing the potential for major logjams, are looking to the proposed Florida 9B extension for a solution, trying everything from lobbying Tallahassee to securing some bond financing themselves to build the road before it is too late.

A combination of Florida 9B, which would run from Florida 9A to U.S. 1, is already in the state's plans. But the extension, which carries the road from that point to the new County Road 2209 and would have an interchange with I-95, is yet to be funded.

Commissioners, who listed the Florida 9B extension as one of their main priorities on a short list of funding goals this spring, left Tallahassee disappointed.

The project, estimated conservatively to cost $159 million, has just $1 million in federal funding so far and about $2 million set aside by the county.

That leaves those pinning their hopes on the corridor in the same position as many St. Johns County drivers: waiting.

There is no question the road is needed, said David Anderson, project manager for the state Department of Transportation; the biggest problem is finding the money to build it.

County Public Works Director Joe Stephenson said officials are looking for a public-private partnership to share the cost of the road.

Although Stephenson said more than one private partner could be involved in the road project, one place planners are already looking for the cash is Gate Petroleum, which is hoping to build a development of regional impact that sits squarely where transportation officials had planned a major interchange for the Florida 9B extension.

Called Durbin, the 1,245-acre project would include 2,466 houses set among a town center and 1.22 million square feet of office space.

Discussions with the developer are already under way, Anderson said.

Lacking funds of its own, the state hopes Gate will build a portion of the corridor.

"We need their land, but they need our interstate," Anderson said.

Other major road projects in the county have been built the same way, including Nocatee Parkway , said County Commissioner Cyndi Stevenson, who has been a vocal supporter of Florida 9B and the extension.

The extension is key to future traffic flow in the county, Stevenson said, adding that it would relieve County Road 210 and I-95 as well as take traffic off of local roads.

"It's the piece that makes everything work," she said.

annemarie.apollo@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4470

 New Century Financial To Lay Off 177 Workers In Tampa

ORLANDO , Fla. (AP) -- The forecast for Florida orange production dipped slightly in federal estimates released Friday.

The decline amounted to less than 1 percent of the 130.7 million boxes of oranges previously expected. But that would be the state's worst harvest since freezes thrashed crops in 1989.

Sparse rain has hampered production recently, but hurricanes, fruit diseases and cold weather over the past several years have hurt it more.

California, the nation's second-leading producer, is expected to produce 37 million boxes of oranges - each of which weighs 90 pounds - after a January freeze devastated its crop.

The shortage has sent orange juice prices soaring nearly 30 percent over three years ago.

Before two nasty hurricane seasons in 2004 and 2005, Florida averaged about 220 million boxes of oranges.

The state's grapefruit crop is doing better, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture also trimmed that estimate Friday. Twenty-seven million boxes of fruit are expected, down from 28 million boxes predicted last month. The total would still be much higher than the 12.8 million and 19.3 million boxes harvested the past two years.Published: May 11, 2007

TAMPA - A residential real estate lender is laying off 177 local employees as it prepares for corporate extinction.

Subprime lender New Century Financial Corp., based in Irvine, Calif., is closing nearly all its remaining operations and laying off "most remaining personnel" - including workers in Tampa - as it prepares to sell its assets and go out of business, spokeswoman Laura Oberhelman said Thursday afternoon.

The company, which started the year with 7,000 employees, now has 750 people on its payroll, Oberhelman said.

More than half the staff were laid off April 2 when the company announced it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. A second round of major layoffs - including the ones in Tampa - came on May 4 after the company failed to close a deal to sell its loan origination business.

Employees in New Century's Tampa office mostly were involved in selling loans to borrowers. The workers will receive two weeks' severance pay and compensation for unused vacation time.

New Century is one of many residential real estate lenders suffering from the slowdown in the housing market.

According to industry reports, New Century's investors pulled their funding after the company experienced a rash of mortgage defaults. The company was the nation's second-largest provider of mortgages to subprime, or high-risk, homebuyers.

Reporter Dave Simanoff can be reached at (813) 259-7762 or dsimanoff@tampatrib.com.


Year-over-year home prices drop for first time since 2002

Jerry W. Jackson
Sentinel Staff Writer

May 11, 2007

The last bit of good news vanished from Orlando 's gloomy home market last month, when the median price of the houses and condos sold by local Realtors fell from a year earlier for the first time in more than five years.

The median price in the core Orlando market dipped 3.1 percent compared with April 2006. It was the first year-over-year decline since the 1.9 percent decrease in February 2002, and the biggest drop since a 4.6 percent slump in 1999.

Meanwhile, existing-home sales by Orlando Regional Realtor Association members were down more than 40 percent from a year ago, the inventory of homes listed hit a new high of 24,435, and the average time it took to sell a home soared to 98 days.

It would take a record 16.6 months to sell all those homes and condos at the recent sales pace, and that's not counting the thousands of for-sale-by-owner properties. Many homes have been on the market for a year or more, frustrating sellers and Realtors.

"It's probably the slowest I've ever seen," said Earl Roberts, an agent with Ram Realty in Longwood, who has been selling part time in Central Florida since 1970. "Everybody is having trouble."

Association President Randy Martin said the soft market clearly favors buyers, who have "more power to negotiate with sellers" on everything from closing costs to help with the down payment.

Caron Loveless, 51, and her husband David, 52, are caught in that "buyer's market" as they try to sell their MetroWest home, listed now for 11 months and counting. The couple bought a house in the Dr. Phillips area after finding a buyer for their MetroWest place, but the sale fell through when the buyer backed out.

"Our heads are spinning," Caron Loveless said. "It's a mystery to be in this situation. We're carrying two mortgages, two pools, two pool cleaners, two exterminators and two of everything you need to keep a house going and looking good."

Their agent, Ellie Musgrave of Signature GMAC, said the couple have done everything they can to sell the home -- including cutting the asking price a number of times, from $489,000 to $415,000.

"Buyers, unless they are relocating, are just not very motivated. You see that a lot," Musgrave said. But homeowners are finally lowering their asking prices and their expectations, she added, and sales in May look a bit stronger.

The median price of the homes sold by Orlando Realtors in their core market -- mainly Orange and Seminole counties -- was $241,000 in April, down 3.11 percent from April 2006. That was up from $240,000 in March, but month-to-month changes in the median are not a very reliable gauge because of their volatility.

"Sellers just have to make the best deal they can," said Steven Moreira, president and principal broker with Magic Properties and Investments in Longwood. Moreira said a dramatic slowdown in construction by new-home builders will also help the resale market rebound faster than many might expect.

But home builders say the record-high inventory of existing-home properties in Central Florida is dampening sales of all types of housing, including theirs, and until that number comes down, supply and demand will remain out of balance.

"New starts have pretty much stopped." said Jim Leiferman, Florida-area president for Pulte Homes.

Craig Russo, director of strategic marketing for Pulte in Orlando , said that about 31 percent of all Realtor listings in the Orlando area involve sellers who are "not motivated," a figure that inflates the inventory total and has a dampening effect psychologically on prospective buyers.

Based on a company survey and an analysis of the Realtors' Multiple Listing Service, Russo said, nearly a third of existing-home sellers have no need to move, no plans to move, or have not cut their price in as much as 18 months.

Leiferman said he expects the number of sellers who are just "testing the water" to fall as the "hassle factor" of keeping a home in top condition and showing the property begins to take more of a toll. Many had watched the median price -- and their own home's estimated value -- soar in recent years, at least on paper, he noted, and so have been slow to cut their asking price.

"People looked at their homes as a passbook savings account," he said. "They're not willing to take that loss, or make a 'withdrawal' from the account."

For sellers, the growth in the inventory to a record 24,435 homes, up by another 888 listings from March, means more competition for buyers. The dip in median price and the large selection also give buyers more leverage and reduces the pressure "to make quick decisions," said Martin, the local Realtor president.

Martin said the local housing market appears to be "seeking a middle ground" and noted that the growth in inventory slowed in April compared with March, when an additional 1,492 homes and condos posted for-sale signs.

The average 30-year mortgage loan rate also remained below 6 percent during the month, at 5.93 percent, another helpful factor, Martin said.

The number of homes sold last month in Metro Orlando -- Lake, Orange , Osceola and Seminole -- fell 41.4 percent from April 2006, and year-to-date sales were down 35.1 percent.

For now, the dampening effect of the record-high inventory looks to continue, as local homeowners hammered by rising insurance costs and property taxes look for relief in other states, said Roberts, 79, a retired teacher and longtime sales agent in Seminole County.

He said he's getting ready to put his own Tuscawilla home on the market.

"It's time for me to get out of the state," he said.

Jerry W. Jackson can be reached at jwjackson@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5721.
Related stories on A14.
 

Veto Effort To Gut Growth Management

Tribune Editorial Published: May 10, 2007

Bills that would shred Florida 's growth management efforts and create more costs for taxpayers should be at the top of Gov. Charlie Crist's veto list.

The more offensive measure would free the Florida Turnpike Enterprise of fiscal accountability or planning concerns. The scheme would eliminate the requirement that a toll road be able to repay half its bond debt within 12 years. It would extend the deadline for repaying all of its debt from 22 years to 30 years.

Eliminating the short-term payback requirement would allow toll roads to be built solely to encourage development in rural areas. If a road is not going to generate a reasonable return within a dozen or so years, then there is obviously no demand for it. And the state's focus should be on meeting the transportation needs of its population centers, not promoting expensive and hard-to-serve sprawling subdivisions.

At the same time, the Legislature also increased the bonding authority for turnpike projects from $4.5 billion to $9 billion, without any assurance that the money would be wisely spent. Increasing the bonding capacity while eliminating fiscal accountability is reckless. By vetoing the legislation, Crist would put the needs of Florida 's motorists ahead of the dreams of land speculators and developers.

Crist also should jettison another bill that would allow communities to change their growth plans without state oversight. Pinellas and Broward counties and the cities of Tampa , Jacksonville , Miami , Hialeah and Tallahassee would receive the exemption, purportedly because they are densely populated and do not require the attention that less developed areas need.

But oversight of local growth plans by the state Department of Community Affairs has proved invaluable in pressuring communities to fulfill their planning promises.

Crist should use his veto to remind lawmakers that smart planning saves tax dollars.

Florida finds voice on climate change

Alex Sink speaks at a conference in Tampa on global warming.

By CRAIG PITTMAN
Published May 10, 2007

 

TAMPA - Massachusetts , California and more than two dozen other states have been taking strong steps to deal with global warming in recent years - but not Florida .

"Florida's leaders have not been leading on the subject of climate change; we've just been on the sidelines," Alex Sink, the state's chief financial officer, told a crowd of about 300 gathered for a conference on global warming Wednesday.

Given the amount of coastline Florida has, that's not right, Sink said, pointing out that half of the state could wind up submerged by 2100 if some predictions of sea level rise prove true.

"We are the most vulnerable state to climate change," she said.

Florida joined 30 other states this week in a consortium that will measure and jointly track greenhouse gas emissions by major industries.

Sink said Florida should go even further, for instance pushing electric utilities to build environmentally friendly power plants. As a member of the state Cabinet, Sink gets a vote on where utilities build their plants, although not what kind.

Sink was the headline speaker at the first day of the three-day Climate Change Conference, jointly sponsored by the University of South Florida and Florida Atlantic University . The conference, the first of its kind ever held in Florida , drew officials from local, state and federal government agencies as well as professors, scientists and activists.

Conference organizers hope it will produce concrete recommendations for action that can be given to the Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida, the panel chaired by St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker that is supposed to help state leaders chart a course for the next 50 years. The commission's first report identified climate change as the most important issue for the state to deal with.

Florida is among the top 30 emitters of greenhouses gases in the world, according to Tom Peterson, executive director of the Center for Climate Strategies, and its emissions are growing faster than the national average. Florida ranks third, after Texas and California , as the state consuming the most energy, according to George Gonzalez of the University of Miami , author of The Politics of Air Pollution.

Peterson said 29 other states have come up with plans to deal with climate change, but Florida has not been one of them. However, Sink predicted that will quickly change. Gov. Charlie Crist has a strong interest in the issue, she said, noting that he wants to put solar panels on the Governor's Mansion and tools around Tallahassee in a car fueled by ethanol.

Crist has called a climate change conference of his own for July, Sink said. In his first State of the State speech in March, he talked about the need for Florida to deal with global warming. And in announcing Florida 's participation in the 31-state carbon registry, Crist said that "by effectively measuring the impacts of carbon emissions, we take the first steps towards addressing the impacts of climate change."

Sink said Florida residents and state officials began to realize the importance of the issue when the state was hit by four hurricanes in a single year. Some scientists believe global warming will lead to more hurricanes and more intense storms.

Among the 29 states that have taken steps to curb their contributions to global warming, some have been more active than others. Massachusetts sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its refusal to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, and won a victory in the U.S. Supreme Court last month.

California , at the urging of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, passed the nation's most stringent emissions control legislation. California also worked with several New England states to set up the carbon registry.

 

Seeping seawater threatens Florida 's drinking supply

BY CURTIS MORGAN

With the drought elevating a perpetual problem into a critical concern, state water managers are poised today to impose severe new restrictions to combat a seeping front of sea water that threatens the water supply for hundreds of thousands of coastal residents.

All residents in Broward and Palm Beach counties would be ordered to slash lawn watering to once a week. Utilities in Hallandale Beach , Dania Beach , Lantana and Lake Worth could face shutting down wells where chloride readings, a red flag for salt water intrusion, have been rising for weeks.

Water managers defend such unprecedented steps as necessary to avert more disruptive and expensive damage -- salt contamination of coastal well fields that could force some cities to abandon primary drinking wells or install new treatment systems. At least eight more well fields, from South Miami-Dade to Palm Beach , also are considered ''at risk'' if groundwater levels fall low enough to allow an underground wedge of sea water to push deeper inland.

`A HUGE CONCERN'

''The threat of salt water intrusion is a huge concern,'' said Jesus Rodriguez, spokesman for the South Florida Water Management District, which oversees the water supply for 16 counties.

The district's governing board will meet today in West Palm Beach to consider staff recommendations that would tighten what already rank as the toughest water-use restrictions in South Florida history.

While wildfires and wilted lawns, marshes and crops are the most visible effects of the 17-month long drought, salt intrusion looms as a major threat to the regional water supply -- already so low that drought effects could linger for years, even with a good rainy season.

If wells get too salty to supply water that meets state health standards, it could force cities to look for others sources and further strain a scare resource.

''Once that [salt] creeps in there, it could be years for the wells to be brought back on line,'' Rodriguez said. ``The scenario is a grim one. We could be talking about bottled water for the municipalities for a long time.''

The latest proposed cutbacks could prove costly for Broward and Palm Beach residents, particularly in four cities ordered to shut down major water supply wells.

In Dania Beach , public services director Dominic Orlando said the city still will be able to supply some 12,000 residents with water despite shutting down its two main wells just west of Ravenswood Road . But buying, blending and chemically treating water from Broward County and Hollywood will cost the city $100,000 more a month, an expense residents will see reflected in water bills.

''If we turn off our wells, just to break even we have to implement a surcharge of 60-plus percent,'' said Orlando . He argued that daily monitoring and a gradual decrease in pumping could protect the city's wells without punishing residents' pocketbooks.

''Just to tell us to shut down your system, geez, that's absurd,'' he said.

MORE RESTRICTIONS

Under the proposal, Miami-Dade would remain on twice-weekly watering restrictions -- for now. Above average rainfall in the county has buoyed levels in the southern portions of the Biscayne Aquifer , South Florida 's primary source of drinking water.

Still, the district considers a string of wells in South Miami-Dade, including ones that serve Florida City, the Florida Keys, Homestead and parts of the county, at potential risk because they're close to the salt water intrusion line. ''Right now, we're sort of on alert and certainly needing to conserve as a hedge against what may or may not happen over the next couple of months,'' said Doug Yoder, assistant director of Miami-Dade's Water and Sewer Department.

WAITING FOR RAIN

Though Broward and eastern Palm Beach also tap the Biscayne Aquifer, conditions are much drier there, Rodriguez said. Rainfall, despite a promising start in May, has remained well below average for a year and a half and groundwater levels continue to drop -- with no help of replenishment until the rainy season kicks in.

Lake Okeechobee serves as the region's storage reservoir, but at 9.42 feet above sea level Wednesday, it is too low to help. Last month, the district also capped withdrawals from the Everglades water conservation areas west of the suburbs, though water managers have asked federal permission to override environmental regulations to do emergency recharges of well fields.

The problem is that plunging groundwater levels along the coast could weaken what hydrologists call the ''head'' that holds back, or more accurately, slows ocean waters that have been creeping underground for decades.

The heavier salt water tends to wedge under the fresh water, forcing it inland and shrinking the aquifer's coastal boundary.

So far, salt concentrations, measured in chloride readings, remain below state health standards at the at-risk wells. But water managers say cutting local demand is a key to keeping things that way. That's why they're ordering the four most vulnerable cities to shut down pumping, Rodriquez said. A well pulling millions of gallons of water out of the ground can create a so-called cone of influence that helps pull salt water inland.

''We don't want to find ourselves in a scenario in a few weeks down the road where we're having to face a much more critical situation,'' Rodriguez said.

Intrusion is not a new concern. Utilities have been battling it since the 1930s, when new drainage canals and well fields pulled salt water deep into the Miami River .

In 1946, salinity-control gates were installed and the salt water pushed back. But a ''blob'' still remains trapped underground near Miami Springs, said Scott Prinos, a supervisory hydrologist for the U.S. Geological Survey.

Over the years, engineers have learned to control the intrusion, but not stop it completely. The line has shifted in and out after droughts or heavy rains, but enough salt water has crept inland deep enough to turn a number of private and public wells brackish or too salty to use for drinking water.

MAN-MADE CANALS

The current intrusion line snakes six miles into deep Southeastern Miami-Dade, the result largely of drainage canals altering the flow of freshwater marshes. Though the line is thinner in Broward, a few miles at its widest, the risk is greater because more coastal wells were sunk near beachside cities.

Dania Beach , said Orlando , was already scouting locations for new wells farther inland. Drought concerns have expedited the search and upped investments in the water system. A contractor started drilling test wells Monday. The city also is constructing a huge new storage tank and a treatment plant that can handle more water from Broward.

He doesn't think there is any threat taps will run dry.

''The issue, I think, is that provided water is going to be a lot more expensive,'' said Orlando .

Miami Herald staff writer Jennifer Mooney Piedra contributed to this story

Charlie may be the guy to stop paving our state

Published May 10, 2007
Mike Thomas
I want you to know I am deeply committed to restoring the Everglades ecosystem. . . . I care so deeply about protecting her.

On Tuesday, I used Charlie Crist's words to blast his move toward socialized property insurance in Florida . Today, I come in praise.

That's the thing with Charlie. You think he's crazy one day and a savior the next. I don't know if he will save the environment, or at least what remains of it, primarily because the idea just seems so far-fetched.

When it comes to signing off on a good concrete pour, there are no Democrats or Republicans in Tallahassee . There only are politicians stuffing their hamster cheeks full of campaign contributions from the bulldozer lobby.

They pass feel-good greenie laws for public consumption. But then they hide the loopholes in the cracks and crevices, like Easter eggs, waiting to be discovered by the $750-an-hour land-use lawyers.

The porous laws go off to the Florida Department of Community Affairs, the Department of Environmental Protection and the state's five water-management districts for interpretation. These agencies then create the field manuals for the bulldozers.

To gauge how truly green a governor is, you cannot listen to his words. You have to look at who he appoints to run the agencies.

So I was not sold by Charlie's quote. He seems to "care so deeply" about most everything; it's hard to fathom when it's real or just another Charlie moment.

Every Florida governor dating back to Bob Graham has pledged allegiance to the Everglades . And each one has stabbed this majestic swamp in the back.

But now look at Charlie's all-important appointments.

His pick to head the Department of Community Affairs -- the state's land-management agency -- is Tom Pelham. He is someone who actually thinks growth should be managed.

Crist's pick for secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, Michael Sole, actually thinks the environment should be protected.

Environmentalists were downright giddy about the choices, while development interests were downright quiet.

But Crist's appointments to the five water-management district boards are even more interesting. These people oversee the day-to-day regulation of Florida 's environment.

Governors traditionally stack the boards with flunkies from the regulated industries -- developers and their lawyers, farmers and so on. There is a permanent seat set aside for sugar growers on the South Florida board.

This sleazy system has been in place for so long that people simply have grown to accept it.

But now comes Charlie.

The pro-development chairman of the South Florida board, appointed by Jeb Bush, wanted to keep his job under Charlie. He even had connections to Charlie's inner circle.

Charlie bounced him.

So far, Charlie has appointed three members to the South Florida board. One is the regional director for the National Parks Conservation Association, an activist group behind the Everglades restoration effort. Another is a leader in the Izaak Walton League conservation group.

This could not come at a more crucial time. Lake Okeechobee has turned septic. The Everglades restoration plan is a farce. The state's top priority should be preventing urban development from moving into the Everglades Agricultural Area.

Florida 's environment needs radical change to survive. Maybe Charlie really does care deeply enough to understand that.

Mike Thomas can be reached at 407-420-5525 or mthomas@orlandosentinel.com. His blog is OrlandoSentinel.com/mikethomas.

Toll road may cut at heart of nature

Environmentalists fear a new precedent if a path rises in protected Osceola wetlands.

Vicki Mcclure and Daphne Sashin
Sentinel Staff Writers

May 10, 2007

A developer's privately owned toll road could slice an Osceola County wetlands preserve in two, potentially damaging the habitat and jeopardizing future protection of similar preserves nationwide.

If the project clears government hurdles, it could mark the first time a conservation area of this type falls victim to bulldozers.

The 3,500-acre sanctuary is a state and federally regulated mitigation bank -- a wetland that's restored and managed through payments from developers who have been allowed to destroy other swamps in exchange. The banks are supposed to exist in perpetuity.

Osceola County officials, though, say they need to ease traffic congestion in Poinciana and cannot afford to do so on their own. They agreed to use their eminent-domain powers to seize some of the conserved land and hand it over to developer Avatar Holdings to construct what ultimately would be a six-lane highway. The project will help Avatar sell up to 89,000 new residences planned for the area.

Environmental regulators are studying how the highway would affect the swampy terrain's water flow and wildlife, such as the endangered panther. They must determine whether the road would destroy or diminish the bank's environmental value or if certain actions, such as spanning the wetlands with a bridge, would allow water and animals to move freely and keep the habitat functioning.

Design changes could make building the bridge too costly, or the bank's owner could fight the effort to take the land in court.

But with county support and federal approval granted long ago for part of Poinciana Parkway 's route, the proposed highway through Reedy Creek Mitigation Bank is poised to become a reality.

No road is known to have been built across a mitigation bank.

"Once we start that, then any mitigation bank we establish could be open for future development," said Tom Welborn, a chief wetlands regulator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "We don't think that is a good idea."

In the past decade, mitigation banks have become a major free-market tool to help balance development with environmental preservation. The privately owned operations make money by restoring wetlands, then selling credits to developers that must replace the swamps they destroy. The Reedy Creek bank owners are negotiating with Avatar over compensation for the toll-road land and ecological damage.

The bank is part of a major wetland ecosystem that recharges the aquifer, filters pollutants from water flowing to the Everglades and serves as habitat for threatened and endangered species.

Osceola County Chairman Ken Shipley said he doesn't want to harm the preserve and prefers that a bridge be built -- the only way federal officials say the bank likely would remain intact. But the county did not demand the measure before agreeing to the project.

Avatar officials said a bridge would make the toll road too expensive, adding $70 million to a projected cost of $117 million. They maintain building more than a dozen water culverts and wildlife passages would preserve the bank's environmental role."We are trying to approach it in a responsible way," said Jeff Pashley, Avatar's vice president. "If [federal regulators] had their way, they would bridge everything."

Avatar has agreed to many road-building changes made by the South Florida Water Management District. It will add native plants and a 15-foot wall to cut down on noise. It also will collect and clean water runoff before it pollutes the wetlands.

Avatar wants to build about a 10-mile stretch but retain control over only a four-mile span across the bank to privately collect tolls and recoup construction costs. The remaining legs would be given to Osceola and Polk to operate and maintain. The parkway would connect to an existing county road, providing a quick route to Interstate 4.

With Osceola and Polk counties backing Avatar's toll road, state and federal regulators have less leeway to stop it from being built. Plans for a road in the area go back more than a decade. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the time approved part of the path before the mitigation bank existed, even though the company did not own the land.

"It is unfortunate that this road alignment was authorized back then, but we have to honor the road permit as best we can," said Stephen Brooker, a senior project manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Poinciana's traffic congestion is rooted in the area's geography. The development largely sits on a swatch of high ground surrounded by wetlands and other water, known as Johnson's Island . The community's 65,000 residents have few routes out, and none easily connects to I-4.

It also stems in part from inadequate planning. County officials approved the community in the early 1970s, just as the state and federal governments were increasing development oversight. A decade later, Avatar persuaded the state to exempt Poinciana from reforms requiring more exhaustive studies and road plans. At buildout, the community could house about 250,000 people.

Charles Lee, an advocacy director with Audubon of Florida, is pressing regulators to get all agencies to cooperate in taking a larger view of the area's growth. An Osceola County plan calls for Avatar's toll road to connect to the expansion of State Road 417 -- a highway that would create a large southern loop through fast-growing Osceola and connect to I-4, Lee said.

A crush of development could follow and threaten additional environmentally sensitive areas.

"Lucrative economic agreements appear to be driving these decisions rather than a careful, studied effort to decide what is best for the environment and land use in this area," Lee said.

Brooker of the Corps said plans to join Avatar's toll road to a major highway expansion could change the project's scope that would warrant a more-expansive review. But for now, federal officials are considering keeping only part of the land as a mitigation bank to avoid setting a precedent that could put other such preserves at risk.

"We may have to cut off our nose to spite our face," Brooker said. "Perpetuity appears to have a date now."

The mitigation bank's owner, American Equities Ltd., is negotiating compensation.

The group has about $20 million in unsold state and federal credits and could gain another $5 million when another phase is completed, said Sheri Lewin, a representative of the mitigation bank. The preserve could lose some or all of its credits. It also could be forced to make up for the loss by purchases at other banks.

"Hopefully a settlement can be reached and we can avoid court proceedings and court costs," said J.A. Jurgens, the bank's attorney.

Vicki McClure can be reached at vmcclure@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5540. Daphne Sashin can be reached at 407-931-5944 or dsashin@orlandosentinel.com.      

Water plan moving forward

Joshua Davidovich
Staff Writer LEESBURG - A proposed alternative water supply system in Lake County may be one step closer to reality Wednesday after eight municipalities expressed interest in committing funds to the project.

However, some still have reservations.

Lady Lake , Tavares, Groveland, Fruitland Park , Clermont, Minneola, Montverde and Mount Dora all stated different levels of commitment to the project at a Lake County Water Alliance meeting.

The project is designed to bring surface water to Lake County to supplement a dwindling Florida aquifer.

 
"We're going to have a very viable project going forward," said Jerry Salsano of Taurent Consulting, who has been hired by the St. Johns River Water Management District to jump-start the project. Water suppliers must have an alternative supply by 2013.

Eustis, Umatilla, Howey-in-the-Hills and Lake County chose not to go along with the preliminary design study and Leesburg hasn't decided what course they will take. Also joining the study is The Villages, which is contractually obligated to join after a legal settlement last month involving water use permits.

Some cities said are still nervous. "We want to be part of it even though we don't like it," Groveland City Council member Allen Sherrod said.

Mount Dora Mayor James Yatsuk said the city was skeptical and didn't know why Lake County had abstained.

"It's the Lake County Water Alliance, we need to have Lake County here," he said. "There's some skepticism as to why its being pushed so hard. Is it to keep consultants in business?"

The water management district wants Lake County also to be a partner on a system in Yankee Lake in Seminole County , the Taylor Creek Reservoir in Orange and Osceola counties or Marion County 's Lower Ocklawaha River .

The more governments that join the project, the cheaper it will be. Winter Garden, in Orange County , has already committed to joining. A meeting on May 31 in Orlando may determine who else will.

The district has set a June 13 deadline for committing to the study.

Barclay Ave. supercenter shot down

By MICHAEL D. BATES
mbates@hernandotoday.com

BROOKSVILLE — Wal-Mart Wednesday lost its bid to build a fourth supercenter in Hernando County after commissioners voted 5-0 to reject a rezoning request from the retail juggernaut.

With four schools in a 1.5 mile radius of the proposed store and several nearby residential communities, the supercenter — proposed for the east side of Barclay Avenue, just north of Spring Hill Drive — would create too much congestion and is not a good fit, commissioners determined.

Although they didn’t say so Wednesday, most expect Wal-Mart to appeal the decision, especially since commissioners overruled an earlier vote by planning and zoning commissioners to approve the project.

In unanimously rejecting Wal-Mart’s request, the board also went against the advice of their own planning staffers who found the proposed Wal-Mart consistent with the county’s comprehensive plan for growth.

“I think we have a definite health, safety and welfare issue (at that site) right now without adding another 185,000 square feet of retail space,” said County Commissioner Diane Rowden, who made the motion for denial.

“It has nothing to do with the W word,” she stressed. “Wal-Mart isn’t the issue.”

Commissioner David Russell acknowledged that Wal-Mart had ample facts to support their position. But sometimes, the board is called on to make subjective decisions based on those facts, he said.

At least 200 people packed county commission chambers to protest the proposed store. Those who spoke came with prepared speeches, slide presentations and handouts for commissioners.

“This will be too high a cost for low prices,” Dave Houser of the Silverthorn subdivision said.

Wal-Mart may bring customers, “but they also bring congestion,” he said.

One damning video, taken from Pristine Place — across the street from the proposed Wal-Mart — showed students leaving Powell Middle School walking along the side of Barclay Avenue amid heavy dismissal-time traffic.

The video showed a pickup truck making a U-turn on Barclay, narrowly missing a pedestrian as the driver tried to avoid traffic.

“Why are we inviting these problems within a residential area only 1,500 feet from Powell Middle School ?” asked Al Cook of Pristine Place , another subdivision across the street from the proposed “big box” store.

Residents also worried that a supercenter would breed crime, despite assurances from Wal-Mart representatives there would be 24-hour security in the parking lot.

The six-hour hearing took on the aspects of a courtroom trial as Beth Krimsky, an attorney representing Wal-Mart, cross-examined almost everybody who spoke. She asked that most of the testimony from lay people be stricken from the record because of their lack of expertise in land planning, traffic control and other aspects related to the rezoning case.

The tone was set early when Krimsky asked Commissioners Russell and Chris Kingsley to excuse themselves from voting after stating in Hernando Today this week that they intended to vote against the master plan revision for Wal-Mart.

County Attorney Garth Coller found the argument groundless since neither board member chose to gain from the project.

Jim Porter, another attorney representing Wal-Mart, told commissioners his client has vested rights on the property because of a 1983 development of regional impact ordinance that allowed for commercial zoning on the property.

“We are asking you to follow the law (and) have a decision based on competent, substantial evidence,” Porter said.

But Kingsley said the 1983 ordinance is outdated and the framers of that DRI never envisioned the intensity of an 185,000-square-foot supercenter so close to schools and homes.

Commissioner Rose Rocco agreed and said she could not support a store of so great an intensity so close to a residential area.

Wal-Mart Project Engineer Peter Sutch said the store would be constructed so the light and noise would be filtered away from nearby homes. To further reduce noise, the supercenter would be built on the most easternmost part of the property and face south and away from Pristine Place , he said.

The entrances into the store would have specially designed turn lanes and a traffic signal at the corner of Minnie Drive and Barclay Avenue to facilitate traffic, engineer Christopher Hatton said.

Hatton also reminded commissioners that Barclay Avenue is scheduled to be four-laned from Powell Road to Spring Hill Drive, further buffering noise.

But none of that carried any weight with commissioners.

Rowden went so far as to call for a moratorium on any construction along that stretch until a thorough traffic study is completed.

Her colleagues did not seem inclined to go that far.

Reporter Michael D. Bates can be contacted at 352-544-5290.

Neighbors call foul over ballfields plan

By THERESA BLACKWELL and CHUIN-WEI YAP
Published May 10, 2007

TRINITY - A stand of oak and scrub, 200 feet deep, is all that separates Martin Pijanow-ski's home in Fox Hollow from a looming fight over 46 acres of the Brooker Creek Preserve.

Just south of Trinity Boulevard and the Pasco County line is where Pinellas County is thinking of putting four fields for soccer, football and lacrosse.

It's a proposal that's infuriated neighbors in this stretch of the Fox Hollow community.

For one thing, neighbors charge that Pinellas officials didn't talk to them about any of these plans.

"It's disrespectful that they can do something like that without any thought to the people most affected, just because they live in another county, " said John Fernandez, president of the homeowners association at Fox Hollow's Bellerive neighborhood.

Pinellas' Board of Examiners is holding a hearing at 9 a.m. today that is the first step in considering changing the preserve's land use designation to allow for ballfields.

The county has had plans for the water treatment plant - called a blending facility - in the Brooker Creek Preserve for years.

But many Trinity residents didn't find out about the blending facility plans until last year, after the county had cleared the land. Officials promised residents they wouldn't see it or hear it.

But the price for building the facility came in higher than expected, so county officials are taking a second look at the project. Pinellas County Utilities will be bringing in a new analysis of options by May 19.

The momentum of recent discussion is toward building a facility smaller than originally planned, including at least a pumping station to replace the aging Keller plant.

Because a smaller facility would require less property, Pinellas County Administrator Steve Spratt suggested in late March that the remaining cleared land would make for good athletic fields.

To get the ball rolling, he asked the East Lake Youth Sports Association to apply for a land use change for those acres that would allow four all-purpose fields on part of the 46 cleared acres.

In early April, the sports association did just that, plus another request for more ballfields on 38.5 piney preserve acres off Old Keystone Road .

* * *

Like others in his neighborhood, Fernandez believes a nature preserve should not be used for active recreation.

"Philosophically, I don't have a problem with the field, " he said. "But I do have a problem with taking a preserve and then changing it. What's next, a nuclear power plant?"

Sam Goldberg, an 82-year-old resident, fears the noise and traffic that's going to come with the ballfields.

"I like ballparks. I like kids, " he said. "But we're at an age when we need quiet."

Pinellas officials like Paul Cozzie, bureau director of the Culture, Education and Leisure Department, say Trinity residents have little to worry about.

"As for the impact on those residents north of that site - the lights, the traffic, the noise - there's really not a lot to be concerned about, " Cozzie said.

Current lighting technology can pinpoint the lighting and reduce the glare and spill, he said, and trees will provide some screening.

The effect on traffic should be minimal, too, he said, because about 95 to 98 percent of participants will be coming from unincorporated Pinellas County to the south and activities will be held at nonpeak traffic times. Parking will be inside the complex, not on the road.

The fields would be at least 1, 000 yards from the closest homes, Cozzie estimated, so noise should be less than the noise on Trinity Boulevard .

* * *

Not good enough, Pijanowski said.

"Most games are at night, " the Fox Hollow resident said. "We can hear the band at Mitchell High School a good half-mile away. We can just about see (where the ballfields will be) through the woods."

Pijanowski could live with the water plant, he said. It wouldn't have made much noise and the community needs water. But not ballfields, he said.

Fernandez questioned whether the sports association, as a private entity, can be held accountable for problems as a public utility.

Cozzie said residents could call Pinellas officials if they have any complaints.

The fields may benefit some Pasco residents because organizations such as club soccer have no county residency restrictions.

Cozzie has had some discussions with Pasco officials on sports facilities already and plans to have more.

"They are short on ballfields, too, " Cozzie said.

But that's not the point, Fernandez said.

"I'd still have a problem with active recreation on a preservation, " he said.

Fernandez added that there is an existing field at nearby Starkey Wilderness Preserve.

"It's like shoving sand against the tide, " Goldberg said. "But we're solidly against it."

Fast Facts:

If you go

The first public hearing on the two land use changes sought by the East Lake Youth Sports Association will be held before the Pinellas County Board of Examiners at 9 a.m. today in the County Commission Assembly Room, Fifth Floor, 315 Court St., Clearwater. The audience is welcome to ask questions or comment. For additional information, call John Cueva, Pinellas County zoning manager of Building and Development Review Services, at (727) 464-3888.

Hernando officials rebuff Wal-Mart plan

By DAN DEWITT
Published May 10, 2007

BROOKSVILLE - Defying the recommendation of its planners, the County Commission on Wednesday voted unanimously to deny Wal-Mart's plan to build its fourth supercenter in Hernando on Barclay Avenue near Spring Hill Drive .

The vote drew loud applause from opponents who had packed the commission chamber. Before their decision, commissioners said they had the power to deny the project, even though county planners - and the county Planning and Zoning Commission - found that Wal-Mart had a clear right to build on the 22-acre parcel.

"We're here to analyze things subjectively as well as objectively, " Commissioner David Russell said. "We're here to make subjective decisions based on the facts we heard today."

Among the facts he and other commissioners cited: The property is too close to Pristine Place and other subdivisions; one entrance is only 1, 500 feet from an entrance to Powell Middle School , and three other schools are within 1 1/2 miles of the site.

They sided not only with the residents who attended the meeting but with 2, 100 who signed a petition opposing the store.

But commissioners said their vote was not to satisfy potential voters, nor was it directed against Wal-Mart.

"It doesn't have anything to do with the W-word, " Commissioner Diane Rowden said. "It has to do with the health, safety and welfare of our residents."

Representatives for Wal-Mart had earlier argued that the commission did not have the legal right to turn down the project. Commissioners also had a duty to base their decision on the law because the meeting was classified as a quasi-judicial proceeding, said James Porter, the Tampa lawyer representing the retailer.

"This is not a debate about whether Wal-Mart is good or bad, " Porter said. "This is a discussion about a vested development of regional impact that has zoning in place."

The county's comprehensive plan does not apply to the site, Porter said, because the land was approved as part of the Holland Springs development of regional impact in 1983, two years before the passage of the state law that mandated local comprehensive plans.

The planning department, in its recommendation, added that even if the site were not exempt from the comprehensive plan, it would meet its provisions.

Wal-Mart offered to make other improvements that it said would improve traffic safety. These included a pedestrian crossing on Barclay near the middle school and a traffic light at Minnie Drive .

Residents, however, didn't want to hear it.

"Representatives of Wal-Mart said they want to be a good neighbor. I say, be a good neighbor and move, " said Sylvia Brown of Pristine Place .

After the meeting, Wal-Mart spokeswoman Quenta Vettel declined to say whether the company would appeal the county's decision in court.

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

Land was sandy, but not desolate

Hernando Times letters to the editor May 10, 2007

It has been interesting reading about the history of Spring Hill in the Hernando Times and how it has changed over the last 40 years. One of the articles quoted local people who described Spring Hill in 1967 as "nothing but sand, " "empty" and other phrases to that effect. This, of course, is true if you have the perspective that the only thing that matters is houses, businesses and golf courses.

I would like to offer a different perspective. Where Spring Hill is now did indeed have (and underneath the pavement and sod still has) lots of sand. A unique assemblage of plants and animals occupied that land, animals and plants that are becoming less common every day with each lot that is cleared for a new home, street or building. Gopher tortoises, beautiful native flowers such as lupine, golden asters, rose rush and many others have been there for tens of thousands of years.

It is an injustice to describe the area Spring Hill now occupies as "nothing but sand." Some might say the real injustice is people bulldozing, paving and building on these sand hills. The sand hills and scrub are God's creation; parking lots and buildings are ours. Do we really want to look like the New Jersey suburbs here?

I would like to ask the residents of Spring Hill to remember - and where possible, preserve - some of the original sand hills environment. The sand and scrub of Spring Hill was there far longer than we have been, and those who take the time will find they have or had a certain wild beauty.

See the Web site at www.floridasandhill.info for more information.

Polk OKs Subdivision in Rural Area

BARTOW - County commissioners voted 3-2 Wednesday to approve a subdivision in the middle of a group of rural homes - including the residence of James and Erin Abercrombie.

The subdivision will have fewer homes than originally proposed, but how many won't be clear until the developer redraws the site plan. Wednesday's vote could end up in court, just as the commission's 2002 approval of a subdivision there did after the Abercrombies sued the county.

Following the vote, James Abercrombie said he and his wife haven't decided whether to go back to court, but they were upset.

Wednesday's vote came in fits and starts following two failed motions proposed by Commissioner Jean Reed to deny it and, failing that, to nearly triple the size of the lots.

"It's a little island,'' Reed said. "We need to have areas like this in Polk County .''

But Commissioner Sam Johnson, who lives nearby, rejected the idea that the area is as rural as the Abercrombies and their neighbors claimed during the hearing.

"The city limits are half a mile away," he said.

Wednesday's hearing came after the Abercrombies, who have been fighting development next to their home for the past five years, appealed the Polk County Planning Commission's March 13 approval of a 26-lot subdivision on a 15-acre tract surrounding their home on Gib-Galloway Road on Lakeland 's north side.

Planning commissioners had reduced the size of the project by increasing the minimum size of the lots from 11,500 square feet to 14,000 square feet.

County commissioners said the lots should be at least 18,000 square feet.

The subdivision was proposed by local builder Donnie Tyler. Lawyer Steve Watson argued during the hearing that his client had already reduced the density to comply with a 2004 court ruling that overturned the commission's approval - over the Planning Commission's objections - of a 30-lot subdivision on 13 acres.

He disputed a staff report that suggested the subdivision was premature.

"We're the last one to get to the party," he said, pointing out that most of the land in the area has already been subdivided for residential development.

The exception is the land adjacent to the site, which is a collection of rural lots, some as large as 10 acres.

Longtime resident Don Taylor questioned the need for the development.

"What the heck is wrong with keeping some of our land rural?'' he asked.

In addition to Johnson, Commissioners Jack Myers and Randy Wilkinson voted in favor of the development.

Reed and Commissioner Bob English voted against it.

County to CSX: Detail ILC impact

 

By Diane Nichols

News Chief staff

BARTOW - Residents concerned about the effects of a massive railroad and trucking terminal in south Winter Haven were delighted Wednesday by a county decision to seek more information about the proposed complex.

In a 3-2 vote, the Polk County Commission directed the county staff to send a request to the state Department of Community Affairs for a full development of regional impact (DRI) review concerning CSX Inc.'s plans for an integrated logistics center (ILC).

CSX wants to build the ILC near existing company railroad tracks in the area of Pollard Road, east of Wahneta and south of Eagle Lake Loop Road .

After several residents lined up during the county public hearing to share their concerns about the impact the terminal will have on the area, county leaders responded to their fears.

When County Manager Mike Herr announced that commissioners had agreed it was time to take a closer look at the possible impact of ILC on the county, applause and cheers came from audience in the County Commission meeting room.

"We did look into it, with respect to Phase One," Herr said. "Phase Two has reached the threshold of a DRI review, so that will require that there be more involvement on the part of our county staff and also the Central Florida Regional Planning Council with the city of Winter Haven."

By the recommendation of Commissioner Jean Reed and approval of the full commission, the engineering firm URS has been hired to evaluate the impact of the ILC on infrastructure, housing and the Wahneta area. The task will include interviews with project decision-makers.

"We are concerned about this," Herr told the gathered residents. "We hear you. I'm speaking for the staff and you can count on us to do an excellent job. We hear everybody. I think we understand what our margin lines are."

Commissioner Randy Wilkinson brought up a recent fact-finding trip to Georgia , where several commissioners got a good look at the actual impact a CSX freight terminal has had on the community of Fairburn.

"We need to know the numbers on what salaries will be," Wilkinson said, referring to the proposed ILC near Winter Haven . "I've heard that this project will employ 1,000 people. We just went up to Georgia and found out there are only 100 CSX employees and the wages of the railroad employees were good at $16 to $17 per hour, but what about all the other jobs?"

Wilkinson said suggestions that the ILC will provide jobs with annual salaries averaging $60,000 need to be documented by CSX.

"It's a done deal already," Wilkinson said. "We'd better start negotiating now. We won't have any opportunity to later. As Mr. ( Polk County Attorney Joseph G.) Jarett said, once they're in, they're in like Flynn and they can do whatever they want to do. We want to negotiate some overpasses."

Wally Krouson, a Lake Wales resident, said the proposed ILC needs to be studied to determine the quality of life thousands of residents can expect if the center is built without their consent.

"You poo-poo the safety issues," Krouson told commissioners. "I've got eight typewritten pages of crashes and explosions caused by CSX. Investigations are being conducted as we speak in New York . The cost of the roads and associated infrastructure is going to be horrendous. We're going to have to build overpasses all over the place to get around and we'll end up exactly like Lakeland and everywhere else those trains come through.

"Who is paying for the ... overpasses we need?" Krouson asked. "What about water pollution? It can affect Lake Eloise over to Cypress Gardens and all area lakes. If there was ever a project in Florida that required a DRI, this is the one."

Pam Childers, a resident of Sundance Ranch Estates, lives in a home that is 105 feet away from the proposed ILC site. She came to the public hearing armed with photos taken Saturday of a local tanker-washing facility. Though the facility doesn't have anything to do with CSX, Childers said the ILC would lead to similar unsightly results for area residents.

Childers said she also visited another CSX location and was taken aback to see tankers, barbed-wire fencing and warehouses that were nothing like what CSX has promised for Polk County .

"This is what you need to look out for. This is the reason for the DRI," Childers said. "It needs to be done right."

Commissioner Reed addressed the issue with urgency.

"We need to fire the (DRI request) letter off today," she said.

The commission agreed to have a letter drafted Wednesday and directed that attachments, such as Childers' photos, be included to back up local concerns about the ILC.

To the sound of groans and shouts of "No!" from the audience, Commissioner Bob English suggested that the county wait for more facts from its engineering study before requesting the DRI.

English was joined by Commissioner Jack Myers in voting against the DRI request. Commissioner Sam Johnson joined Reed and Wilkinson in the majority vote for the DRI.

diane.nichols@newschief.com

 Utility Ends Inquiry Into Source of Leak


LAKELAND - It took three years for Lakeland Electric to lose $43.7 million in the natural gas market. An investigation by the utility into who leaked that information to The Ledger didn't take long at all.

"It's over," utility General Manager Jim Stanfield said Wednesday afternoon.

The leak to the newspaper prodded utility supervisors on Monday to tell city commissioners and other members of the Utility Committee about the extent of the loss. The $43.7 million expenditure was the result of Lakeland Electric's hedging - trying to avoid the possibility of high natural gas prices by locking in prices ahead of time. But market prices instead had dropped by the time the utility needed the gas.

Stanfield would not say whether the leaker had been identified. City and utility officials have said the chance of identifying someone was slim.

A chart generated by the city's finance office detailing the $43.7 million loss was e-mailed in April to the city's Risk Oversight Committee, a group of 10 top city and utility supervisors. A copy of the chart was sent anonymously to The Ledger. On Monday, Stanfield said the utility would try to determine who leaked the information.

The newspaper began asking questions about the leak investigation, which Stanfield categorized as "an inquiry," on Wednesday morning. Stanfield said the reason for the inquiry was there may be a disgruntled high-level worker acting with malice toward the utility.

He said he had "no intention at this time" to punish anyone but would say, face to face, "What are you doing?"

City Public Information Director Kevin Cook said he was asked to organize the effort to catch the leaker.

Cook said he asked Josh Wilson, a computer expert who holds the $64,729-per-year position of information security officer for the city, to determine which utility or city employees had sent e-mails to The Ledger in the past month and who had downloaded, forwarded or printed the document in question.

Cook said he expected Wilson 's inquiry to take a week or two.

However, Stanfield said Wednesday morning he believed the inquiry would be done quickly, and on Wednesday afternoon he said it had been completed. Stanfield said Wilson spent only a few hours looking into who e-mailed the document.

City commissioners, despite being unaware of the $43.7 million loss until the leaker forced the utility's hand, were generally supportive of Stanfield's effort to find the culprit. Mayor Buddy Fletcher declined comment.

Commissioner Howard Wiggs said commissioners should have been told about the loss as it mounted. But he said the leaker "clearly stepped outside the boundaries."

"That person should have gone to Jim Stanfield, (city manager) Doug Thomas, or Howard Wiggs, not the paper," Wiggs said.

Commissioner Glenn Higgins said he understood why Stanfield wanted to identify the leaker but he didn't feel an investigation was necessary.

"I don't think there's anything to be gained from this,'' Higgins said. "I don't see the point."

Thomas was on vacation Wednesday and was not available for comment.

City employees said that they've heard rumors about the hedging losses. Some tried to get answers on an "Ask City Management Employee Q&A" on the city's intranet site but were given little information.

Documents obtained by the Ledger show they asked questions like, "It seems the losses are only compounding. Has this been an economically viable program for the city?" And, "Has the utility actually incurred losses due to the hedging program?"

City and utility administrators responded to the questions but never revealed the extent of the loss.

City supports plug-in hybrids
By Julian Pecquet
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

Imagine never again having to buy gas for your daily commute.

That dream might have come one step closer to reality Wednesday after the city of Tallahassee threw its weight behind a national effort to promote cars that drivers could plug into their home electricity outlets.

The idea is that plug-in hybrids could be widely available within a few years - if only carmakers would get on board.

"I think anything that can bring higher energy efficiency will have its chance in the marketplace," said David Byrne, the city's director of energy services.

The campaign is part of the city's "Go Green Tallahassee" initiative, which includes heightened recycling use, the development of renewable energy sources and other environmentally friendly measures.

Rising gas prices, instability in the Middle East and pollution concerns all will help bring about the next generation of hybrid cars, which currently use a gasoline engine and an electric motor whose batteries are recharged while in gas mode. The city owns four of these hybrids, with an order for 12 more expected to arrive within the next few weeks.

Plug-ins would be similar, but would rarely - if ever - rely on their gas engines for a regular commute. They're expected to get about 30-50 percent better fuel economy than standard hybrids, and twice that of regular cars.

But new technologies are expensive, and car makers need to see that there's a demand for them, Byrne said.

That's the goal of the Plug-In Partners National Campaign, which already involves hundreds of partners, including cities, utilities and businesses. The local campaign will include a petition drive, public-relations efforts and "soft" orders for the vehicles - meaning the city commits to strongly consider buying some of the vehicles if they become available.

But Terry Lowe, the city's fleet superintendent, said they'd have to make economic as well as environmental sense.

"We want to see, before we start spending the citizens' money, whether they're good buys or not," he said.

Bruce Vanderveen, The Florida Native Plant Society, Brooksville

 

Residents' financial needs could seal case against trailer park closing

BY CHRISTOPHER CURRY
STAR-BANNER

 

OCALA - Tom Turner relies on a 1978 travel trailer and monthly checks from Social Security and the Veterans' Administration.

If the city closes the Ocala Municipal Trailer Park , Turner, 72, said he can't afford to move and another park won't accept his trailer because of its age. Sitting in a lawn chair outside his trailer, he said he does not want to live in a subsidized apartment complex.

"I'd rather be out here like this," Turner said Monday. "I own my own home. It's not the best in the world, but at least it's mine."

Carolyn Bellinger has lived in the city-owned park since 2002. She said she spent a few months living at a friend's house before that, because the bank foreclosed on her home after her husband died. Bellinger said her main source of income is a disability check. Like Turner, she owns a trailer too old to be allowed in another park.

Hungarian immigrant Livia Holdos, 79, has lived in the park for less than a year - since seven surgeries and a slew of hospital stays ate up much of her money. Holdos relies on her neighbors in the park to do her grocery shopping.

An attorney representing park residents free of charge believes an ongoing survey will show many more of them are poor.

Peter Sleasman, with Florida Institutional Legal Services in Gainesville , hopes that fact will delay or end the Ocala City Council's plans to close the circa-1937 city-owned trailer park just north of Tuscawilla Park .

"The argument we have made is that basically the city cannot close the park under state law until it has done a survey of the financial means of the people living there and a survey to see if there is another park to move them to or adequate replacement housing based on their financial need," Sleasman said. "We think there is not adequate affordable replacement housing out there, so they can't close the park."

Ocala Community Programs Director Jim Simon said there is a waiting list for many of the local subsidized apartment complexes serving senior citizens. Right now, the Ocala Housing Authority's waiting list for Section 8 federal housing assistance also is closed to new applicants.

Sleasman and the Tallahassee-based nonprofit group 1000 Friends of Florida got involved last fall after all five City Council members agreed during a workshop session that the city should close down the 96-unit park. There has been no final vote on the decision and no firm timetable for the closure.

Jaimie Ross, affordable housing director for 1000 Friends of Florida, said the City Council would violate the city's own comprehensive plan if the park closes. Ross said there is a requirement to promote affordable and low-income housing, and shutting down the park would actually eliminate some of that housing stock. She believes that could help in a potential legal challenge, should the City Council move forward with plans to close the park.

Trailer park resident Lynn Holland plans to apply to get the Ocala Municipal Trailer Park and the adjacent Ocala City Auditorium on the National Register of Historic Places.

Three of the five City Council members also support razing the City Auditorium, located on the north end of Tuscawilla Park , because full renovations could cost more than $2 million. But because the city owns the trailer park land and the City Auditorium, an application to get either of them on the Historic Register would require support from the City Council.

Christopher Curry may be reached at chris.curry@starbanner.com or 867-4115.

Lennar moves into top spot

Two Brevard builders slip in rankings

BY SCOTT BLAKE
FLORIDA TODAY

Two Brevard County-based builders slipped in Professional Builder magazine's latest annual Giant 400 list, which ranks the nation's 400 largest homebuilders.

At the same time, another Florida-based builder, Lennar Corp., climbed to the No. 1 spot.

The builders on the list -- published in the magazine's May issue -- were selected based on those with the most closings, then were ranked based on those with the most housing revenue in 2006.

Miami-based Lennar -- which has built communities on the Space Coast such as Fairway Crossings in Palm Bay and Heritage Isle in Viera -- climbed from third place on last year's list, which measured results from 2005.

Like many companies on this year's list, Lennar posted gains in the number of housing units
closed and total housing revenue, topping the rankings, with $14.85 billion in housing revenue in 2006.

But last year was no picnic for many builders, who saw profits shrink, as many housing markets slumped.

Even Lennar relied on aggressive discounting and other incentives to boost its numbers, Professional Builder Senior Business Editor Bill Lurz said.

"They took it to greater extremes than anyone else," Lurz said about Lennar.

Pittsburgh-based Maronda Homes, another builder with a longtime local presence, moved up to 25th on the list, up from 34th last year.

Mercedes Homes and Holiday Builders -- two Brevard County-based builders that ranked high on the list -- each slipped a few notches from last year's rankings.

Mercedes ranked 28th this year, down from 23rd last year. Holiday ranked 44th this year, down from 40th last year.

But that was not unexpected, given the slowdown in the local housing market, which mirrors what has been happening in many places in Florida , California and other markets, where house "flipping" -- buying and selling to make a quick profit -- previously was in vogue.

Such markets say saw housing activity level off.

"It's still going to be a pretty tough year," said Keith Buescher, president of Suntree-based Mercedes Homes. "We haven't seen a lot of improvement."

Lurz, who wrote an article accompanying the Giant 400 list titled "Selective Slump," said housing markets like Brevard County that were inundated with housing investors and speculators saw steep increases in housing prices several years ago -- but those markets have seen the biggest price declines since then.

Meanwhile, places like Texas , which did not see big price increases several years ago, also have not seen prices fall like other markets have.

When many markets were flying high, builders had big profit margins, but not so much anymore, Lurz said.

Builders, meanwhile, have been adjusting to the new realities of the real estate market.

Lennar, for instance, is focusing on building more homes with smaller floor plans and less square-footage to bring prices down to a level that more people can afford -- or are willing to pay -- in certain markets like Brevard County, said Laureen Ramsey, president of Lennar's Space Coast Division.

"What made sense yesterday doesn't make sense today," Ramsey said.

Group sues over cruise line pollution

No action taken on 2000 petition


BY DONNA BALANCIA
FLORIDA TODAY

An environmental group called Friends of the Earth filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday, seeking an immediate response to a 7-year-old cruise ship pollution petition submitted in March 2000.

The petition asked the EPA to assess and regulate pollution from cruise ships. The agency has not yet responded.

" Florida is the capital of the cruise industry," said Teri Shore , campaign director for Friends of the Earth. "The cruise business in Port Canaveral is increasing dramatically, and there are no new protections in place. There's no monitoring of the discharges, so we don't know how much is going in, but we know each cruise ship with 3,000 to 5,000 passengers produces a tremendous amount of waste."

After issuing a cruise pollution white paper in August 2000 and holding public hearings in September 2000, the EPA abandoned the effort under the Bush administration.

During the past seven years, calls for a national regimen for regulating cruise ship dumping have been made by the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and the Pew Oceans Commission, with no action by the EPA, Shore said.

Cruise ships are like floating cities. A typical one-week voyage with 3,000 people on board generates about 210,000 gallons of sewage; 1 million gallons of "gray water" from sinks and showers; and 37,000 gallons of oily bilge water, according to the EPA.

Under the Clean Water Act, wastewater treatment requirements for ships are limited and apply only near shore.

"It was my impression that the cruise companies have made great strides in developing wastewater systems that were the equivalent or better than municipal systems," Canaveral Port Authority Chief Executive Officer Stan Payne said. "I know the Disney ships both have advanced wastewater systems."

Carnival Cruise Lines, Disney Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines all have ships that are based at or that make ports of call to Port Canaveral.

About 100 cruise vessels will carry more than 12 million passengers through North American waters this year, according to the U.S. Maritime Administration.

In addition, cruise ship size and capacity continue to expand dramatically, with some ships now transporting 5,000
passengers and crew, and the next generation of ships carrying as many as 8,500 passengers and crew.

Four of the 16 states with cruise ships calling on their ports -- Alaska , California , Hawaii and Maine -- have enacted their own laws, according to Shore.

Cruise ships call on ports in Alabama , Alaska , California , Florida , Hawaii , Louisiana , Maine , Maryland , Massachusetts , New Jersey , New York , Pennsylvania , South Carolina , Texas , Virginia and Washington .

"We're hoping the U.S. EPA will respond to the petition with an assessment of cruise ship pollution and a recommendation for regulation," Shore said. "We believe a judge will put them on a timeline to do so."

Posted on Thu, May. 10, 2007

Record gasoline prices great news for U.S.

By ANDRES OPPENHEIMER

Hurrah! Great news! When I filled up my car's gas tank yesterday, I paid an all-time record $3.41 a gallon, and experts are predicting that gasoline prices may soon reach $4 a gallon.

I can't wait!

I'm not kidding. I am more convinced than ever that unless gasoline prices rise above $4 a gallon, there won't be a nationwide uproar strong enough to force Washington to get serious about reducing the U.S. suicidal dependence on foreign oil.

Barring $4-a-gallon gasoline prices, America will not get serious about reducing toxic emissions that worsen global warming, and will continue to fund corrupt Middle Eastern kingdoms that deny basic civil rights to women and fund Islamic fundamentalist schools, some of which preach violence against innocent ''infidels'' in the name of Allah.

And, closer to home, without $4 a gallon gasoline, Washington will most likely continue filling the pockets of oil-rich tropical autocrats.

Venezuela 's narcissist-Leninist President Hugo Chávez is a perfect example of U.S. oil-funded radicalism. When he was first elected in 1998 and oil prices were at $9 a barrel, Chávez was ridiculing critics who speculated that he would become a radical leftist. ''Me, a Communist?'' he asked reporters.

Today, with oil prices at more than $62 a barrel, Chávez ends his speeches proclaiming ''Socialism or Death!'' He claims that the United States is ''the cruelest, most terrible, most cynical, most murderous empire that has existed.'' And he chaperones Iranian Holocaust-denying President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad throughout Latin America .

Granted, the Bush administration will tell you that it is doing a lot to reduce America 's oil consumption. In his recent State of the Union address, Bush laid plans to reduce U.S. gasoline usage by 20 percent over the next 10 years, among other things by increasing the supply of alternative fuels such as ethanol.

But Bush, a Texas oilman at heart, and the U.S. Congress, not immune to the car lobby, are far too timid in attacking the U.S. foreign oil addiction.

On Monday, the U.S. Energy Department announced that gasoline prices hit a national record of $3.05 a gallon, because of bottlenecks in U.S. refineries. At the Miami Beach Shell station where I filled up my tank, regular gasoline was $3.41; Plus gasoline was $3.60 a gallon.

Judging from U.S. Energy Information Administration figures, the long-term picture is bleak: based on current trends, Americans will continue buying SUVs, Hummers and ever-growing cars, and U.S. dependence on foreign oil will increase. Consider:

• While light trucks and SUVs accounted for 19 percent of all vehicles sold in the United States in 1975, the percentage grew to 50 percent by 2005. By 2015, light trucks and SUVs are projected to account for 52 percent of all new U.S. car sales, according to EIA projections.

•  U.S. imports of foreign oil have soared from 35 percent of total U.S. oil consumption in 1973 to 60 percent of total U.S. oil consumption in 2006, according to the EIA.

''Overall imports of oil are going to increase, as we consume more petroleum,'' Jonathan Cogan, a spokesman for the EIA, told me in a telephone interview Wednesday.

My opinion: This is insane! I have nothing against you buying a light truck or an SUV if you are a soccer mom with quintuplets, a concert bass player, or a rancher in Montana .

But when I see these ever-growing vehicles driving through Miami -- where I have yet to find a hill, let alone a mountain -- with just one person inside, carrying nothing, I can only conclude that America deserves the foreign oil-rich despots that are causing so much trouble.

As long as America doesn't get serious about reducing oil consumption, petro-dictators will grow stronger, and there will be more of them. So when I see $3.41 gas prices, I say: ''Bravo!'' The sooner we get to $4, the better!
Spillway proposal for dike scrapped

By Robert P. King

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Thursday, May 10, 2007

OKEECHOBEE — It sounded like a bold step to ease the burdens on the leaky Herbert Hoover Dike, open a new outlet for Lake Okeechobee and clean up the St. Lucie River.

And now it's dead.

 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Wednesday it has no intention of carving a 2-mile-long "spillway" into the dike's southern flank, even though an agency representative proffered the idea last week as an alternative to a lengthy, $856 million dike repair.

Such a spillway would send excess water south toward the Everglades , just as the lake's runoff flowed for thousands of years until humans interfered. But it also would require elevating 2 miles of U.S. 27, moving a sugar mill and buying more vacant farmland than exists south of the lake to clean the polluted runoff, corps restoration leader Dennis Duke told water managers.

"We're not doing it," Duke said afterward. "For us, it is essentially a dead issue."

But Duke said the corps is continuing to examine the related concept of restoring some sort of natural flow between the lake and the Everglades , if it can overcome the considerable cost and engineering hurdles. That idea has been controversial since the early 1990s, when a federal science panel endorsed it, sparking an outcry from sugar growers.

Martin County commissioners last week endorsed the natural-flow concept, which some supporters call "Plan 6." Commissioner Sarah Heard said Wednesday that the county remains adamant that southward flow must be restored, with or without a spillway in the dike.

"People on the east coast and the west coast aren't going to take no for an answer," Heard said. "It's not an acceptable answer."

Under the current system, the corps dumps most of the lake's excess water east into the St. Lucie Canal and west into the Caloosahatchee River . The dumping creates ecological havoc while wasting hundreds of billions of gallons out to sea.

But engineers at the corps and the South Florida Water Management District long have dismissed the southern-flow concept as impractical, saying the landscape is too altered to bring back ecological utopia.

"It's become sort of a cult item on the Internet," district board member Mike Collins said Wednesday during a workshop in Okeechobee.

While restoring flow would have ecological aims, Duke said the spillway concept had a more concrete goal: Easing the costs of fixing the 143-mile-long earthen dike, which a state engineering panel last year labeled a "grave and imminent danger" to human life.

The corps announced in February that the repairs would cost an estimated $856 million, or nearly triple what it had said a year ago. The increase stemmed from rising costs for labor, fuel and concrete, as well as improvements the corps made to its repair plans to address the state's criticisms.

At the current rate of congressional spending, repairs of the most critical segments of the dike - from Port Mayaca to Moore Haven - might not be done until 2020, Duke said.

With the dike repairs rising so rapidly, Duke said the corps fell under pressure to examine other alternatives. One of those is the spillway, a concept that corps constructions and operations chief Alan Bugg presented to the Martin commissioners last week.

Bugg said at the time that the spillway would eliminate the need to repair the dike.

Reaction from the public - and then from state officials - was explosive, district board members said.

"I'll tell you what, you took a hornet's nest and you made one of these African bee things out of it," said Lennart Lindahl, a board member from Tequesta.

But newly appointed board member Shannon Estenoz said it's no surprise that people in the Treasure Coast will latch onto proposals for rescuing their battered estuary.

"There are obviously so many folks in Martin County who are so desperate for a solution, so wanting to hear that there's going to be some bold and decisive action," said Estenoz, a longtime Everglades activist from Broward County. "Maybe your folks who were making the presentation just didn't anticipate that."

The spillway would begin moving water south when the lake reaches 12 feet above sea level - 6 feet below the water levels at which leaks become a problem. It also could address one major failing that the state's engineering panel noted last year: The dike has no emergency outlet, a commonly required safety feature in dams.

Duke said he has no estimate of how much such a spillway and the related features would cost. He added that the corps will include the idea in its report on all the alternatives it has examined - including the alternative of taking no action.

But he said nobody should take the wrong message.

"We're committed to fixing the dike," Duke said. "We need the funding to do that."

County considers more diver-friendly approach

By DEBORAH BUCKHALTER

Jackson County Floridan

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Divers who are certified to teach others will be allowed to use Jackson Blue Spring as their underwater classroom if a proposed county ordinance is approved.

The ordinance would also give the county administrator the authority to let divers use the Blue Springs Recreation Area during the same time swimmers are in the water.

Under current county rules, from May through September no diving is allowed from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and instruction is not allowed at all.

The new hours would open up new opportunities for divers during the entire Labor-to-Memorial Day season, when the recreation area is open to the public.

County Administrator Ted Lakey said the change of hours is being proposed because staff believes the divers would be working too deeply in the water to interfere with swimmers.

As for the proposal to allow diving instruction, strict rules would come with the privilege. Instructors must be certified and must not have more than four students per instructor in the water.

Cave divers and open water divers must check in with a designated county representative before entering the water, giving their planned entry and exit points, and leaving contact information. Cave divers would be required to check in when diving elsewhere in the county as well.

Cave divers must be certified for the activity to work any body of water in Jackson County .

The ordinance would also expand the area at Blue Springs that falls under county control, stretching the county's jurisdiction beyond the fence that defines the swimming area to the buoy line that lies beyond the fence.

The county will also establish the entire Blue Springs Recreation Area as a no-wake zone, with boaters restricted to running at "idle" speed.

The ordinance will get a public hearing on May 22 at the 6 p.m. meeting of the Jackson County Commission.

 

Governments Right To Get Tough When People Ignore Water Rules

Tampa Trib editorial Published: May 9, 2007

With the region in a drought and facing a severe water shortage, a zero-tolerance approach is a must toward those who violate watering restrictions. When public awareness campaigns don't do the trick, local governments need to hit residents where it hurts - in the pocketbook - to change behavior.

There's no excuse for Tampa Bay-area residents to claim ignorance about limitations on such non-essential water use as lawn irrigation and car washing. For more than 12 years, the region has been under some form of water restrictions, imposed by either the Southwest Florida Water Management District or local governments. Water restrictions are prominently displayed on most local governments' web sites. Residents routinely are sent reminders in their water bills. And agencies spend millions on public education.

Pasco County , for one, is taking a much-needed approach to enforce the one-day-a-week watering schedule that's now the law in the 16 counties covered by Swiftmud, which declared a severe water shortage in January.

After noticing that water use had increased in certain areas, Pasco code compliance officers last week began visiting trouble spots and discovered numerous violations. More than 100 people were ticketed - not warned - and face fines ranging from $43 for a first offense to $500 for a third, plus a mandatory county court appearance.

Hillsborough County adopted a no-excuses approach years ago, looking for violations night and day and issuing $100 violations on first notice. Appropriately, some discretion is exercised, such as in cases when restrictions were recently changed or refined, but the policy is that violators are fined. Repeat violators risk $1,000-a-day fines or a one-time penalty of $15,000.

It may seem harsh to get fined for watering on the wrong day or outside designated hours, but water is a precious resource that should not be wasted. Plenty of leeway is given to property owners who install new sod or landscaping. In Hillsborough, for example, those owners can water every day for the first 30 days as long as they follow the correct hours. For the next 30 days, they can water every other day.

Indeed, conservation and water restrictions must be a way of life in a state highly dependent upon rain to produce drinking water - especially now, while we're in a drought and water is in short supply. It's irresponsible to ignore a simple one-day-a-week rule or allow automatic irrigation systems to run even when it rains.

When people refuse to follow water restrictions, they impact us all. Government has a duty to get tough.

Drought forces 2 coastal cities to clamp wells

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Water managers battling the drought have shut down public wells in Lantana and Lake Worth to protect them from saltwater contamination.

With the South Florida Water Management District expected to order the wells turned off Thursday, the communities' utility directors flipped the switch early. Lake Worth shut down one of 16 wells Monday, Utilities Director Samy Faried said Tuesday. Lantana began shutting down four of its seven working wells last week.

 

The wells will be shut down for at least 60 days.

"It's a little bit worrisome, but we've got to do what we've got to do," said Jerry Darr, Lantana's utilities director.

The combined forces of drought and rapid development are draining the region's freshwater aquifer, putting coastal wells at risk of saltwater intrusion. Water supplies for Lantana and Lake Worth are considered the most vulnerable in Palm Beach County .

Although some eastern communities have spent millions on salt-stripping technology or linking pipes to western suppliers, Lantana has balked because it can't afford the $15 million cost. Plus, the water bills of its 10,000 residents would have risen as much as sixfold, Darr said. The 86-year-old town contends it is an innocent victim of the growth around it, that it chose to stay small, and so its water consumption hasn't changed much over the years.

"They allow all this nice development north of us, south of us, and all around us, and where does the water come from?" Darr said.

Lantana Town Manager Mike Bornstein, a history buff, noted that pioneer families used to sweep their yards, not mow them.

"The whole development process in South Florida for years has been selling a concept of that doesn't exist in nature," Bornstein said. "Lush beautiful grasslands never existed in this environment."

Salty ocean water sits beneath the South Florida coast like a wedge, and rainfall keeps a layer of lighter fresh water above it. The weight of that fresh water, helped along by a canal system, keeps the coastal utilities' wells from pumping up brine. During a severe drought, the water managers rely more heavily on the canals, supplied by Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades .

But this year, with Lake Okeechobee at record lows, the canals have less water, and the threat of wells turning salty is growing. The evidence can be found in monitoring wells scattered along the coast. Chloride tests of the monitoring-well water serve as an early warning system when the nearby public wells are in danger. The warnings have grown more intense since the most recent drought, in 2001.

The worst readings come just east of Dixie Highway , near the Lantana Kmart shopping center at Central Boulevard , Darr said. The permissible chloride level for monitoring wells is 250 milligrams per liter of water. Five years ago, that area's monitoring well picked up readings 12.5 times above the limit, Darr said.

Today, the chloride readings are 17 times the limit.

The salinity of public wells is fine, holding steady within the limits, said Rene Mathews, Lantana's water consultant. The city isn't convinced that the old monitoring wells produce good information, so it's spending about $30,000 to dig fresh ones, Mathews said.

"We believe the monitoring wells may have been dug too deep and don't reflect what's happening in the production wells," she said.

The town's water utility can weather the 60-day shutdown, she said. When at full strength, the plant is capable of pumping three times more than the 2 million gallons a day the town needs. Losing wells for 60 days simply means the other well pumps will work harder, and wells won't be rested and rotated during that period.

Lake Worth is investing in reverse-osmosis technology that will enable it to draw from the saltier deep-water aquifer in the future. But it's awaiting word on whether the salty concentrate that's removed can be sent out to sea.

Lantana, meanwhile, dug a new well next to Interstate 95, and plans another on its western edge, near Costco. Once the health department issues a permit, the new well will take pressure off the remaining wells a few blocks away, Mathews said.

And what about the future, if development and droughts push the saltwater wedge even farther inland? How long will the dig-a-new-well strategy last?

"I don't know. Good question," Mathews said. "We hope for more rain."

  County Commission gets grim news on water supply
Politicians say residents opposed to increasing fees to rein in excessive use.

BY JOE BYRNES
STAR-BANNER

OCALA - The Marion County Commission welcomed a study Tuesday laying out the county's long-range groundwater shortfall and the imperative for conservation, reuse and alternative sources.

But some commissioners questioned their own political will to solve those problems.

County Water Resource Manager Troy Kuphal presented the three-year study, which involved consultants, water management district officials and three advisory committees.

"It's a very good piece of work, and I want to compliment you," Commissioner Jim Payton told Kuphal. "Now that that's said, it's just worthless, except we can say in the future, we can say, 'I told you so.'Ê"

The message commissioners have been getting from the public, he said, is there's "no appetite" for conservation or rate increases.

"They've got theirs," said Commissioner Andy Kesselring. "And they're happy."

"I think that all of us have probably gotten feedback from the public absolutely resistant to pay any more for services," Kesselring said after the meeting. "It comes down to this: Are we leaders or were we elected to just be representatives? And we all struggle with that."

Commissioners have taken up a number of water issues: revising Marion County Utilities water and sewer rates and rewriting county codes to protect the water quality in Rainbow and Silver springs.

Last week, they backed off steeper increases designed to equalize rates and encourage conservation in several Summerfield developments after hundreds of residents protested the changes.

On Tuesday, the board directed Kuphal to develop an action plan based on the study's recommendations, which include a sustainable-water-supply plan, water conservation, a reclamation program, the use of surface water, code changes, monitoring growth and water management, and a Water Resource Department.

A timeline and budget will be part of the action plan, Kuphal said.

In January 2004, the commission authorized the study in the wake of a Florida Council of 100 report on water management policies, a proposal backed by then-Gov. Jeb Bush that suggested piping North Florida 's water south and creating a powerful statewide board.

Now Lake County and the St. Johns River Water Management District have discussed piping water from the lower Ocklawaha River in Marion County to supply Clermont. The Villages, at the county's southern edge, has gotten additional permits bringing its water capacity to 3 billion gallons a year.

Kuphal said the county should join the costly but inevitable regional efforts to draw and treat surface water from the Ocklawaha and Withlacoochee rivers. The St. Johns district calculated the capital cost for Lake County alone to draw, treat and pipe 12 million gallons a day at $204 million. But Lake and Orange counties together could collect 40 million gallons a day for a $462 million capital outlay.

These "economies of scale" are one reason Marion County should have a part in regional plans to recover the river water, Kuphal said. "The key is we want to be in the driver's seat by staking our claim as quickly and as best as we can."

Other key findings in the report indicate:

* By 2055, the county's water demands, now about 87 million gallons a day, will grow to 203 million gallons a day, but groundwater can support only 110 million without unacceptable damage to freshwater springs and lakes and vegetation.

Marion grew by 22.1 percent between 2000 and 2006, making it the 15th fastest growing metropolitan area in the country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

* Groundwater limits could be reached between 2015 and 2020.

* Existing land-use practices encourage water consumption and fail to protect water quality and need to be revised.

* Water use per person - including nonresidential uses - is 196 gallons a day in Marion , Kuphal said. More than half the residential use goes to watering lawns.

The conservation goal is to bring the per capita use down to 138 gallons per day. "It's not really rocket science," Kuphal said. "It's more grass, more water. It's really that simple."

The Marion average compares to a 120-gallon average in the Southwest Florida Water Management District and an even lower estimated per capita use statewide.

* The county needs aggressive conservation, with higher rates for higher water use, and increased wastewater recycling for irrigation to offset groundwater use.

The final report of the Water Resource Assessment and Management Study is online at marioncountywaterstudy.com.

Joe Byrnes may be reached at joe.byrnes@starbanner.com or (352) 867-4112.

Strong feelings on Callery to carry over to next session

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

A battle for the strongest show of force either for or against Callery-Judge Grove's massive proposal rose to a fever pitch this week - and raised some prickly questions.

The momentum built to an inconclusive Palm Beach County Commission meeting Monday, and now looks to carry over to the final hearing on the 10,000-home project Tuesday.

The naysayers were one side: Loxahatchee Groves Town Councilman Dennis Lipp rented a bus to bring opponents to Monday's meeting and gave 100 of them anti-Callery T-shirts. Teams of residents in the three weeks prior had gathered 3,506 signatures against the project.

The other side, proponents: Callery forked out cash for two buses, one from Loxahatchee, one from Boca Raton - which raised some of the prickly questions- to bring supporters to the meeting and supplied them with T-shirts that tout the plan. The grove submitted 424 cards filled out by folks favoring its project, some collected in a recent mail campaign, others from its neighborhood meetings.

"This is such a big deal, we can't roll over for somebody who is extraordinarily well financed," Lipp said. He spent $475 on the bus and $480 on the shirts. Residents have since pitched in to defray some of the cost.

Initially, rumor had it that County Commissioner Jess Santamaria had chartered the bus, an allegation he swiftly dismissed Friday.

Santamaria, a former developer, has been a vocal critic of the project's density.

Lipp last week formed a group, Concerned Citizens for Reasonable Growth, and chartered the bus under its name. It delivered 49 people to the meeting. His wife, Doreen Baxter, set up camp on Okeechobee Boulevard last week to get drivers to stop and sign a petition against Callery's plan.

Work for Callery appeared as quick and focused.

The grove about three weeks ago hired Boca Raton GOP activist Jack Furnari and political consultant Slade O'Brien to handle its public relations. Before that, Don Brown, a former columnist at a local weekly newspaper, had handled ads and mailers. In an interesting turn of events, Brown years ago had worked on campaigns for former County Commissioner Tony Masilotti. The former commissioner had a long-standing feud with Callery General Manager Nat Roberts, and the grove had at one time hired an investigator to tail him.

"He knew this area, and understands it, and he had heard a lot of the comments from residents," Roberts said of Brown, who until last year wrote for the Town Crier. Roberts said he looked to Furnari and O'Brien after Brown became ill in March.

O'Brien said Furnari has talked up Callery's project in the southern part of the county. That might help explain the surprising show of residents Monday from Boca Raton , Delray Beach and Boynton Beach , including several members of the Republican Executive Committee. Some said they had not heard of the project until the weekend.

But O'Brien said his main focus had been contacting Loxahatchee-area residents who have shown favor toward Callery's plan. Eighty people wound up with T-shirts, and about 40 took the buses.

Meanwhile, Roberts said, it's unlikely he'll return to Tuesday's continuation hearing on his project offering a lower density - a roundabout request several commissioners made Monday.

"You change one piece, and it has ramifications for the other parts," Roberts said. The proposal includes a town center, schools, a water-cleansing flow-way and nearly 4 million square feet of office and research space.

Roberts also said it's unlikely he'll be able to procure names of businesses that would set up shop at the development - a request made by Santamaria and Commissioner Karen Marcus.

"I don't think it's relevant in the situation. I think it's a premature question," he said.

Callery can build 392 homes right now. If the project is found to come under an agricultural enclave law, it can build about 3,000. County staff suggests 4,708 homes, density permitted under recent revisions to the sector plan and only through clustering homes and leaving 60 percent open space. Otherwise the sector plan allows 3,139 homes.

The state still hasn't signed off on the sector plan, a central-western communities growth blueprint commissioners adopted in 2005.

 

County OKs exemption for Summerfield plans
Commission votes 4-3 to lift development restrictions on Lake Jackson
By Bruce Ritchie
DEMOCRAT
STAFF WRITER

Despite state objections, the Leon County Commission on Tuesday night narrowly approved a proposal to exempt some areas around Lake Jackson from certain development restrictions.

The Florida Department of Community Affairs in March objected to the proposal, saying it threatens water quality in Lake Jackson . The proposal stems from a legal challenge filed by opponents of the proposed Summerfield development along North Monroe Street .

The commission voted 4-3 to approve removing land-clearing restrictions on developments in "closed basins" after a county environmental official said other protections apply to Lake Jackson . County officials have said land-use regulations have exempted those areas that don't drain to Lake Jackson .

"All I've done is be consistent with what we've always done," Commission Chairman Ed DePuy said after the vote. But opponents have said they can't find other examples of developments that were excluded from the restrictions.

About 75 people attended the public hearing, which lasted about two hours. Nearly all of the speakers were against the proposal.

Located near Lake Jackson , the 106-acre Summerfield project would include 312 apartments, 135 homes and 79,000 square feet of office and commercial space. A Circuit Court judge last year ruled that the land-clearing restrictions applied to "closed basins" such as those on some of the Summerfield property.

That case still is pending, but the commission vote would remove a hurdle to the development moving forward.

Opponents warned that the county faces a certain legal challenge from the state because of its approval. County Attorney Herb Thiele said the county could spend at least $150,000 for staff time and outside legal assistance if the case goes to a trial.

The Tallahassee City Commission, which has a joint Comp Plan with the county, voted 4-0 in February to reject the proposal.

DCA issued objections last month after the Northwest Florida Water Management District, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Apalachee Regional Planning Council raised concerns.

DEP wrote that Lake Jackson is "a significant local resource deserving the highest level of protection that the county can provide." Lake Jackson is a designated state aquatic preserve.

The Planning Commission, the county Water Resources Advisory Committee and the Ochlockonee River Soil and Water Conservation District also recommended rejection.

Commissioner Cliff Thaell warned that the county was alone from its partner agencies in pursuing the measure against an "astonishing array" of opponents.

"Why do we want to be the North Korea of local government?" he said.

DePuy and commissioners Bryan Desloge, Bill Proctor and Jane Sauls voted for the proposal. Thaell and commissioners John Dailey and Bob Rackleff voted against it.

 Tax-Funded Storm Model Paints A Grimmer Picture

Published: May 9, 2007

Even as Gov. Charlie Crist and other politicians seek to lower property insurance rates, other forces are trying to push them higher.

This week, a commission of experts is reviewing the computer catastrophe models that companies use to help set rates, and the worst news so far comes from an unexpected source: a model paid for with taxpayer money.

This public model, a kind of software, was created as a check and balance against private models. But in tests last month, a team that reports to House Speaker Marco Rubio found that the public model projects the highest losses of all - as much as double other models.

That means it could be used to justify the highest rates of all, too, and with imprint of software designed to protect consumers.

Some representatives of the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation have been praising the public model for the past year, but others saw signs of trouble.

Alex Sink, the state's chief financial officer, is concerned about the public model, said her spokeswoman Tara Klimek. Last year, an analyst with Sink's office noticed that one private insurance company switched its rate filing justification from a private model to the public one.

"Once it was put into the public model, the rates were actually higher," Klimek said.

Members of the Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Prevention Methodology, which is meeting this week in Tallahassee , noted the team that built the public model may be able to fix any flaws and still gain approval this week.

Without formal approval, the model cannot be used to help set rates.

There's more potential bad news for consumers.

On Thursday, the commission will vote on a private model from Risk Management Solutions of Newark, Calif. It predicts losses 25 percent to 50 percent higher than the previous version developed by the company.

RMS shifted from the traditional approach of using 100 years of historical data on storms and an approach that estimates average frequency and severity to a new approach, one that estimates patterns between 2006 and 2010.

The RMS model has been criticized by scientists and consumer advocates, and the state of Louisiana recently put its use on hold pending a decision by the Florida commission. Florida conducts the most detailed model review process in the nation.

The Florida public model has been in the works for years.

It was created by a team at Florida International University in Miami , with $2.7 million provided by the Legislature.

According to a news release issued by the university when the model was unveiled last year, the project was initiated by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson when he was state insurance commissioner, and his successor, Tom Gallagher, was responsible for securing funding.

"University researchers and associates have produced a transparent model independent of the insurance industry and state regulatory agencies," said Shahid Hamid, professor of finance at FIU and the leader of the project.

So far, things may not have turned out quite that way.

Bob Milligan, Florida 's insurance consumer advocate, is part of the model review commission and he's also concerned about the initial tests of the public model.

If the public model shows the highest possible losses from future storms, then everybody will use it to set rates, Milligan said.

"And you're up the creek without a paddle," he said.

Reporter Kevin Begos can be reached at (850) 222-8382 or

kbegos@tampatrib.com.

Hickory Hill to get state review

By MICHAEL D. BATES
mbates@hernandotoday.com
BROOKSVILLE — It’s in the mail.

On Tuesday, Hernando County fired off the Comprehensive Plan amendment paving the way for the 1,750-home Hickory Hill residential development off to the Florida Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for review.

Once it makes sure the entire amendment package is complete, the DCA has 45 days to review it and decide whether it is in compliance with state statutes.

Now, it’s a waiting game for critics and supporters of the planned Spring Lake development.

Sebring Sierra, vice president of operations for Sierra Properties, said he is confident DCA will issue a favorable review because all their initial objections to the project have been answered.

Sindra Ridge, member of the Hernando Alliance for Open Land Conservation, said she hasn’t changed her mind about opposing Hickory Hill. The Alliance planned to send the state agency a letter during its review period reiterating the reasons why it believes the amendment goes against the county’s comprehensive plan.

“If our comp plan is written in disappearing ink, the whole county needs to know it,” she said.

Ridge also would not rule out an appeal of the county’s decision.

“We want to hear what the state has to say before we decide to appeal or not,” she said.

Hernando Alliance members and other critics of Hickory Hill believe the community — 2.3 miles southwest of the I-75 and S. R. 50 interchange — will contaminate groundwater by the use of chemicals and pesticides, create congested roads and be inconsistent with the rural flavor of the area.

Supporters claim Hickory Hill is the kind of well-planned development needed to boost the county’s economy and provide the kind of quality growth that should be encouraged.

“It’s not over, as far as a lot of people are concerned,” Ridge said. “Our group is not just about Hickory Hill. Our group is about smart, planned growth throughout the county.”

Sierra applauded county commissioners for their far-sightedness in planning for long-term growth. Projects such as Hickory Hill are “a great thing for Hernando County ,” he said.

Sierra said he wasn’t worried about the Alliance ’s letter to DCA.

“Anyone can write a letter,” Sierra said. “It’s a public agency.”

Reporter Michael D. Bates can be contacted at 352-544-5290.

Plans unveiled for Sunrise

By MICHAEL D. BATES
mbates@hernandotoday.com

BROOKSVILLE — Only two weeks after they approved the adoption of a comprehensive plan amendment paving the way for the 1,750-home Hickory Hill development in Spring Lake, county commissioners Monday looked at plans for another mega-residential and commercial project called Sunrise in that same planned development district.

When built out, Sunrise would have 4,800 homes, 75 motel rooms, 365,000 square feet of retail space, 50,000 square feet of offices, a golf course, clubhouse — all on 1,385 acres east of Interstate 75 and State Road 50.

Joseph Tew, a Clearwater attorney representing Sunrise , laid out for commissioners a master plan showing how area roads, parks, utilities, schools and other infrastructure improvements would accommodate the proposed community.

Because it was a workshop, commissioners did not vote on the plan. Instead, they directed planning staff time to meet with the developer and report back by the July 24 public hearing, when the board will consider approving Sunrise as a development of regional impact (DRI).

Monday’s workshop gave county commissioners a chance to see if the developer was “conceptually on the right track,” Planning Director Ron Pianta said.

Tew said he would be ready with a finished product in time for the July 24 deadline.

“We’re at least 90 percent to the goal line,” Tew said.

As first reported in Hernando Today this week, Sunrise has agreed to donate 75 acres of land along Kettering Road to the school district for the purpose of building a new school. The acreage would be divided into two parcels.

Some of the road improvements include the four-laning of Kettering Road, creating a two-lane Lockhart Road extension, adding four lanes to the Sunrise Parkway, adding two more lanes (for a total of six) to S.R. 50 and making off-ramp improvements to I-75.

The developer is also planning on building several new roads leading into the community.

Total cost of roadway improvements is $34 million, with the developer paying his proportionate share to offset costs.

Because Sunrise and Hickory Hill are both located in the planned development project surrounding I-75 and S.R. 50, the two communities are similar in concept and would tie into the same road network, Tew said.

“At the end of the day, we’ll all be using the same facilities and driving the same roads,” Tew said.

The developer and planning staff will also hammer out a development order that will serve as a blueprint for the development, according to Assistant County Attorney Jeff Kirk.

“We’ll be working closely with planning in terms of creating a development order that protects the county,” Kirk said.

Reporter Michael D. Bates can be contacted at 352-544-5290.

Land-use change faces uphill battle

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

WELLINGTON A development called the Hospitality Shoppes has been met with little hospitality - at least on the dais.

This will be the third time in a year lawyers have come knocking - lobbying for a land-use change to clear the way for a mixed-use project on 8 acres on the northeast corner of South Shore Boulevard and Pierson Road - where the old Palm Beach Polo Stadium is now crumbling.

"Approval of our proposal will help address the life care needs of the aging Wellington population, provide dining, shopping and personal services to the Wellington community as a whole, and rejuvenate a parcel of property which has been dormant for too long," wrote Alfred Malefatto, an attorney for developers, to Wellington Mayor Thomas Wenham last week.

The land-use change goes before the Wellington Equestrian Preserve Committee tonight at 6 p.m. at Wellington Village Hall at 14000 Greenbriar Blvd.

In addition to the land-use change, developers are asking that the land be released from the Equestrian Preserve area, which has strict rules against commercial development.

Michael Whitlow, chairman of the Wellington Equestrian Preserve Committee, said he will not support the land-use change.

"The Equestrian Preserve is too important to allow developers to chip away at its edges," he said, adding that he was speaking on behalf of himself and not the committee as a whole.

The Equestrian Committee refused to support the project in December, saying that the location - with its abandoned polo field - should be reserved for equestrian uses.

"Once our open spaces are gone, they're gone," committee member Don Dufrense said then.

The project, in its current form, consists of a 65,000-square-foot, 96-bed, assisted-living facility and 35,000 square feet of commercial and office space.

When the project was first proposed last summer, it was bigger: 80,000 square feet of commercial and office space and 15 homes.

The land-use change was quietly tabled for the first time in October, after Palm Beach Polo owner Glenn Straub suggested to village council members that approving the land-use change and allowing the development would set a precedent. Straub owns several acres of polo fields adjacent to the proposed Hospitality Shoppes location.

The land-use change was back before the village council for the second time in November, but was tabled again because there wasn't enough council support to pass.

Councilwoman Laurie Cohen made a motion to kill the land-use change and Councilwoman Lizbeth Benacquisto recused herself because she was dating George Banks, an investor in the project. At least four council votes were needed to send the application to the state Department of Community Affairs for review.

The land-use change is expected to go back before the village council June 26. Banks has since sold his share in the development.

  Bradenton grants initial approval for controversial condo project

anthony.cormier@heraldtribune.com

BRADENTON -- City officials voted this morning to vacate roadways and change zoning requirements for Riviera Southshore, giving an initial approval to the disputed condominium project.

Riviera Southshore -- a 691-unit development near the Manatee River -- will be allowed to use a public park to calculate its "green space," which is a key factor in determining the size and scope of the project.

The City Council was divided in its approval of Southshore, a development so controversial that it spawned two lawsuits and plenty of headaches for elected officials.

Councilwoman Marianne Barnebey and Councilman Bemis Smith voted against the roadway vacations, which essentially turn over public land to a private developer. Because Councilman Gene Gallo was absent from Wednesday's meeting, Mayor Wayne Poston cast the deciding vote in favor of Riviera Southshore.

Park, Road Issues Delay Wiregrass Development

Published: May 9, 2007

DADE CITY - Developers of the 5,000-acre Wiregrass Ranch remain at an impasse with county officials on at least two key issues, including hundreds of millions of dollars in transportation improvements and requirements to build community parks.

The disagreements could endanger plans for 12,500 houses and an open-air mall east of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard . The mall would connect with a free-standing JCPenney store at the eastern end of State Road 56.

Contracts with prospective tenants depend on the development being approved, but first, county officials must determine what the Porter family and their investors owe for transportation and parks.

"We have reached the point of no return on this project," Joel Tew, an attorney for Wiregrass, told the county commission at a meeting Tuesday. "We have a lifestyle center we are in jeopardy of losing."

Tew asked the county commission to consider the park issue rather than incur another delay. After about 45 minutes of discussion, the board agreed to take up the subject at its next meeting, in two weeks.

In the meantime, Tew will meet with county commissioners John Gallagher and Pat Mulieri and an engineer.

Tew and John Dowd of The Goodman Group, which is developing the Wiregrass mall, declined to say when they would need to reach agreement with the county to meet deadlines for lining up tenants.

The board did not delve into the transportation issues Tuesday, but Tew said after the meeting that the Porter family, which owns Wiregrass, stands by a commitment to pay $438 million - what they and the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council have determined is their share for upgrading roads to handle future traffic.

County officials say the number is between $600 million and $700 million.

On the parks issue, Tew suggested a compromise: setting aside a smaller number of community parks and creating a large regional park.

Parts of the Wiregrass residential developments are designated for residents older than 55, and the Wiregrass developers don't think community parks are needed in those communities, some of which include golf courses and walking paths.

The county requires developers to set aside a 1-acre park for each 100 acres of development. Under that rule, Wiregrass would have to build 125 acres of parks.

Under Tew's compromise, Wiregrass would build 20 parks instead of the 125 county officials say are required. The remaining 105 acres would be set aside as a county park.

Gallagher said that proposal would be inconsistent with requirements the county has imposed on other developments and would violate due process. Normally, property owners must apply for variances anytime they want an exception to the rules.

Tew said his clients deserve a break because they are being asked to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars more for transportation needs than their competitors, such as Oakley Plaza and Cypress Creek Town Center . They also have sold land to the school board at a reduced rate and donated land for a tennis stadium next to Saddlebrook Resort.

Commissioner Ann Hildebrand did not apologize for the delays.

"This is the biggest [development] for our county and one of the biggest in the region," she said. "We need to find out, how do we do this right?"

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


Wiregrass fed up with delays

By CHUIN WEI-YAP
Published May 9, 2007

DADE CITY - Months of acrimonious negotiations behind closed doors spilled into the open at the County Commission Tuesday, as the attorney for Wiregrass Ranch sparred with county officials on road-building costs and park requirements.

"Despite my continued efforts, we have been unable in four months to get to a development order, or even a work session, " said Joel Tew, as he protested the county's postponement of his hearing until June 5.

Further delays, Tew said, would threaten the $105-million Shops at Wiregrass mall.

"We have a lifestyle center that we're in danger of losing, " Tew said, using retailers' term for the mall. "We have a developer that's ordered steel and it's just sitting out there in a building."

Brokers say tenant contracts at malls usually come with an expected delivery date, and if the developer cannot meet the date, the contracts could be in trouble.

But Wiregrass still needs the county's green light, and negotiations have reached an impasse.

Out of a record $1.8-billion in road improvements that the county wants from the 5, 000-acre proposal, Wiregrass' developers are being asked to provide $627-million - also a record.

The two sides are still millions of dollars apart, County Administrator John Gallagher said.

Emphasizing the county's strained resources, Gallagher said Pasco can pony up just $181-million for its share of Wiregrass' road-building costs through the year 2022.

If roads are not built, the giant development, with 12, 500 proposed homes at Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and State Road 56, is expected to spawn traffic tie-ups stretching well into Hillsborough County .

"At the first workshop, you told us all these wonderful things that you are doing, but we never addressed the transportation issues that we're now touching on, " said commission Chairwoman Ann Hildebrand.

Regional planners took 18 months to give Wiregrass the go-ahead in December, commissioner Michael Cox said. The county's so far taken about five.

"This is the largest project that we've had, " Cox said. "It's very important that we get it right. I believe we are moving this thing along at a pace that's acceptable."

Be careful, Tew responded.

"The lifestyle center is going to be gone, just like Moffitt was gone, " because commissioners didn't act swiftly enough, Tew said, referring to a development deal involving the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute that Pasco lost last year.

The two sides also can't agree on parks.

The law requires Wiregrass to set aside 125 acres for neighborhood parks.

Tew asked to split this into 20 acres of neighborhood parks and 105 acres for a district park. Part of Wiregrass is for active adults anyway, who may not need all those neighborhood parks, he said.

Trouble is, the county's law only relates to neighborhood parks. Officials usually ask developers to set aside additional land for district parks, which are larger facilities for more active recreation.

Commissioners Pat Mulieri and Ted Schrader leaned in favor of Tew's idea, but Gallagher said Tew needs to get an exemption hearing on this issue, as any other similar proposal would.

"I think you ought to consider what you're doing to everybody else, " Gallagher warned commissioners. "All I'm asking you to do is be consistent."

Tew's response: "Push comes to shove, I am very comfortable that we won't have a district park obligation in this application."

Hanging over the deliberations was Tew's accusation that Pasco had flouted a state law that says the county can't delay its decision on Wiregrass' application beyond 90 days after regional planners approve it.

Tew won on one count Tuesday: commissioners voted to delay Wiregrass' hearing to May 22, rather than June 5.

Chuin-Wei Yap can be reached at cyap@sptimes.com or 813 909-4613.

Free river access is paddlers' right

By MARY KAY BRATT
Published May 9, 2007

Re: Misuse, overuse close party spot April 12 story

Paddlers beware! There's a robbery in progress on our very own Weeki Wachee River . Anyone who has been on this river knows what a treasure we have in our own back yards. Unfortunately, we have a monopoly that is capitalizing on our rights to be able to paddle this river at our leisure.

There is absolutely no available kayak/canoe access to our river the entire 7 miles, except from the Weeki Wachee Mermaid Park Canoe Livery in an area behind the park. This rental business is privately owned, but according to park manager Robyn Anderson, it has a "lease-of-use" deal with the mermaid park. People looking for a beautiful and exotic day trip must pay exorbitant prices for this experience.

However, it is paddlers like me, who invested in the expense of my own kayak and equipment, who are being gouged to paddle on our river. For us to put our own boats on the water at the headspring, we must go to the Weeki Wachee Livery and pay $7 per boat just to carry our boats through their building and down to the water. These people do not even offer to help us lug our boats down to the water's edge. Seven dollars for what? To simply park our car and put our kayak in our river?

To add insult to injury, if we choose or need to ride their shuttle service back to our car left at the park, they charge us $22 per boat for a shuttle they are running for their own rental boats anyhow.

We recently had four kayakers on our trip and sure could have used their shuttle instead of having to run two cars out to the Rodgers Park take-out spot. But $88 for a 4-mile shuttle is ridiculous and reeks of greed. The $7 per-boat fee (I'd even pay $10!) they are charging us to "put on the water" should be ample money to transport us back to our car and cover their costs, too.

And now, as a further outrage, our local government officials have closed "the Bluffs." We're now subject to a $500 fine and jail if caught stopping there. Where, oh where, are we paddlers supposed to be able to stop for a leisure rest or picnic during our peaceful day? "No Trespassing-Private Property" signs line the entire banks of this 7-mile river, and now they close the only spots where we can stop and enjoy?

How soon before they put "Private Property" signs on each of the sandbars we have left to stop and rest? Heaven help us!

According to the newspaper coverage about the mermaid park vs. Southwest Florida Water Management District dispute (debacle), it reads that Swiftmud governs this body of water and its shores. Is Swiftmud getting a cut from this canoe livery business? Do they even know what is being done to the users of our river?

It has only been within the past two years that it appears a lot of money was spent by one of our tax-supported government agencies to rebuild, shore up and terrace these two areas now being closed. How appropriate was that expense if it is already being closed to the public?

People, what is happening here? A lot of us are here to retire and enjoy what this beautiful area has to offer. However, our "Florida-famous" river is fast becoming polluted with more than ecological problems. We are being polluted by bureaucratic discord, confusion, greed and lack of consideration for the tax-paying locals.

Enjoying the wonders of Hernando County is becoming way too frustrating.

Mary Kay Bratt lives in Spring Hill. A meeting about the closing of the Bluffs is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at the Weeki Wachee Area Club on Shoal Line Boulevard . Guest columnists write their own views about subjects they choose, which do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.

Environmentalists laud Everglades cleanup bill

TALLAHASSEE - Environmentalists are hailing a new bill to expand Everglades cleanup by extending the effort to the northern reaches of the ecosystem, where the water gets polluted in the first place.

A bill lawmakers sent last week to Gov. Charlie Crist doubles the amount of money going into Everglades cleanup, up to $200 million from the $100 million the program has received yearly since state and federal officials pledged in 2000 to try to reverse decades of pollution-caused problems in the River of Grass .

With matching money from local governments and state funding for other related projects, the total spending will be close to $500 million, said Sen. Burt Saunders, R-Naples, who led the effort in the Senate.

The measure also includes new restrictions on polluted stormwater runoff from new developments and on the dumping of sewage sludge into the Lake Okeechobee watershed, which environmentalists say is a major victory.

The legislation (SB 392) expands the notion of cleaning up the Everglades to restoration of Lake Okeechobee and the rivers that flow south into the lake - the water that eventually ends up in the Everglades . It sets out a plan for acquiring land and creating water treatment mechanisms north of the lake.

"The water pollution problems actually start in the suburbs of Orlando ,'' said Eric Draper, a lobbyist with Audubon of Florida, which worked on the legislation.

The move to expand the cleanup and curb pollution was rare in its consensus, involving the farm community as well as environmentalists.

Mary Ann Gosa, a lobbyist for the Florida Farm Bureau, said the effort was a more comprehensive approach to cleaning up the ecosystem, rather than the piecemeal approach that officials have had in the past.

And it drew accolades from environmentalists like few other legislative initiatives in recent years.

"It's the first major law to combine water pollution and water management solutions, and it puts the (government) on an aggressive timeline,'' for implementing the new cleanup projects, said Draper.

In addition to Lake Okeechobee, the legislation also calls for the expansion of programs to protect the Caloosahatchee River and St. Lucie River watersheds.

Lawmakers' efforts also drew praise from Crist.

"Let's talk about the environment! $200 million for the Everglades ,'' Crist said this past weekend, calling the bill a "big deal.''

Lawmakers also approved spending money for programs to help the St. Johns River in northeast Florida and the Indian River Lagoon.

The biggest items in the Everglades legislation provided for:

* $49 million for the first phase of a Lake Okeechobee protection program.

* $30 million for projects to improve the hydrology, water quality and aquatic habitats of the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie watersheds, including Lake Okeechobee watershed improvements and engineering of a stormwater treatment area.

Council OKs mixed-use project on Intracoastal

By BETH KORMANIK, The Times-Union

The Jacksonville City Council approved a mixed-use development on 77 acres along the Intracoastal Waterway despite concerns of Beaches officials over hurricane evacuation.

But the issue is far from over: The state Department of Community Affairs, which has voiced concerns with the project, also must approve it, and either side can appeal the decision.

The development on the site of the Moody Land Co. shipyards, at 13911 Atlantic Blvd. , calls for building a maximum of four towers, each up to 144 feet tall. They would house 590 condominium units and space for shops and restaurants.

Councilman Art Graham, who represents the Beaches, said the project is a public safety hazard.

"We've done crazy things on this council before," he said