Developer's Choice Is Refreshing Change

Developer must have big lots

Wekiwa neighbors prevail as the county rejects houses on quarter-acre parcels.

Rich McKay

Sentinel Staff Writer

September 13, 2007

The two-year battle to save a slice of rural tree-canopied land near Wekiwa Springs State Park is over, and Lilian Myers says she has won.

The Orange County Commission on Tuesday declined developer Allan Goldberg's request to build relatively small 1,500-square-foot houses on quarter-acre lots on 58 acres east of Apopka.

Depending on the flood plain and other restrictions, the proposed Sandpiper Road development could have meant about 150 new houses just north of Lake McCoy .

But Myers and others who live in the area organized quickly to protest the developer's plans.

"This is victory," said Myers, who is the force behind organizing her neighbors and starting the savesandpiper.com Web site.

"If we weren't watching this, I'm certain the outcome would have been much different," Myers said.

Goldberg, a partner in C&G Real Estate Group of Maitland, will be allowed to build far fewer houses than he requested.

The county granted him permission to build about 39 houses on 1-acre lots, with the buildings no smaller than 3,000 square feet.

Neither Goldberg nor a representative from C&G was immediately available for comment.

County records show Goldberg's original plans called for building to the county's maximum potential density for that area, which is four houses per acre, about 150 houses.

Goldberg later told the commission that his company only wanted to build about 65 houses.

That was still too many for Myers and her neighbors.

"We have a unique enclave here," she said. "We have bears and bald eagles and all sorts of wildlife. We don't want to have that radically changed."

Before Goldberg can build, county commissioners have asked that his company perform a tree study and designate exactly which trees the company intends to take down, and which ones will be preserved.

Myers said that while it looks as though she and her neighbors have won, there's nothing to stop the developer from asking for his property to be annexed into Apopka, where other development rules might apply.

"We're going to keep our eyes on this," she said. "We may be out in the country, but we're not bumpkins."

Rich McKay can be reached at rmckay@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5470.

Water Wars, Part II:

Pipeline would take water from river for towns
By Rachael Anne Ryals
Herald Staff Writer

A proposed pipeline to pump 100 million gallons of water a day from the Ocklawaha River in Marion County to the Orlando area should be a concern for everyone in North Central Florida, according to a local environmental group.

That's because the half-a-billion dollar, 100-mile pipeline could set a precedent for moving water across county and even water management district lines, according to the environmental group Save Our Suwannee.

When Save Our Suwannee President Annette Long heard about the pipeline, she knew she had to address the issue because she said the pipeline will set a precedent for other rivers in Florida .

Close to 100 people packed the Save Our Suwannee’s quarterly meeting Tuesday to hear speakers Karen Ahlers from the Putnam County Environmental Council and Guy Marwick of the Smart Growth Coalition of North Central Florida.

“Every river in Florida is targeted,” Marwick said. “If you think that there is one tiny flowing river that is not targeted, heaven help you.”

The proposed pipeline, if built, will allow water districts to start looking further and further north, Marwick said.

“I think this is a test case for all the rivers in Florida ,” he said. Local Sources First

Both Ahlers and Marwick said that the pipeline will have to be fought not only with the public calling lawmakers and showing up at meetings, but also with litigation.

“We absolutely anticipate litigation,” Marwick said.

That’s because the laws concerning water have many loop holes, Marwick said.

Part of Florida’s law, commonly referred to as “Local Sources First,” says that water can be transferred across water district boundaries only on the conditions that the transfer does not diminish the availability of water for the present and future needs of the sending area and also that the receiving area must have exhausted all reasonable local sources and options.

But Jerry Salsano, consultant for the St. Johns Water Management District, said that surface water, such as river water, in Florida belongs to the state.

In theory, water could be piped from the Suwannee River or any other source of surface water to places in the state that the water is needed, Salsano said.

"There is basis in the law for them to do that," he said, adding that moving water across districts has not historically been done.

Salsano also said that his district has no plans to look outside its boundaries for water, although water that the district may pump from the Ocklawaha River could potentially be piped to two other water districts. Some of the interested parties that want to use the water are in Polk County .

However, an adequate supply of water for the state's growing needs is a concern that everyone in the state will face, said St. John’s Water Management District Spokesperson Hank Largin.

"It's a Florida problem," Largin said. "Water supply is a concern."

Marion County Water Resource Manager Troy Kuphal said that desalination should be utilized now instead of depending on the Ocklawaha River to provide water for Central Florida .

"Should we exploit a river and potentially harm it irrevocably instead of exploring alternatives such as desalination that can be used indefinitely?" Kuphal said.

 The Ocklawaha River is a local source that recent studies have shown Marion County will need to use in the future, Kuphal said.

The 100-mile pipeline will be the largest in the state, raising questions if the district has truly explored all local options, Kuphal said.

The long-distance pipeline will not even completely meet the needs of Central Florida , making the option a "non-solution," Kuphal said.

"We don't want the Ocklawaha River to be the sacrificial lamb of growth," he said.

But desalination is an expensive endeavor that Largin said many water providers are not ready to pass the cost of on to their customers.

"Most of the people looking for water right now are going to look for the least expensive alternative," Largin said. "And that makes perfect sense."

MFLs

Everyone from the water management districts to the environmental groups say that the establishment of Minimum Flows and Levels (MFLs) for rivers is the most important thing that can be done to protect a body of water.

Minimum Flows and Levels are determined using “the best available data” to establish levels of flows that the river can not go below without causing “significant harm” to the environment.

Once MFLs are established, permits can not be issued that would cause the river to be “significantly harmed.”

The MFLs for he Ocklawaha River are not expected to be set until 2009, a concern for some who say there should be no talk of taking water from the river until studies show how much is available after the MFLs have been set.

Salsano, however, said that there are no plans to take water from the Ocklawaha River until after the MFLs are set.

In the Crescent Communities area, MFLs are being set and will help protect the local rivers, said Kurt Webster with the Suwannee River Water Management District.

The establishment of MFLs will help to protect rivers from being adversely affected by water withdraws, Webster said.

The district already has established MFLs for the Lower Suwannee River as well as Fanning and Manatee Springs. The MFLs for the Lower Santa Fe are currently being established.

Making sure that good, trustworthy MFLs are established is an important goal of Save Our Suwannee.

“Those MFLs are key,” Long said.

Down to the last few drops

Projections within the next 20 years show that many places in the state will be in dire need for water.

While the area near Orlando is projected to have used all its local sources by 2013, Salsano said that the whole state will be in a similar situation soon.

Salsano said that by the year 2040, all of the usable water in Florida will be fully permitted.

"Sea water will be the only increment," he said.

In 1998, the five water management districts were required to conduct water supply assessments to analyze if enough water would be available to meet the growing needs of the districts for the next 20 years.

Only the Suwannee Water Management District found that it had enough water to meet future needs until 2020, according to the Florida Environmental Protection Agency.

The districts that could not show they could meet future projected needs were required to develop water supply plans that included: further development of fresh groundwater and surface water, demineralization of brackish groundwater, desalination of seawater, reuse of reclaimed water and water conservation.

But piping water also falls within water supply plans, and that is where the proposed Ocklawaha pipeline comes in.

Some said that piping water will just delay an inevitable problem and possibly harm the environment.

Kuphal said that desalination, reclaimed water and other alternatives should be utilized now instead of tapping into rivers and other environmental sources that could be permanently harmed.

Also, allowing local cities to have control over the sources of water in their communities is best for the environment, Kuphal said.

"We feel we are the best stewards of the water," he said. "If any damage is occurring, we would be more likely to turn the tap off rather than someone who is 100 miles away and does not have such an appreciation of the local environment.”  

County ready to fight for Ocklawaha

Water debate could spill over into courtroom
BY FRED HIERS
STAR-BANNER

OCALA -

The debate over who will siphon water out of the Ocklawaha River might head to court if Marion County commissioners don't approve a state plan to pipe some water to Central Florida .

During a workshop Wednesday, commissioners told their legal staff to gear up for a potential fight to stop the St. Johns River Water Management District and nearly 20 county utilities eyeing the Ocklawaha at State Road 40 for their drinking water. They hope to pump almost 50 million gallons per day when the river's volume is sufficient.

Commission Chairman Stan McClain said during the workshop that if the county's concerns were not addressed, "then we need to file a lawsuit."

The Marion commission wants to meet with the water district and any interested counties to hash out some of its concerns.

The commission's call to arms came after the water district and Central Florida utility companies met Friday in Marion County to discuss their Ocklawaha plans. McClain began that meeting by asking the counties to first decrease their own water use and growth rate before crossing county lines and dipping into the river.

The request fell on mostly deaf ears, though.

"I have been sick since last Friday," McClain said. "It was disgusting. The bureaucrats that were there can't make a flipping decision about anything we want to talk about," he said. "We want to have that meeting with elected officials."

To potentially halt the march toward the Ocklawaha, the commission also agreed to encourage the county's legislative representatives in Tallahassee to try to overturn Florida laws that give water districts the authority to allow utilities to cross county boundaries for water.

"When an unelected body of people [the St. Johns River Water Management District] can tell an elected body what to do, that's not right," McClain said.Commissioner Charlie Stone said the county's options were limited, though.

"How much of a fight can we put up? I don't know," Stone said.

Stone also doubted the county's Tallahassee representatives could change current water laws that allow counties to grab someone else's water when they have no more of their own.

"I don't think they [ Marion County representatives] will get the majority of votes in both chambers," Stone lamented.

Commissioner Jim Payton was not at the meeting.

Commissioner Andy Kesselring said he doubted even more than Stone that Tallahassee would come to Marion County 's defense. He said Tallahassee would side with larger, more populated areas, such as Orlando and Tampa , that are thirsty for water.

"There's zero chance the Legislature is going to wipe" the law from the books, he said. "That's not going to happen."

The commission also directed its staff to join with other northern counties trying to protect their water from larger, southern municipalities.

Commissioner Barbara Fitos said during the workshop that the commission's first move should be to formally adopt its recent Water Resource Assessment and Management Study, which predicts the county's population growth and its need for water during the next 50 years.

The study says the county's need for water will more than double during the next five decades. It also predicted there will not be enough groundwater to meet the county's water demand by 2015 without hurting area springs, and alternative water sources would be needed.

Fitos said the county needed to make that study part of its water use plan and use it to show in court, if necessary, that Marion County needs Ocklawaha's water for itself.

"It's a way to show our political will," she said. "Then maybe we can slow the train."

If the report had any legitimacy, then it would stand up in court, McClain said.

But water district officials said counties could not claim water for possible future use.

"You can't use that document or any other document to claim dibs. There is no dibs," said Dwight Jenkins, St. Johns ' division director on water use regulation, when contacted after the workshop. He was not in attendance.

The water district and utilities interested in dipping into the Ocklawaha will meet again Oct. 15 in Marion County .

During the workshop Wednesday, the County Commission also reviewed its proposed new landscaping ordinance, which would limit lawn watering to twice a week, and commissioners discussed the county's springs protection plan, which would require mandatory hook-ups by septic tank owners to wastewater lines when available.

The commission will hold public meetings on those two proposed ordinances during the coming months.

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

Reservoir fatally flawed, district says  

By ROBERT P. KING

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Thursday, September 13, 2007

The Army Corps of Engineers has built a St. Lucie County reservoir so riddled with leaks, erosion and other flaws that filling it could endanger nearby homes, South Florida water managers said Wednesday.

Complaints about the $34 million, 550-acre Ten Mile Creek reservoir near Fort Pierce are stalling efforts to help both the creek and the nearby Indian River Lagoon. That project was supposed to be an early success in the two agencies' decades-long campaign to restore the Everglades .

Instead, water managers may vote today to hand back the reservoir and demand that the corps fix it.

The flaws also threaten to raise new questions about the corps' competence to carry out a much bigger public-safety project: fixing the leaky Herbert Hoover Dike around Lake Okeechobee .

The reservoir's problems include leaks, levees undermined by up to 20 feet of erosion, and embankments so crumbly in places that a person could pick them apart with a penknife, leaders of the South Florida Water Management District said. They said it needs $13 million in repairs.

District consultants noted many of the woes in a report last November, seven months after the corps finished the bulk of the work. The consulting firm, BCI Engineers & Scientists, was the same one that last year declared the Hoover dike a "grave and imminent danger."

Water managers didn't make their concerns about the reservoir public until Wednesday, after nearly a year of trying to get answers from the corps, said district Deputy Executive Director George Horne.

Corps leaders called the problems typical for a big construction project and said it has fixed many of them. Constructions and operations chief Alan Bugg said the corps will do what it can to correct the rest, but he cited a huge obstacle: money.

"We can't spend another penny, by statute, on Ten Mile Creek," Bugg said. He said the corps might get permission to spend more if Congress passes a long-awaited water bill, which President Bush has threatened to veto.

District board member Malcolm "Bubba" Wade called that answer unacceptable.

"I don't care if you say you don't have money," Wade said. "We need to just turn around and say: 'Alan, it was your project. You figure out the money. You get it fixed.'"

The district also complained that the corps made unannounced changes in the reservoir's design, maybe to cut costs. The results left it shallower than expected and possibly more vulnerable to sloshing from hurricanes.

U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Palm Beach Gardens , said he wants to know what went wrong.

"Whoever made the decision to cut back the project to meet the budget, it looked to me like it was a group of people that were more interested in keeping their jobs than doing what was right for the taxpayers," said Mahoney, who was in the audience during the presentation in suburban West Palm Beach.

Bugg said he believes the district's big objection is that the reservoir's levees don't meet the toughened engineering standards the agencies adopted after Hurricane Katrina. They took effect just as the corps was finishing Ten Mile Creek.

"There was no way we could go in, redesign everything and construct it - there was no money," Bugg said. He said the new standards account for $12 million of the district's $13 million repair estimate.

Horne disagreed, saying it would cost millions just to make the reservoir able to hold water. Meanwhile, the district still was trying this week to get the corps' detailed construction diagrams and other crucial documents.

"Money's not the issue," he said. "They built a reservoir for us that we can't utilize."

Horne said the reservoir now holds about 3 feet of water, a level that poses no risks to the public. He said the reservoir holds only 686 million gallons safely, 38 percent of what the project promised.

The reservoir, aimed at capturing polluted runoff, is part of a series of environmental projects Congress authorized in 1996 to jump-start the grander $10.9 billion Everglades restoration. The corps and district were supposed to split the costs 50-50.

Mark Perry, executive director of the Florida Oceanographic Society, said the problems could bode ill for the bigger restoration. "Are we going to get into the same thing?" he asked, adding that he was shocked to hear of Ten Mile Creek's woes. "We thought that was pretty much taken care of."

Meanwhile, St. Lucie County Administrator Doug Anderson said nobody should expect his government to solve the feds' money shortfall. "We have a difficult enough time with our existing revenue under property tax reform," he said.

Glades work called a flood hazard

BY BRIAN SKOLOFF

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WEST PALM BEACH -- A major Everglades restoration project is stalled because of shoddy work managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on a reservoir that could threaten an interstate and nearby communities if levee walls were to fail, state officials said Wednesday.

While the corps hired an outside contractor to do the work, the agency "was ultimately responsible," said George Horne, deputy executive director of the South Florida Water Management District.

"If it were filled to capacity and it were to rupture, you would certainly flood" Interstate 95 and surrounding communities, Horne said.

He said the Ten Mile Creek reservoir needs about $13 million for repairs to fix leakage in levee walls and embankments, parts of which are already crumbling, among other problems. The project is intended to help restore natural flow to the Everglades ecosystem.

Construction was completed last year but the district has only been able to fill the reservoir with about 684 million gallons -- only 38 percent of the intended 1.8 billion gallon capacity -- because of safety concerns.

The project also does not meet new safety requirements developed after Hurricane Katrina, Horne said.

"It does not and cannot operate as intended," he said.

It was initially a $27 million project, including state and federal funds, but eventually climbed to about $35 million. With the needed repairs, the total project will now cost about $48 million, Horne said.

Alan Bugg, chief of construction and operations for the corps' Jacksonville office, assured water district board members the problems would be fixed.

"Public safety is our number one priority," Bugg said.

"Shame on us," Bugg repeatedly said for failing to provide the district with information on the problems and a timetable for repairs.

The corps is working to shore up the 143-mile-long Herbert Hoover Dike around Lake Okeechobee after a state-commissioned report last year found it was highly vulnerable to breaches and bore "a striking resemblance to Swiss cheese."

More than 45,000 people live in the potential flood zone near the lake.

Horne said work on the dike and the levees around the Ten Mile Creek reservoir were similar jobs, but it appeared, at least for now, the dike repairs are in better shape.

The same company that issued the dike report, BCI Engineers & Scientists Inc., also performed a recent study on the reservoir and noted "a number of areas of localized distress ... that could eventually compromise dam integrity and require major repairs."

The 550-acre reservoir near Fort Pierce, about 130 miles north of Miami, is supposed to be storing storm-water runoff to keep deluges from flowing into the Indian River Lagoon, part of the overall Everglades ecosystem and one of the most biologically diverse estuaries in North America.

A water district subcommittee on Wednesday recommended giving the reservoir back to the corps to fix.

Corps spokeswoman Nanciann Regalado said the agency would decide how to move forward with repairs, and determine whether the problems were caused by design flaws or shoddy work.

Even contentious choices evaporate as drought lingers

By ROBERT P. KING

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Pray for rain.

That's the only major remedy water managers could offer Wednesday for South Florida 's record-breaking drought, which they now expect to last at least until the 2008 hurricane season.

The board of the South Florida Water Management District debated a host of options - even angrily reopening last month's controversial decision not to pump polluted farm runoff into Lake Okeechobee . But the agency's options are "few to none" until it rains, Executive Director Carol Wehle confessed.

"There's really nothing," she told the board. "Either they don't work or there's no water."

If the coming dry season produces yet another parched year, the lake could drop to near-apocalyptic water levels, more than 1.5 feet below the all-time record low it experienced in early July, the district's staff estimated.

Even normal rainfall would keep the region in a water shortage at least until the next wet season begins in June.

The lake was at 9.61 feet above sea level Wednesday, an all-time low for this time of year and almost 4 feet below where it was this time in 2006, as the drought was beginning.

Besides threatening the region's farming industry and backup water supply, the bone-dry lake could threaten flood-control efforts if the Glades receives a downburst. That's because the district might have trouble getting enough water to prime its pumps.

"This is history - we've never been here before," said district board member Malcolm "Bubba" Wade, a senior vice president of United States Sugar Corp. "This drought's already having an impact, and it's going to get much, much worse."

The dry season typically starts in November, and meteorologists have said it could be especially dry because of an expected return of the La Niña climate pattern.

Meanwhile, Florida is so far experiencing its second consecutive year with no hurricanes.

Among other possible solutions to irrigate Glades' farms, the district says it is considering pumping water westward along the West Palm Beach Canal from State Road 7 near Wellington .

Another option could be allowing farm runoff to flow through floodgates into the lake - not far from the pumps that the board decided last month not to use.

Wehle said at first that the district wasn't planning to use those gates. That statement prompted a heated debate in which some board members, led by Mike Collins of Islamorada, accused the majority of arbitrarily rejecting usable water. They noted that the gates allow water to flow by gravity.

Board Chairman Eric Buermann said he had thought the water to be gained wouldn't be worth the controversy - and in any case, there's no water to move at the moment.

District Operations Control Director Susan Sylvester told the board: "The bottom line is there really are not a lot of good options." And none will do any good without rain.

Hearing may determine future of Grove Bay

South Florida Business Journal - 1:45 PM EDT Thursday, September 13, 2007

by Julia Neyman

A state hearing Friday is to determine whether Miami violated Florida 's Growth Management Act by changing the zoning near Vizcaya Museum and Gardens to allow The Related Group to build a high-rise condominium building.

The State of Florida 's Division of Administrative Hearings will hold the telephonic hearing.

In April, Miami approved Related Group's 225-unit Grove Bay project on the grounds of Mercy Hospital. The Vizcayans, a volunteer organization that helps preserve and raise money for Vizcaya, which is adjacent to Mercy Hospital , is suing the city, alleging the zoning change is illegal.

"We are appealing the land use change on multiple grounds, a fundamental one being that approval of land use change was done illegally," said John Hinson, co-chair of The Vizcayan's Special Preservation Committee. "The decision of the city commission, of the approvals, was not in compliance with city's own laws and state laws."

In spring 2006, the city planning department recommended that a tract of land on Mercy Hospital 's grounds be zoned R4, which allows for the highest density possible in residential neighborhoods. A year later, after heavy lobbying from Related Group, the city approved Grove Bay .

Stephen Darmody, the attorney for the Vizcayans, said they are asking that the city change the tract's zoning from "high density multi-family residential" back to "major institutional, public facilities, transportation and utilities."

Darmody noted that the ruling is merely a recommendation, after which the case will be reviewed by the Department of Community Affairs in Tallahassee , or by the state cabinet.

"We'll ask for the determination that city's action was unlawful, but the result of that is ultimately up to the person who reviews it," he said. "This judge can only make a recommended order."

Friday's hearing will also be the first chance the state attorney has to give an update on an ongoing criminal investigation that is hinted to be related to the suit. On August 30, the State Attorney filed a motion to halt all new discovery in the zoning-change case for 30 days, so as not to interfere with the criminal investigation.

"The state attorney has not revealed to any of us who or what is being investigated," Darmondy said. "All we know is there is a criminal investigation and the state attorney represented to the court that there appears to be some overlap in people who we want to talk to and people he and she want to talk to."

Hinson said depositions for former city manager Joe Ariola, former assistant city manager and now Related Group employee, Alicia Cuervo, and Related Group EVP Bill Thompson have been delayed pending the criminal investigation.

The DOAH suit is one of several related to the Grove Bay project. The Vizcayans have also launched a suit against Miami in circuit court, and are on the receiving end of a public records lawsuit from Related Group.

Related Group could not be reached for immediate comment.  

Lennar ready to pull home permits for JB Ranch

Amid weak market, builder aims to proceed slowly - with an eye to the future.

BY CHRISTOPHER CURRY
STAR-BANNER

OCALA - Miami-based residential construction giant Lennar Homes has built homes in 18 states, as far north as Minnesota and as far west as California. But Lennar hasn't reached Ocala - until now.

Lennar has plans to build 868 homes in the over-55 JB Ranch community, located a short distance south of State Road 200 along Southwest 60th Avenue . Eric Sergi, Lennar's division president for Central Florida , said the builder plans to start pulling permits on model homes this month or in October, and begin selling in December or January. He said home prices would start at slightly more than $200,000 and go to about $350,000.

With the housing market slow, Sergi said Lennar would start out at a modest pace - with plans to sell about seven homes a month at first. Depending on how the market rises and falls, he said the planned build-out is set for 2014. Lennar already has a foothold in the Lake County community of Clermont and plans to move north of Ocala into Alachua County as well, Sergi said.

Lennar also a 16,000-square-foot community center in JB Ranch with amenities that include a pool, exercise room and a hall with a stage for live entertainment.

Sergi said Lennar purchased its nearly 900 lots from Ocala 's Boyd Development, which funded site work, road construction and the installation of water and sewer lines on the 479-acre piece of former pasture land.

Sergi said that as the market cooled Lennar did not consider walking away from the JB Ranch development because Ocala has a reputation as a "great place to retire" and a good central location, with Orlando and Tampa both less than a two-hour drive.

Lennar and Marion County Building Department officials held a day full of meetings Wednesday with contractors who might bid on the JB Ranch project. Building Department spokeswoman Tracy Gale said about 60 percent of the estimated 56 contractors at an afternoon meeting were from Marion .

"Lennar will do well here with JB Ranch," Gale said. "It will establish their base in this area, as well as develop the construction industry and community relationships - because they want to continue building here and also in Alachua County . When the market picks up again, Lennar will be up right there, in terms of the number of houses being sold in Marion County ."

Wayne Masciarelli, owner of M&M Enterprises, a framing and roofing firm, said JB Ranch should give a boost to the local residential-building economy.

Masciarelli said that while things have cooled significantly since last year's boom, the sky isn't falling.

"It hasn't slowed down anymore than where we used to be," he said. "We were going through kind of a boom there for a while."

Christopher Curry may be reached at chris.curry@starbanner.com or 352-867-4115.

Bright day for Sunrise builders

The county okays a master plan for the megadevelopment.

By DAN DEWITT, Times Staff Writer
Published September 13, 2007

BROOKSVILLE - The County Commission paved the way for drastic changes to the east side of the county Wednesday , approving a master plan for a development district near Interstate 75 and the biggest project in the district, Sunrise .

The commission unanimously approved the agreement that creates Sunrise as a development of regional impact with 4,200 houses, 600 apartments, enough commercial space for two Wal-Mart Supercenters, offices, a hotel and a golf course.

If built, it will be the county's largest residential project since Royal Highlands in the 1970s.

The plan for the 4,800-acre development district south of State Road 50 and straddling the interstate uses a new concept in Hernando: higher-than-normal impact fees to pay for building a network of roads and other services in the mostly vacant area.

This district was designated for development in 1989, and the county has repeatedly been criticized for not using that intervening time to develop a thoughtful plan.

None of the critics showed up on Wednesday, though some residents said they worried about the amount of water that would be consumed by the estimated 24,000 future residents of the development district.

A lawyer for Sunrise said the master plan was an unusual example of cooperation between the county and a large number of landowners.

"This can be and should be an absolute model of long-term planning," said Joel Tew, the Clearwater lawyer who represented Sunrise and who helped negotiate the master plan.

In most cases, building a house in the development district will mean paying 50 percent more for road impact fees, 10 percent more for schools and 60 percent more for parks.

Sunrise will not have to pay the higher road impact fees, however, because it has agreed to make about $20-million in road improvements, including the widening of SR 50 between I-75 and Kettering Road.

The county approved this plan because it wanted Sunrise to make these improvements early in the project's construction rather than waiting for impact fees to arrive over several years, planning director Ron Pianta has said.

The state Department of Transportation also signed off on the plan, which DOT official Bob Clifford said was new for this part of Florida .

"Not only are we excited about it, we're already working with other counties to use this exact same concept," Clifford said.

Sunrise will contribute 55 acres for a school site, the value of which will be compensated through impact fee breaks. It must build and maintain a 20-acre community park as well as walking and cycling trails.

The commission also approved two other developments in the district, Trilby Crossing with a total of 500 houses and townhouses, and Benton Hill Estates, with 649 houses. Both will be built by Cornerstone Communities of Clearwater.

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

County paves way for eastside growth

By MICHAEL D. BATES
mbates@hernandotoday.com

BROOKSVILLE — A new city has formed in Hernando County and its name is Sunrise .

County commissioners at Wednesday’s land use hearing voted 5-0 approving Sunrise as a development of regional impact (DRI), which now paves the way for a whole new way of life for the county’s eastside.

When fully built out, Sunrise should contain more residents than the city of Brooksville . It’s that big.

In fact, with 4,800 homes proposed, the Sunrise residential development is the largest proposed subdivision to ever hit Hernando County .

Sunrise is planned for 1,385 acres and is part of the planned development district along Interstate 75 and State Road 50 that includes light industrial, commercial, retail and residential development. When built out, the community would include a motel, retail and office space, golf course and clubhouse.

With the DRI in hand, construction could start by late 2008, according to Joseph Tew, a Clearwater attorney representing Sunrise .

At the same meeting, county commissioners adopted a resolution approving the entire I-75 and S.R. 50 planned development district, creating the blueprint for future growth in that area.

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 S.R. 50.

Sunrise is included in the same planned development district (PDD) as Hickory Hill, a 1,750-home community commissioners recently approved.

Tew has spent the last several months working with county staffers as they constructed a master plan of roads, parks, utilities, schools and other infrastructure improvements that would accommodate the proposed community.

One of the biggest concerns voiced from people who live in the area is the source of water once new homeowners start moving into Sunrise .

The county has proposed a new well along Lockhart Road that would supplement the existing water supply and has asked the developer to maximize the use of reclaimed water.

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.

Not everyone is happy with Sunrise .

Joe Murphy, conservation chairman of the Hernando County Audubon Society, has expressed concerns about the lack of a master plan for the I-75 and S.R. 50 planned development district, which is required by the county’s comprehensive plan.

“We are not opposed to growth and development in the PDD, but we feel very strongly that it must be well planned and well coordinated,” Murphy wrote in a letter to county commissioners and staffers.

Murphy stressed the need for strict water use and conservation standards, the preservation of open space and animal habitat in the area, the building of parks and passive recreational outlets.

“A well-planned, well-structured PDD with a mix of residential, commercial, light industrial and recreational elements woven together with a 21st century plan for a sustainable future will raise the bar for eastern Hernando County ,” Murphy wrote.

Irma Carr of Ridge Manor asked county commissioners to require the developer to establish frontage roads to ease congestion in the area.

“Please stress frontage roads whenever any building starts,” Carr said.

Planning Director Ron Pianta said a frontage road on the south side of S.R. 50 is planned and will extend from I-75 to Kettering Road to serve all the commercial areas.

Pianta said the developer will also be required to prepare and maintain and environmental monitoring plan and set aside 20 acres for a private community park.

Reporter Tony Marrero contributed to this story. Reporter Michael D. Bates can be contacted at 352-544-5290.

North Palm district agrees to changes

By ANA X. CERON

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Thursday, September 13, 2007

PALM BEACH GARDENS — The day after its engineering firm resigned amid a corruption scandal involving two of its former partners, Northern Palm Beach County Improvement District officials agreed Wednesday to new measures hoped to keep the agency clear of any similar controversies.

Soon, anyone doing business with the district will be banned from using "success fees" - similar to the secret bonuses that landed SFRN Inc. in the spotlight and forced fallen Palm Beach County Commissioner Warren Newell and former firm President Dan Shalloway to resign their partnerships at SFRN.

 Also, anyone bidding on district projects will be banned from discussing their application with district supervisors.

The changes come as SFRN tries to recover from the Newell corruption case - and government agencies once linked to the influential firm now try to distance themselves from it.

A committee at the Port of Palm Beach has dropped Shalloway as a member, while the county has discouraged SFRN from trying to apply for county work.

Tonight the North Palm Beach council is set to discuss the future of the village's relationship with the firm.

Newell was charged in August with conspiracy to commit honest-services fraud and to file a false federal personal income tax return.

In most of the transactions under scrutiny by federal officials, Newell and Shalloway used SFRN as a conduit to funnel money to the commissioner, prosecutors said.

Improvement district supervisors were scheduled to decide Wednesday whether to terminate their SFRN contract, until the West Palm Beach-based firm hand-delivered a resignation letter the day before.

During the meeting, some district supervisors praised and thanked SFRN officials for the work they had performed in the 51/2 years they worked for the improvement district.

But Supervisor Deborah Diaz also told engineers that had they not resigned, she wouldn't have hesitated voting for their dismissal. It would have been a painful decision, she said, but it was the right move for the district.

"I do appreciate you stepping up to the plate and make that decision" to resign, Diaz told them.

Still, SFRN is not completely out of the picture.

With some major district projects nearing completion - including the Jupiter Country Club golf cart tunnel at Indiantown Road - the firm could still have months of work left with the district.

At this point, it would be too late to find a new engineer to certify those projects on schedule, district officials said.

At their Sept. 26 meeting, district supervisors are set to discuss what other projects will remain in the hands of SFRN.

In the meantime, the district will work on putting out a call for a new engineer, with the deadline for applications set for Oct. 18.

Officials expect to make a final decision in December.

Among the applicants will be SFRN, President Andre Rayman said. Rayman said that stories published in The Palm Beach Post have raised questions as to how fairly his firm landed its contract with the special district, and reapplying for the post was intended to erase any doubts.

"Based on the quality of service we provide, we can get in here on an even playing field," Rayman said.

On Sunday, The Post reported that Shalloway and Northern Improvement Supervisor Hugo Unruh together have invested thousands of dollars in a Costa Rican cattle ranch, a link that Unruh never disclosed while he voted on matters involving its contract with SFRN.

With Unruh absent from Wednesday's meeting, the rest of the district board agreed to discuss later the possibility of making its policies regarding conflicts of interest more strict. Also, the board signed off on having the district's attorney ask the state ethics officials to rule whether Unruh's tie to Shalloway and the ranch constitutes a conflict of interest that Unruh should have disclosed.  

Dream living: free rent, open spaces

But there's a catch. You'd provide security for New Port Richey's Grey Preserve.

By JODIE TILLMAN, Times Staff Writer
Published September 13, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - Been looking for a place where the rent is free, the neighbors keep to themselves and the back yard is 80 acres of wilderness?

The city might let you live at the James E. Grey Preserve - so long as you bring your own mobile home and agree to keep an eye on the place.

City officials are planning to let someone live at the preserve as a way to deter would-be vandals from trashing the 80-acre park where taxpayers are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in improvements.

Next year's budget includes a $20,000 expenditure to clear a lot and provide septic and electric to the site where a mobile home could go.

Current city employees will get first dibs on the deal.

Parks and Recreation Director Elaine Smith said the security person wouldn't be expected to put his or her life in danger to confront suspicious people. "They would just call if they saw anything," she said. "They're there just to patrol."

Pasco County has had sheriff's deputies living in some of its parks for more than 20 years, said county parks and recreation director Rick Buckman.

There are about five deputies who live in mobile homes at some of the county's 34 parks, including Anclote Gulf Park in Holiday and Veterans Memorial Park in Hudson , he said. The county also pays for the initial site setup.

In the early days of the program, written agreements pushed the deputies to act as officers all the time, he said, though the county has since backed off on that because it implied they should be paid.

"Our agreements with the deputies pretty much say, 'Treat it like you would your own backyard and do some level of security patrol,' " Buckman said.

The success of the live-in security has mostly depended on how visible the deputies' homes are and how much they have to drive to get to them, he said. Maintenance buildings close to the homes have generally been free of vandalism. And the more the deputies have to drive around in their patrol cars, the more people notice that somebody's watching.

At the Grey Preserve in New Port Richey, a security presence can't come soon enough: The first week that part of the preserve opened this summer after being closed for construction, Smith said, someone stole all the copper piping out of the bathrooms.

Jodie Tillman can be reached at jtillman@sptimes.com or (727) 869-6247.

SAC celebrates 4th anniversary

By Ira Mikell, Free Press Reporter

Since 2003, Suwannee American Cement, a state-of-the-art facility, and located at 5117 U.S. Hwy. 27, has been a vital part of the community of Branford and surrounding areas. The company also sends cement to Jacksonville , Orlando , Tampa , Miami , along the I-4 corridor, and south Georgia. They operate non-stop around the clock 365 days a year with security guards monitoring the gate 24 hours daily.

The plant sits on approximately 900 acres and employs 75 people in the work area as well as 15 individuals in the administration and sales departments. "We have entry level general labor technicians, skilled mechanics, electricians, quality control technicians, control room operators, equipment operators, and senior management positions," Tom Messer, manager of SAC, said.

SAC chose Branford because of the rich resource of limestone in the area. "The main resource required for the manufacture of cement is limestone. The Anderson Mining site has over 70 years of reserves making it a perfect location for a cement plant," Messer said.

In a single month, SAC produces roughly 80,000 tons of cement, according to Messer. At the end of a year, it averages one million tons.

At this time, SAC is not planning any expansion to its facility, but according to Messer, the plant is capable of adjusting should the nee arise.

SAC has received various awards for its service, contributions to the community, and its dedication to protecting the environment. "Suwannee American Cement has international certifications in ISO 9001 for quality, ISO 14001 for environment and OHSAS 18001 for safety. In 2006, Suwannee American Cement was also nominated for a national award by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and received an award for Environmental Excellence from the United States Environmental Protection Agency," Messer said.