The debate over the health and environmental effects of a proposed coal plant has shifted to one over the plant's estimated price: $800 million.

That's how much City Commissioner Allan Katz, who is against building the plant in Taylor County, estimates financing the city's 150-megawatt share of the plant would cost. City staff members said the price tag represents the biggest investment any of them can recall in the city's history.

It's not clear how much it would cost utility customers. But Katz thinks the potential savings from the coal plant aren't worth the investment, an analysis city staff members dispute.

Commissioners are set to adopt a 20-year power plan for the city at their Sept. 13 meeting. Their decision includes whether to participate in the coal plant, an alternative Tallahassee voters allowed the city to consider in a referendum last fall.

"It becomes an irrevocable financial commitment," said Katz, the lone commission to call for a no vote in the referendum. "That is, you're borrowing the money. You're stuck."

But city staff members say Katz's estimate is unfair because it includes the cost of financing the plant over 30 years. In today's dollars, the price tag is about $360 million.

If you said you paid $40,000 for a car, "everybody would think you're driving a Lexus," said Kevin Wailes, the general manager of the city's electric utility. "But what you're really driving is an Impala."

Wailes said the city might have to raise utility rates to pay for the plant, if commissioners were to choose traditional financing, which could start becoming due in 2009, three years before the proposed plant would go online. But other financing alternatives would delay payment until customers started seeing the benefits in lower electricity bills, he said.

The power plan that includes the coal plant would cost about $4.815 billion between 2006 and 2035, in today's dollars (that's without taking into account interest rate payments.) That includes everything from construction to operational to fuel costs. The next cheapest option is estimated at $4.87 billion, a $55 million savings.

Katz called the savings from what could be the city's largest ever investment "statistically insignificant."

Gary Brinkworth, the manager of strategic planning for the utility, agreed that savings wouldn't be the deciding factor.

"This plan is less about dollars," he said, "and more about diversity."

The coal plant plan presented Wednesday was coupled with a $141 million energy savings component and a 30-megawatt biomass plant that commissioners asked staff to move forward with. Under that option, natural gas, whose recent price hikes have been blamed for high electricity bills, would account for slightly less than half of the city's energy production. Under the second cheapest option, natural gas would account for almost 80 percent of energy production.

Katz said there were other options the city could consider, including the possibility of buying 150-megawatts from an LS Power coal plant in southwest Georgia. Over the next few weeks, city utility staff members will be fine-tuning their analysis.

July 5th: Staff update on the power plans.

July 12th: Presentation of power-plan rankings by city staff.

Mid-July to mid-August: Public involvement period, including proposed program to be aired on WCOT, two open houses and a possible online survey.

Aug. 30: Opportunity for public input during a public hearing at the regular commission meeting.

Sept. 13: City commissioners expected to vote on a 20-year power plan for the city, including whether to participate in the coal plant.

It's almost official: Ownership of the St. Marks Lighthouse is finally being shifted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which means it'll eventually be opened to the public.

The U.S. House and Senate on Tuesday passed the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2006, which includes language transferring lighthouse ownership from the U.S. Coast Guard to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The wildlife service operates the St. Marks Wildlife Refuge, which includes the lighthouse.

The transfer had been discussed since the 1960s and actively pushed by U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Monticello, since the 1990s.

President Bush is expected to sign the bill in a few days. The transfer is official upon his signature.

"Transferring this land to the Fish and Wildlife Service will allow for the restoration of this beautiful site and the protection of its distinctive heritage," Boyd said in a statement.

The lighthouse was originally constructed in 1831 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The last lightkeeper and his family moved out in 1960, when the lighthouse was automated. Visitors were permitted inside only during an annual visitation day from 1989 to 1999.

The lighthouse is one of 30 in Florida and the only one in which the lighthouse and the keeper's house are connected.

Once the transfer is complete, plans are to refurbish the facility and turn the keeper's house into an interpretive center. It's unlikely the public will be allowed to climb to the top of the 81-foot lighthouse, though plans are to install a revolving camera on top of the lighthouse to provide images on a big screen in the interpretive center.

"I'm excited. This has been a long time in coming," said James Burnett, manager of the wildlife refuge. "We see this as an opportunity to interpret our mission and showcase some of the historical aspects of the refuge and the area."

Restoration of the lighthouse is a project of the St. Marks Refuge Association Inc., a 300-member citizen support group. The group has raised $80,000 already - though restoring the site "will take 10 times that much," said Gail Fishman, president of the refuge association.

The keeper's house needs new flooring, new windows, an air-conditioning system and asbestos removal. The association hopes to raise most of the restoration money from government grants. It submitted a grant application to the state Division of Historic Resources earlier this year but had to withdraw it when the ownership transfer stalled.

There is no timetable for opening the facility to the public. The 70,000-acre wildlife refuge attracts 300,000 visitors a year.

"This is a site of historical and cultural interest, not only to the people of Wakulla County but to people all over the world," Fishman said. "It's a resource that needs to be protected. We're champing at the bit to get going."

Burnett acknowledged many visitors will want to climb the top of the lighthouse for the panoramic view from the old lantern room. But he said it's doubtful that can be permitted: To reach the top, visitors must climb steep, narrow stairs, then clamber through a small trapdoor. He said the arduous climb raises liability and physical fitness issues.

"I'm not going to say a definitive 'No,' ” Burnett said. "But if we opened it to the public it would be under extremely tight controls and in limited circumstances."

Rising costs threaten school projects

District's building plan up 50% since April 2005, nears $1 billion

BY KATE BRENNAN
FLORIDA TODAY

In more than a year, estimated costs for Brevard Public Schools' seven-year building plan increased 50 percent to nearly $1 billion, according to a construction cost analysis recently released by URS Corp.

That's more than the 30 percent cost increase district officials estimated in March and depicts a cost-escalating trend that's expected to continue in Florida and across the nation for the next several years, according to the San Francisco-based engineering company.

The price increases are a result of devastating hurricane seasons the past two years, which led to a rise in construction activities, a shortage in labor and material, and an increase in fuel costs.

When they approved the plan in April 2005, school board members set aside $65 million or a 10 percent reserve in case of such increases. No one anticipated the $325 million rise the district is facing, said the Michael Degutis, assistant superintendent of finance.

"We have good processes here in the district, but there are some extraneous factors that we don't have control over," he said. "The construction market is just going nuts as is the insurance market and the oil market. We don't know when any of it's going to stop."

Degutis and other districtofficials met this week to discuss funding sources, including additional property tax revenue, that might help offset rising construction costs and property insurance premiums, which are expected to more than double this year for a 10th of the coverage.

"I don't think it's all doom and gloom," he said. "But the board does have some decisions to make."

Based on construction cost increases, URS recommended the school board consider these options when re-evaluating its building plan:

Eliminate some projects.

• Decrease the scope of individual projects.
• Find additional revenue sources for the plan.
• Increase the duration of the plan.

  School Board member Larry Hughes is against raising taxes or taking on more debt.

  The plan calls for borrowing about 35 percent of the original $715 million price tag, and using impact fees, property tax revenue and money from the state to pay for the rest.

  Like other board members, Hughes also opposes cutting projects from the plan, which calls for renovating 82 schools and building eight others -- including a new elementary school on Merritt Island.

  But he said he will recommend to board members at a meeting today that projects be prioritized so classrooms get built before "less critical things" such as auditoriums and athletic fields.

  "They may all get done eventually, but the question is how do we get the most bang for our buck," he said. "Clearly, the most critical need is to provide safe classrooms for kids."

  If the board tinkers with the plan, Joyce Norman, a Palm Bay parent who sat on the district's construction cost analysis committee last year, fears some schools won't get the renovations they need and some students won't get the facilities they deserve.

  "They've made a commitment to the community and they have other resources to fund these projects, and I think they need to look at using those other resources," she said. "We need to get to all the schools."

  Contact Brennan at 242-3722 or kbrennan@flatoday.net.

Land use plan wins county's approval

The plan now goes before state officials. And at home, the threat of a Pasco Building Association lawsuit to challenge the plan appears less likely.

NEW PORT RICHEY - Commissioners unanimously voted Tuesday to approve the county's comprehensive land use plan, which has been four years in the making.

Also, the threat of a lawsuit by the Pasco Building Association contesting the plan appeared to recede, as association officials and their lawyers softened an approach previously set for a head-on collision with county officials.

The commission's decision now hands the amendments over to the state Department of Community Affairs, which has 45 days to decide whether it finds the changes in compliance.

It's the next 21 days that are likely to be more closely watched.

That's when the window opens to file legal challenges to Pasco's proposals.

Earlier this month, the Pasco Building Association had asked its members for $500,000 to fund a lawsuit against Pasco.

On Tuesday, lawyers with Hopping Green and Sams in Tallahassee, the association's counsel, backed away from the language of confrontation.

"The PBA has a couple of issues with comprehensive plan amendments," said D. Kent Safriet. "The PBA welcomes the opportunity to work with the county to come up with a plan that is financially feasible and works for both sides of the fence."

Dan Stengle, the lead attorney, told the St. Petersburg Times that a legal challenge may not happen. But he said no final decision has been made.

The focus of the association's grievances may shift from conservation subdivisions and mixed-use developments to asking Pasco to clarify its rules on expecting developers to shoulder road-building costs as a price for bringing in developments, Stengle said.

He said a discussion between the association and comprehensive plan expert Charles Gauthier had influenced the shift in position.

"The PBA did not want a hired gun to come in and attack the plan," Stengle said. "The discussion with Gauthier put it slightly more in perspective. Transportation has been brought more to the fore."

The association's president, Alex Mourtakos, said he had no comment when asked Tuesday if a lawsuit was still being contemplated.

Protesting the association's original threat, a few major developers and their allies, including Newland Communities, Lexington Homes, engineers Heidt & Associates, and attorneys Figurski & Harrill resigned from the association.

Association officials say Crown Community Development remains a member, but the developer had distanced itself from the association's plans in an e-mail to County Administrator John Gallagher. Crown's general manager, Craig Weber, had criticized the association for taking a position "without full membership participation and support."

At Tuesday evening's final hearing, most speakers cheered the end of a crucial chapter in the plan's evolution.

"It took us this long because of the diversity of the Citizens Advisory Committee," said Jennifer Seney, a committee member and executive director of Pascowildlife. "If we all thought alike, we would have whipped through this process like you know what."

"I think we ended up at a destination that's good for all of us," said Dr. Octavio Blanco.

At a work session Tuesday morning, the county's consultants appeared confident that the comprehensive plan changes would fare well at the state level.

"The DCA only had nine objections," said Frances Marino, of the firm Glatting Jackson. "That's particularly phenomenal, and they weren't extensive objections."

State officials want to be more convinced of county analyses on transportation, utilities and school issues. They also want clarifications on density calculations in different kinds of land uses, among other concerns.

County officials are sending a 62-page attachment as a reply to the state, along with the adopted plan.

Chuin-Wei Yap covers growth and development in Pasco County. He can be reached at (813)909-4613 or e-mail cyap@sptimes.com.

County OKs New Growth Guidelines

By JULIA FERRANTE The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 28, 2006

County commissioners signed off on major changes to their comprehensive growth plan Tuesday night, despite concerns from some builders and landowners.

The board unanimously approved new guidelines for future growth and development, including rules for large, open tracts in northeast Pasco County.

The plan will be sent to the state Department of Community Affairs, which has 45 days to review it. After that, anyone affected has 21 days to file a challenge, or the plan will take effect Sept. 18.

The DCA in an initial review found that Pasco officials did not provide enough information about how projected growth will affect schools, roads, water and sewer service.

County planning consultant Frances Chandler Marino, of Orlando-based Gladding Jackson Kercher Anglin Lopez and Rinehart, told commissioners at a workshop early Tuesday in New Port Richey that the plan has been revised to address the DCA's concerns.

Parts of the plan still don't pass muster with the Pasco Building Association and the East Pasco Agricultural Landowners.

D. Kent Safriet, a Tallahassee attorney for the building association, said his clients continue to object to rules for conservation subdivisions. Those allow for increased density on parcels larger than 100 acres if at least half is set aside for open space. The association also takes issue with rules for town centers, which must be at least 40 acres, and traditional neighborhood design standards for architecture, streets, amenities and businesses.

Safriet said after the hearing the association has not decided whether to challenge the plan.

Clarke Hobby, lawyer for the east Pasco landowners, said after the workshop his group also has not decided whether to launch a challenge, but members are troubled about restrictions on road expansions and other issues.

"Our clients still have concerns about the road network," Hobby said. "They think it is very short-sighted of the county to discourage any additional laneage [expansion] from the road network when you are going to have 1,700-unit developments."

The group also says owners of large tracts in northeast Pasco should not be treated differently from landowners in other parts of the county.

"It's not mandatory anywhere else," Hobby said. "If you are Joe Blow, and you have 150 acres which allows one unit for 10 acres, if you want to rezone, you have to do a conservation subdivision. Your neighbor could have 75 or 99 acres, and it does not apply to him."

Other residents, such as Richard Riley, of Trilby, commended the plan.

"What you've designed will help control growth," he said. "It will help promote controlled growth and thoughtful growth, particularly in northeast Pasco, where I live."

Jennifer Seney, who was on the Citizens Advisory Committee that helped revise the plan, said it represents points of view of land-use attorneys, developers and citizens.

Earlier in the day, commission Chairman Steve Simon asked that more specifics be included on "green building standards" or measures to conserve energy and limit environmental impacts.

Commissioner Ted Schrader asked whether there is a separate standard for "village centers."

Marino said those guidelines can be created, but typically a village center is smaller than a town center, and land uses are more limited.

Contact Julia Ferrante at jferrante@tampatrib.com or (813) 948-4220.

Homestead officials have focused on the city's booming growth and development, but now it's time to switch gears and preserve some green space, including 530 acres the city owns on the east side of town, the mayor said in his fourth annual State of the City address.

''It is my conviction that this property should be saved and set aside for the benefit of Homestead's residents,'' Mayor Roscoe Warren told about 300 people at the Homestead Miami Speedway Champions Club on Tuesday. ``As the last of our land assets, this property should be preserved for our children.''

The land, located just south of the speedway, is zoned for agricultural use now.

Warren's main themes were the city's unprecedented development and the need to maintain its unique identity as more people move in. Homestead led South Florida in recent population growth, with an 18-percent growth rate between 2004 and last year, according to population estimates released last week.

''We must strike a balance to maintain our character in the process of our development and growth,'' he said. ``We must preserve our past to ensure our future.''

Property values are rising and the state of the city is good, Warren said. As a result, he said he will recommend cutting the city's tax rate for a second year in a row.

It's too early to say whether property owners' tax bills would go up or down, however, because next year's budget has yet to be compiled.

The increase in residential and business development has hiked Homestead's taxable property value to $2.9 billion from $1.6 billion last year, officials said.

One of the larger projects in the pipeline is the 300,000-square-foot, 120-bed Homestead Hospital expected to open later this year, which will replace the existing facility and will be the city's biggest employer. The city's first big-box mall is in planning stages as well.

The city has come a long way since Hurricane Andrew devastated the area in 1992, the mayor added.

Developers plan 9,500 homes around Edgewater

This area's way too quiet, builders say

Some major projects are on the radar in sleepy northwest Citrus County.

CRYSTAL RIVER - Northwest Citrus County is quiet. It always has been.

Homes are few and far between. Ditto for businesses. Progress Energy's sprawling power complex sits on the coast, surrounded by vacant land and the Gulf of Mexico.

This part of the county is remote even to most Citrus residents.

It isn't where government planners expected, or encouraged, major growth.

But some of the North Suncoast's largest and most controversial projects - including a second Progress Energy nuclear plant, a large marina, extensive lime rock mining, a residential development and an extension of the Suncoast Parkway - may be on the way.

If approved, any one of them would have a major effect on the region's landscape, geographically and politically.

The combination "would obviously change the area significantly," said Gary Maidhof, Citrus' director of development services.

For developers, the pristine property and waterfront access are untapped gems that could attract businesses and home buyers priced out of Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.

For Progress Energy, the deep-seated local political support of the company's existing nuclear plant and the proximity to gulf waters make the area a contender in the search for a nuclear plant site.

But for environmentalists and some longtime residents, the region is one of the last footholds of Old Florida - and one of the least appropriate places to develop.

More than 2,000 years ago, the area's natural resources caught the eye of American Indians, who established a flourishing trade center in Crystal River.

In 1942, some untouched land attracted Pinellas County's Hollins family, which bought thousands of acres for cattle ranching and eventually timber and lime rock mining.

Florida Power built two coal-fired power plants west of U.S. 19 in the 1960s. A nuclear plant and two more coal-powered plants followed during the '70s and '80s.

Fueled by Northern retirees, Citrus County's population soared from 9,268 in 1960 to more than 132,600 in 2005. But the area known locally as Red Level - so named after dust from dolomite mines blew over the area and stained roads and trees red - remained largely untouched.

One exception was the Nature Coast Landings RV Resort, just north of Red Level and east of U.S. 19.

Its most famous resident is Gary Burghoff, who played Radar O'Reilly on the hit TV show M*A*S*H. He moved to the 239-unit park in 2004 "because things got too congested and hectic" elsewhere.

"This area will be the last to go, if it has to go," the 63-year-old actor said.

Some worry it's already starting to slip away.

* * *

In October, Progress Energy officials said the company was considering building a second nuclear plant at Crystal River. The decision will come this summer.

In February, Citrus Mining & Timber president Dixie Hollins unveiled his proposal to move the mining on Hollinswood Ranch to make way for a commercial port district, a large marina and at least 22 boat ramps on the Cross Florida Barge Canal.

Hollins said he planned a top-notch, environment-friendly development that would make his father and grandfather - who was Pinellas County's first school superintendent - proud.

The owners of Madeira Beach Seafood, one of the gulf's largest grouper distributors, are considering moving or expanding the fish house's operations there.

A few weeks after Hollins' announcement, developers presented plans for the Izaak Walton Lodge in Yankeetown, just over the river in Levy County. They want 190 resort hotel rooms, a bed-and-breakfast, marinas, a wastewater treatment facility and an environmental preserve.

"Development is coming. We're raising the bar. We want to be the leaders," developer Peter Spittler said.

In December, the Citrus County Commission settled a lawsuit with the estate of W.W. Caruth Jr. by allowing 50 waterfront homes with 25 boat docks on the Withlacoochee.

Less than 5 miles away from these proposed projects is the spot where the Suncoast Parkway will end if officials decide to build an approximately 26-mile extension through Citrus. The road now stops near the Hernando-Citrus border.

* * *

Making any of this happen would be much easier said than done.

Maidhof, the development services director, is quick to note that the county's comprehensive plan directs growth toward the center of Citrus, not its outer reaches.

That's because the west coast is environmentally sensitive and prone to flooding in low-lying areas. Even relatively weak Tropical Storm Alberto put parts of Citrus under water. Water and sewer infrastructure hasn't made its way to northwest Citrus yet.

The comprehensive plan also prohibits residential development within 5 miles of Progress Energy's existing nuclear plant, though at least one local land use lawyer has questioned the logic behind that regulation.

And the nuclear plant is not the only thing developers have to worry about: If the Inglis Lock, located east of U.S. 19 between the barge canal and Lake Rousseau, breaks during a storm, much of the surrounding area will flood, according to sheriff's Capt. Joe Eckstein, the county's emergency management director.

Eckstein says growth in northwest Citrus is a "major concern" from his perspective. The area has only one hurricane evacuation route, U.S. 19, which could be covered by flooding during a severe storm.

"There's a reason why the studies show these to be coastal high-hazard areas," he said.

Moreover, any large change to the comprehensive plan in Citrus requires an extensive public hearing process. The same is true in Yankeetown, with the Town Council having the final say.

* * *

Though the projects are almost all in their early stages, citizen groups are already starting to speak out.

Yankeetown residents have protested the development plans, and sparked political chaos in the process.

A group vocally opposed to a Suncoast Parkway extension has been meeting for years. Two Citrus landowners stopped the Turnpike Authority in its tracks for more than a year with a lawsuit concerning open meetings.

"You're starting to see more organization," Maidhof said. "This has got neighbors talking to each other."

Many of them are gearing up for a war. Leading the charge on at least one front is Charles Miko.

The retired physics teacher lives just north of Citrus Mining & Timber's property. Hollins' latest proposal excited many local business leaders but riled nearby residents like Miko who say the project would place disruptive and destructive mining closer to their homes.

Miko, 80, said he never expected the area where he lives to remain untouched by development. Growth, he said, is going to come.

"The question is not whether or not it's going to happen, but how do you do it," he said.

"I worry about what compromises will be made."

Helen Spivey, co-chairwoman of the Save the Manatee Club, said compromise is not an option.

Spivey has repeatedly spoken out against the Hollinswood project, telling officials that increased boat traffic on the barge canal would endanger manatees. She also has concerns about a second nuclear plant, particularly the prospect of more spent fuel rods being stored on site.

"We just need to start saving what we have left," she said.

"It's Mother Nature's savings account, and we're spending her down to nothing."

After being driven out of North Wildwood, N.J., by development, Dave Gatelein moved to Yankeetown 10 years ago in search of "a more quiet place."

At the time, locals still outnumbered retirees, and most people earned their living on the local fishing economy. But things started to change. More and more couples bought vacation homes in the area, and it started to become more "civilized," he said.

And now, the blow the 57-year-old never expected: a proposed 190-unit resort hotel.

"I knew development would come someday," he said, "but I thought I would be dead by then."

* * *

But even as opposition mounts, growth is coming.

The Nature Coast Landings RV park, where Burghoff lives, is nearly sold out. Building is starting to heat up in areas that have been dormant for years, like the Crystal Manor subdivision just east of U.S. 19. Ritzy redeveloped homes where Cracker houses once stood are an increasingly common site on the shores of the winding Withlacoochee.

In 2008 the Florida Transportation Department plans to start building another bridge over the Cross Florida Barge Canal and rebuilding the existing bridge to allow for four lanes of traffic instead of two.

But the biggest change may come in the next few months, when Progress Energy officials say they'll announce their pick for a possible nuclear plant site.

If they choose Crystal River, local public hearings won't be necessary, since their property is already zoned appropriately.

Citrus officials are excited about the prospect of more jobs and more property tax dollars from the county's largest private employer. They have passed a series of resolutions to show the utility that expansion is welcome.

"It would have a tremendous impact in every shape, manner and form," County Commissioner Dennis Damato said.

Thousands of construction workers would come to one of the county's sleepiest corners, Damato, 53, said, and the plant would also create long-term, high-paying jobs.

"I lived here when they built the other one. It was wild," he said. "There was dancing and there were bands and there was partying. It was a whole different time when they did that."

Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at cshoichet@sptimes.com or 352 860-7309.

Take park buyout or fight? Either choice is a loss

As a mobile home park closes, residents split over what to do. Either way, they're told, the park will close.

SEMINOLE - Frank Laczo settles against the freshly fluffed pillows in the bed where he lies dying.

Over the soft hiss of the oxygen that feeds him through a plastic tube, Laczo says he has one question about the plight of mobile home owners who must find new homes after they are displaced for new development.

"Where are the churches?" Laczo asks. The churches should be there helping the elderly and poor who need it so badly, he says. But they have been silent.

Laczo's wife, Pat, doesn't have an answer. That's not surprising. There have been few answers about an issue that pits the rights of landowners against the rights of those who own the homes attached to that real estate as mobile home parks across Florida make way for condominiums, townhomes and other development.

It's a dispute that has hit the Laczos and other residents of the Harbor Lights Mobile Home Park hard. They've known for a year that the park was on the block. But a deal fell through and they were given a respite while the property owners and buyer went to court.

That suit has not been settled, but a new buyer has surfaced. Add to that the fact that the original buyer still wants the property. Then last Monday, residents were notified that the park is closing. Period. Full stop. Closing.

They have yet to receive their six-month eviction notices as required by law. They also were offered a buyout. But the offer has split residents between those who want to fight to stay and those who want to take the offer, cut their losses and get out, said Mike Rizzo, head of the homeowners association.

It's the vote of the association's board that will decide whether the deal is accepted. That vote should come sometime around July 5.

Pat Laczo, who serves on the association board, said she wants to fight. If she fights, Mrs. Laczo knows she'll do it alone. Her husband, 88, has congestive heart and kidney failure. Hospice workers visit her home. She does not expect him to live long enough to have to move.

"I'm stubborn. I want to stay," she said. "I would like to fight it to the end."

Mrs. Laczo also is aware of the difficulties many of her neighbors will face by having to move.

Tess and Joe Ladone, both 83, come to mind.

Mrs. Ladone is blind from macular degeneration. She also suffers from many other illnesses. But it's the blindness that will cause the most difficulty. She's able to cope at Harbor Lights because she knows the layout well after having lived there for 32 years.

Then there's finding a place. The Ladones live on a combined income of $1,100 a month from Social Security. Mr. Ladone has begun looking for a new place, preferably in a park where the residents own the land. One place, he said, wanted $93,000 for a trailer and lot.

"We can't get mortgages at this age," Mr. Ladone said.

Under the terms offered by the Travis family of the East Madeira Corp., which owns Harbor Lights, the residents would get $3-million to be divided according to the length of time people have been in the park.

The Laczos, who have been there 18 years, and the Ladones would get about $15,000 each if they took the deal. Those who have been there the least amount of time will get $3,000 no matter what they paid for their homes.

If they don't take the deal, they'll get only the state-mandated $1,375 for a single-wide and $2,750 for a double-wide. If they take it to court, they get nothing, according to a June 16 letter from East Madeira to the homeowners.

And, in the end, the owners will lose their homes no matter what, because, as the letter says, "The park will be closed."

The letter gives the Harbor Lights Homeowners Association three choices:

"A. Do nothing. Result - our offer will be withdrawn.

"B. Reject the offer. Result - the law requires that we pay $1,375 for a single and $2,750 for a double.

"C. Accept the offer. Result - each resident has a choice. They can settle and get a share of the $3-million. They can refuse to settle and do as they wish. Each resident decides what is best for them."

"Our offer is simple," the letter says. "It allows those who want to settle to do so. Those who do not want to settle can do what they think is best for them."

The association has until July 10 to decide.

The association has sent letters to all residents in a kind of straw poll to see what they would like to do.

Rizzo said last week it appears the majority want the board to accept the offer.

Those who want to take the deal, Rizzo said, tend to be the longer-term residents. Those who have not been there as long are more prone to want to fight because they stand to lose the most.

Some of those, he said, have paid as much as $95,000 for a trailer in the past year or two. Those people will get only $3,000 back.

It's a difficult decision, Mrs. Laczo said, because someone will be hurt no matter what happens.

"I don't feel like it's the board's place to tell everybody their mobile's going to go," she said.

"It a very hard thing to make a decision like that. I don't know if I'd want someone making that decision for me."

Distrust and discord in Yankeetown

The Town Council is in shambles. Members quit, rescind the decision, then quit again. The governor may be asked to intervene.

YANKEETOWN - The embattled town's political drama was kicked up a notch Friday in the wake of yet another meeting canceled because not enough council members could be assembled.

By the time the rowdy evening was over, two elected officials gave their verbal resignations; a yet-to-be-hired town clerk announced that she didn't want the job; and officials told residents that they wanted the governor to intervene to help quell rising tension in the town.

Rancor starting building during the premeeting workshop. Roger Myrick, who had already submitted and rescinded his resignation to the Town Council, rescinded it once again so there would be a quorum.

He said he didn't think it was appropriate to quit because council member Mary Pate would be absent much of the time while she attended to health problems in her family.

That angered some residents, who said Myrick couldn't rescind his resignation because it was marked "effective immediately."

Lawyers had advised Myrick that his resignation wasn't valid until accepted by the Town Council. Still, after hearing from residents, he said he didn't feel comfortable rescinding it once again.

"There seemed to be a real discussion of whether or not I could do this," Myrick said.

So he resigned - again.

That left the council without a quorum. But it didn't end discussion.

Town Attorney Kenneth Warnstadt and Mayor Joanne Johannesson told residents that they would notify the state that the town couldn't conduct business.

"The government is at a standstill," Warnstadt said. "The only resort is to write the governor that the town is at a stalemate."

At that suggestion, residents cried out. The council does have a quorum, they said, if all three members would just show up at the same time.

"Can we please try to get along?" Johannesson said, pleading.

"Get along with the law," some residents shouted back.

Town business isn't getting done, Johannesson said: "We have stacks of bills that need to be paid."

Insinuating that the council couldn't get a quorum because members disagreed on a resort hotel project facing the town, some residents suggested that the mayor schedule a meeting that would address only the mundane business of government.

"Either we're going to have a meeting or we're not going to have a meeting," Johannesson said. "There are issues such as the contract that needs to be signed."

She agreed to try to schedule another meeting, but if that doesn't work, she said, the town may have to contact the governor's office for help.

"This is getting so ridiculous, it's pitiful," council member Dan Bowman said, as tempers in the crowd rose. "If you're going to continue acting like children fighting over toys in the playground, then you don't need a town, Folks, do we want a town or don't we want a town? If you want the governor to make that decision, say so now."

"Yes," cried some.

"No," shouted others.

Then Dorothy Duran, who worked in the Town Hall during the last week and was expected to be hired as the clerk Friday, had her say.

"This week, I volunteered to keep business going, so you all could yell at me while I paid your bills and smiled at you," she said from the front of the room, where she sat with the council, ready to take notes. "Monday, I'm going to go get me a job!"

And then Bowman made his big announcement.

"Folks, I'll tell you what, I'll make it easy for you."

He stood up, confronting the angry townspeople.

"You can have my resignation as of right now. If this town doesn't want to survive, then so be it."

The audience started to disintegrate. Residents swarmed around Bowman, begging him to reconsider so the council could have a quorum. Johannesson, Warnstadt and several residents huddled, trying to decide what to do next.

With her eyes bleary, the mayor said: "The attempted mob rule has left us in this situation."

Four Corners plays catch-up

Lack of planning leaves few public services

Work on state road threatens wildlife

BY NATHAN CRABBE

SUN STAFF WRITER

Mixed-use plan for downtown

A construction group proposes shops and upstairs living for Crystal River. While it has appeal in some corners, the project would require modifying the land development code.

CRYSTAL RIVER - The city could get its first mixed-use development downtown if officials can make provisions for such a project in the land development code.

A local construction group made an informal presentation to the Community Redevelopment Agency in late May, showing preliminary sketches of a development that would have shops downstairs and apartments upstairs and be built at the corner of U.S. 19 and Citrus Avenue.

"This would fit with making a true downtown, a walkable downtown," said Kurt Woerner, director of planning and community development.

But the city has never had a similar project before, and there are no rules to guide its progression - at least not yet.

"I'm researching," Woerner said. "We'd first need to create a vehicle in the land development code for mixed use."

Chris Ensing of Southern Exposure, who made the presentation, said he didn't want to give too many details because the project is in its early stages. But he said he felt a mixed-use development would "broaden downtown, make more activity."

"Crystal River kind of rolls up the sidewalk when it gets dark," he said.

Though Woerner said he thought residents could benefit from a greater range of shops and the city could use the tax money, there are some concerns associated with a mixed-use development.

There may be problems with noise and the increased density.

"The designs they showed us were innovative and exactly the type of thing we'd like to see happen," said Roger Goettelmann a consultant for the CRA. "If done correctly, mixed-use could be very desirable."

Contractor begins removal of river barriers

Either way, the wooden structures that have protruded from the surface of the Weekiwachee River for more than 30 years will soon be gone.

A contractor working for the Southwest Water Management District, or Swiftmud, began work this week to remove 22 groins from along the southern bank of the river between the springs and Rogers Park.

Larry Chapman, project manager for Hendry Construction of Tampa, said the project should take about two to three weeks.

Crews will work from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, Chapman said.

Constructed in the 1970s, groins were meant to repair damage caused from illegal dredging by directing water toward the river’s channel.

Many are now falling apart. The Hernando County Port Authority, an advisory board to the county commission, asked Swiftmud to remove all but two of the structures, stating they pose a hazard to boats and other river users.

Residents who showed up to meetings of the Hernando County Weekiwachee River and Springs Task Force last year, however, said they worried that removing them would allow the river to widen, slowing its flow and causing parts of the river to become too shallow to navigate. They also worried that sand would pile up near their docks.

Swiftmud engineers have said that removing the groins would have little or no impact on the flow of the river.

Task force members weren’t convinced, though, and recommended that Swiftmud do a study to make sure the structures shouldn’t be repaired rather than removed, but the district’s engineers said that was unnecessary.

Former county commissioner Paul Sullivan chaired the task force.

“It’s going to be very interesting to see if the removal of those weirs impacts that direction of the river,” Sullivan said Friday.

Chuck Morton, member of the port authority, compared the groins to a pool without fence around it.

“If someone gets hurt on one of them, a lawyer could have a ball,” he said.

Hendry also is working on an unrelated project, this one for the county, to dredge Big Cypress Canal, one of the largest canals off the Weekiwachee River.

A sandbar at the entrance of the manmade waterway had grown so much that it did not allow any water into the canal at certain stages of the tide, making navigation from some craft difficult, Chapman said.

“It was totally silted in,” he said.

Workers will remove 770 cubic yards of silt, roughly 18 dump trucks full, Chapman said, to restore the canal to a depth of roughly three feet at low tide.

Crews will keep the same work schedule as the groin project and are expected to complete the dredging about a week after they resume work on Monday, Chapman said.

Reporter Tony Marrero can be contacted at 352-544-5286. 

Endangered or not, what changes?

Since the red-cockaded woodpecker was reclassified, it isn't worse off. But that doesn't mean its outlook is good.

Two weeks ago, when critics questioned the wisdom of dropping manatees off Florida's list of endangered species, state officials reminded everyone of what happened with the red-cockaded woodpecker.

Four years ago, state wildlife commissioners said the woodpecker should be dropped down a peg on the list of protected species - and so far, nothing bad has happened, they pointed out. So to believe that by reclassifying manatees from "endangered" to "threatened," would lead to their extinction would be "an erroneous assumption," said Ken Haddad, the agency's executive director.

In fact, the manatees' protection might even improve, state wildlife officials contended, because the next step calls for writing a plan for managing the species.

Yet if what happened to the red-cockaded woodpecker is a guide, not much will change for manatees, or for the boaters who have spent the past five years chafing under regulations designed to protect manatees.

Ornithologists say the management plan the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission came up with for helping red-cockaded woodpeckers did not require the state to do much that was different from what it already had been doing.

"It really hasn't changed," said Jim Cox, an ornithologist with the Tall Timbers Research Station near Tallahassee.

State wildlife officials do not track how much money they spend on the woodpecker or how many people are working on the species, said Robin Boughton, the commission's red-cockaded woodpecker coordinator for the past three years. So there is no way to tell whether the state is spending more or less or devoting more or fewer people to the job. But the likelihood is that little changed.

"We were already at 100 percent," Boughton said.

The plan listed seven "priority actions" that the state should pursue, such as creating a database showing where all the woodpeckers remain. So far, the state has completed five of them, she said.

In recent years, Haddad pointed out, the woodpecker population has increased in Florida. But experts say the increase was brought about by expensive artificial measures and not natural means.

If biologists stopped helping the woodpeckers spread out, "they would revert right back to going downhill again," Florida Gulf Coast University professor Jerry Jackson said.

The red-cockaded woodpecker, just 7 inches long, has not sparked nearly as much controversy as the 1,000-pound manatee, which has been the subject of debate in the halls of Washington as well as in Florida.

But just as boater groups opposed to increased regulations to protect manatees questioned whether they really deserved protection, so timber and development interests contended four years ago that the woodpecker was on the rebound and thus did not deserve its place on the state's protected species list.

And as with the manatee, amid a storm of controversy the state wildlife agency voted to take the woodpecker down a peg from "threatened" to calling it a "species of special concern."

Yet despite Florida's change of its status, federal officials still consider the red-cockaded woodpecker to be endangered.

* * *

A century ago, red-cockaded woodpeckers roamed as far north as New Jersey, but they were particularly populous in the South. But their choice of homes has made them extremely scarce.

They spend years excavating cavities in mature pine trees, particularly long-leaf pines, which once covered as much as 90-million acres across the South. Because their old cavities become homes for others, including bees and screech owls, they are regarded as a keystone species for forest health.

Logging and development have wiped out most of the South's long-leaf forests and put a stop to the regular burning necessary to maintaining most healthy pines. Now the red-cockaded woodpecker has disappeared from six of the states where it was once common. In the rest of its range its numbers have plummeted. The bird has lost an estimated 97 percent of its population over the past 100 years.

In 1968, at the urging of a Texas ornithologist, federal wildlife officials put the red-cockaded woodpecker on one of their earliest lists of endangered species, according to papers found by Jackson of FGCU.

When federal officials asked state officials throughout the South their opinion, most agreed. Virginia, for instance, said that rather than calling the woodpecker "endangered," a better term would be "doomed."

Only Florida officials openly opposed the move, arguing that the so-called experts didn't know what they were talking about.

"I do know that quite a few old-time ornithologists ... are saying that the species is diminishing," a Florida game official wrote. "It could be that their eyesight is failing, or something."

When federal officials nevertheless included the woodpecker on their list of endangered species, all the Southern states followed suit - except Florida, which in 1974 listed it as "threatened." A year later, Florida upgraded the woodpecker's protection to "endangered," but then in 1979 dropped it back down to "threatened," and that's where it stayed for 20 years - until the state changed the way it lists species as endangered.

The vote to no longer call red-cockaded woodpeckers "threatened" went against the recommendation of the state Department of Forestry, the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council and the South Florida Water Management District, which all said the change wrongly suggested the bird no longer needed as much protection.

Federal wildlife experts also said reclassifying the woodpecker may "reduce the management attention that is given to the species, particularly on private and state-owned lands in Florida."

Even Haddad, the agency's executive director, warned his bosses that the vote would be seen as a sign "that we're not taking this species as seriously as we should." But they did it anyway.

"My conclusion is that the only way the red-cockaded woodpecker will ever be designated endangered, or indeed threatened, in Florida is if it goes extinct," Virginia Polytechnic Institute professor Jeffrey Walters, who has spent 20 years studying the woodpecker, wrote at the time.

* * *

When the state changed its system for classifying species, state officials did not want to use the same definitions that the federal system follows because they thought those definitions were too vague.

Instead, they adapted a set of criteria from an international agency, the World Conservation Union. But rather than keep the same terms, they changed them to match what was in state law, a move that still sparks debate.

The state's new criteria say a species that's "endangered" is one that has lost 80 percent of its population during the past 10 years - even though the World Conservation Union would call that "critically endangered."

To qualify as "threatened" under the state's new system, a species must have lost at least 50 percent of its population during the past 10 years, even though to the World Conservation Union, that still would count as "endangered."

The red-cockaded woodpecker did not qualify for anything but the lowest rung on the state's ladder because its remaining estimated population of 12,500 had not dropped by 80 or even 50 percent in the past decade. And while its future did not look rosy - state wildlife experts said the population could decline another 23 percent by 2020 - that wasn't bad enough to merit a higher listing, either.

A coalition of environmental and animal welfare groups petitioned the state recently to overturn the new system, but wildlife commissioners went ahead with the manatee vote anyway. During the same meeting they also upgraded gopher tortoises, which have been hurt by both disease and development, from a "species of special concern" to "threatened."

In a report on the gopher tortoise's status, state wildlife biologists said a major factor in the animal's poor prospects was the fact that Florida's human population, now at 16-million, is projected to grow to 25-million in the next 30 years, converting another 3-million acres of natural land to urban uses. That could spell bad news for other species such as the red-cockaded woodpeckers.

"I'm rather pessimistic about the future for many of these endangered species," Jackson said, "because of our increasing inability to save habitat."

Board To Ask County To Delay Impact Fee Vote

The district board voted 4-0 to draft a resolution asking the county to wait three or four months so it has time to study the impact of the impact fees on the district’s interests.

The district board of supervisors held a four-hour-long meeting Friday morning, stretching into the afternoon at the Sun ’n Lake Community Center.

Nearing the end of the meeting, Randall addressed the board.

“I’m not here to say the impact fees are good or bad,” Randall said. “I simply want to slow the process down.”

He held up a book of figures arrived at by Tindale-Oliver, an Orlando-based consulting firm hired by the county to determine how best to implement impact fees in the county.

Using the impact fee figures supplied by Tindale, Randall read from a paper what the impact fees would be on existing structure if built under the plan.

For example, to build another Lakeshore Mall, the impact fees paid to the county would be in excess of $5 million, Home Depot would come close to $2 million. Building another Wendy’s in Sebring would cost an extra $300,000 and an 18-hole golf course would bring the county more than $600,000.

Another Tanglewood community (non-55 and over) would cost the developer $11.6 million.

The 38-bed addition to Florida Hospital would have cost the hospital $500,000-plus, not to mention its $300,000-plus per bed investment, said Supervisor John Negley.

Negley spoke of the challenges to get doctors to move their practices to Highlands County and how adding hundreds of thousands of dollars to their building costs would make those moves prohibitive.

He addressed the fact that they have been able to attract nurses due to the low cost of housing. That, too, would change.

Ultimately, the fees could add $11,000 to $17,000 to the cost of a single-family home.

It was also pointed out that banks were not going to finance these fees because they essentially add no value to the property. Developers and property owners will have to finance them out of their own pockets before the costs are passed on to the ultimate consumers.

Randall said more than half of the counties in the state do not use the fees. He suggested looking at what those counties without fees were doing.

“All these fees need to be reviewed, but they’re too daggum high to begin with,” yelled a man, who, throughout the meeting addressed board from his seat, not from the podium, and did not identify himself.

Four resolutions will be covered during a special meeting and workshop starting at 7:30 a.m. Monday, back at the center.

The board will consider:

• Resolution 06-61 to approve Post Buckley Schuh & Jernigan (PBS&J) as the firm to provide specific planning services regarding the district’s Binding Letter of Vested Rights (BLIVR) and other services.

   

• Resolution 06-62 to approve a bid submitted by Johnson Golf Course Construction for Deer Run bunker tee-box improvements.

   

• Resolution 06-63 to approve contract with PBS&J for drainage improvements in Unit 2.

   

• Resolution 06-64 requesting the Highlands County Board of Commissioners to allow additional time for consideration prior to approval of the impact fee ordinance.

   

Hometown Democracy means war is brewing

If you could line up all the Florida residents who ever fought a Wal-Mart or a new development on one side, and every city council or county commission member who ever approved one on the other side, you would have one heck of a war.

Well, that war looks like it's coming.

This past Thursday, the Florida Supreme Court approved a voter petition that goes by the nickname of "Hometown Democracy."

Hometown Democracy is the ultimate citizen revolt. It would take power away from Florida's city and county elected officials, and give that power directly to local voters.

How? By requiring voter approval for every change to a city or county's "comprehensive plan," which determines what kinds of things get built where.

Each city and county in Florida has one of these maps, usually called a "comp plan." They are the backbone of each community's decisions about future land use.

Where should the industry go in our town? Where should the stores go? Where should the homes, the parks, the green spaces go?

Imagine such decisions placed directly in the hands of voters, instead of city councils and county commissions!

(Just to be clear: The amendment would not require voter approval for rezonings or building permits. But any zoning decision still has to obey the comprehensive plan.)

Assuming that Hometown Democracy gets enough petition signatures, it will go on the statewide ballot, most likely in 2008.

This proposed amendment to the state Constitution is the result of a tide of resentment against local government that has been building across our state.

We have seen it in fights over big box stores and shopping centers. We see it today in Yankeetown in Levy County, where development issues have divided the people and led to a state investigation.

We see it in our own back yard in Treasure Island and St. Pete Beach, where voters have risen up to try to take decisionmaking away from City Hall. St. Petersburg right now is deciding whether to amend its comp plan at the request of the Sembler Corp.

Now we are likely to see the fight played out across the entire state. This kind of amendment, more than pregnant pigs or choo-choo trains, is why the Legislature and Florida's business community have fought for the past few years to crack down on voter petitions.

But the Supreme Court's ruling was unanimous, a slam-dunk. The court said that:

1) Hometown Democracy does not violate the rule that all proposed amendments must stick to a "single subject."

2) The ballot language of Hometown Democracy is clear and not misleading.

The second part of the ruling was especially important, because the court had thrown an earlier version of Hometown Democracy off the ballot in 2005 on those grounds.

The amendment was opposed by the Florida League of Cities, the Florida Association of Counties and the Florida School Boards Association.

The court's ruling not only shot down the cities, counties and school boards, but it also contained encouraging language for future voter petitions.

The court said that once a problem in the language of a petition has been fixed, opponents can't just keep raising new arguments and new challenges.

"Allowing piecemeal attacks on a proposed amendment," the court said, "would not only be fundamentally unfair to the proponent of an amendment, it would be a misuse of the process for approval of citizen initiatives."

What happens now? First, Hometown Democracy's organizers have to get enough signatures. Only 69,000 signatures have been officially verified and they need 611,000. But the backers say they already have more signatures in hand, and experience shows - as the critics of petitions themselves admit - that it is highly likely they can succeed.

Barring some other successful challenge to the amendment, that will leave Florida's cities and counties with one last option:

Prove to the voters that Hometown Democracy is a bad idea.

That will be a fun debate. Local officials will have to defend their track record and make the case as to why they, and not the voters, are better suited to decide what gets built where.

And if Hometown Democracy passes? Then those who want to build things in places in Florida where they weren't originally intended will have to convince the entire community it's a good idea. What a concept!

In town's turmoil, opinions run deep

After I drove 90 miles north to Yankeetown last week, I stopped to ask for directions to Town Hall. Folks suggested I turn around. Town Hall was the last place I wanted to go, they said. On my way there, though, I couldn't miss the "Save Yankeetown" signs on the front lawns and utility poles.

As I walked into Town Hall on Wednesday afternoon, one of the few remaining municipal employees was hanging a framed picture of radar maps of the four hurricanes - Charley, Frances, Jeanne and Ivan - that struck Florida in 2004.

If that picture were more current, it would have shown Yankeetown in the path of all that trouble.

Minutes later, as I sat in the tiny office talking to Mayor Joanne Johannesson, two Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents walked in and asked to interview two of the other people in the office. Hours earlier, word had spread quickly that the FDLE had launched a full scale investigation into the town's affairs.

This is the new normal in once quiet Yankeetown, where the town's handling of a developer's proposal to build a hotel and condos along the Withlacoochee River has pitted neighbor against neighbor, those who see growth as progress against those who favor the status quo.

The thin veneer of civility that used to reign in this waterfront Levy County community has cracked. In its place is a lot of anger and frustration. Rumors and accusations abound.

As one person said, Yankeetown needs a good chiropractor for all the people who have strained their necks trying to avoid looking at their neighbors.

In many places in the news, locals are media shy. Not in Yankeetown. You stop by the public library, the Yankeetown General Store or the point where folks launch their boats, and everyone has an opinion on what's wrong in this town of charming Florida Cracker cottages and old moss laden trees.

This town west of U.S 19 is the setting of a real Florida drama that seems perfect for television: arrogant we'll-build-whatever-we-want developers, secret negotiations, pliant town officials, neighborly animosity and a state investigation.

You spice up the development battle with threatening phone calls, resigning town employees and council members, lawsuits, a mayor recall petition drive, town documents being shredded on a Sunday afternoon, Dumpster diving FDLE agents, and the mayor's stolen garbage, and you have a real page turner. A local Web site has almost hourly updates of the plot.

The biggest question is this: If the hotel and condo are built and new residents move in, will the animus that has dominated this town fade? Even at this stage, will tempers cool if the developers take their hefty checkbooks and their blueprints and sail off into the Gulf of Mexico?

Some folks don't think so.

"Some people are going to put their homes up for sale after this is done," said Lee Parker, a friend of the mayor who was volunteering at Town Hall on Wednesday.

Some feel bitterly betrayed by those who were seduced to sell their property to wealthy developers. Others think that the town charter and local codes are out of date and can't cope with the demands of modern development. They see this controversy as an opportunity for real progress.

To appreciate the passion of folks in Yankeetown, it helps to visit the place. The biggest tourist attraction is the now closed Izaak Walton Restaurant and Lodge, the property where the development is proposed. The only place to fill up is at the Yankeetown General Store, with its 1950s era gas pumps and the best fried chicken around.

Sometimes, the place makes you feel like you're in the middle of nowhere 30 years ago.

No wonder some are fighting so hard to keep Yankeetown that way.

Andrew Skerritt can be reached at 813 909-4602 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 4602. His e-mail address is askerritt@sptimes.com.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. population is on target to hit 300 million this fall and it's a good bet the milestone baby - or immigrant - will be Hispanic.

No one will know for sure because the date and time will be just an estimate.

But Latinos - immigrants and those born in this country - are driving the population growth, accounting for almost half the increase last year, more than any other ethnic or racial group.

White non-Hispanics, who make up about two-thirds of the population, accounted for less than one-fifth of the increase.

When the population reached 200 million in 1967, there was no accurate tally of U.S. Hispanics. The first effort to count Hispanics came in the 1970 census, and the results were dubious.

The Census Bureau counted about 9.6 million Latinos, a little less than 5 percent of the population, but the bureau acknowledged that figure was inflated.

In 1967, there were fewer than 10 million people in the U.S. who were born in other countries; that was not even one in 20.

Today, there are 36 million immigrants, about one in eight.

"We were much more of an insular society back then," said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

As of early Sunday, there were 299,058,932 people in the United States, according to the Census Bureau's population clock. The estimate is based on annual numbers for births, deaths and immigration, averaged throughout the year.

The 300 millionth person in the U.S. will likely be born - or cross the border - in October, though bureau officials are wary of committing to a particular month because of the subjective nature of the clock.

ON THE NET

U.S. and world population clocks: http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html

These islands are for the birds, too

A declining number of nesting shorebirds on barrier islands shows the effects of human-animal interaction.

DUNEDIN - Approaching the sand bar north of Anclote Key on Friday for the first time since Tropical Storm Alberto, her fears for the colony of birds nesting there intensified.

"What I hope we don't see are fireworks," said Sally Braem, Honeymoon Island State Park biologist. "Two years ago, they were shot into the colony."

Closer to shore, 14 boats surrounded the small island. Some boaters were fishing, some floated on tubes in the water, and others were walking the beach.

Most of the twine and posts surrounding a nesting colony of least terns, a species Florida lists as threatened, had survived the winds of the storm.

But one section was down and a small dog ran into the colony from that direction. A group of least terns, feisty little terns with Batman-like masks, flew up in the air.

When birds that nest on the beach are frightened away from their nests, officials say, eggs and chicks can dehydrate in the heat of the sun and waiting predators can swoop in for lunch.

Brandy, a young Papillon-shelty mix, didn't know about that, nor did her owners.

"Not thinking, like probably a lot of people don't think, that the dogs could be stepping on eggs," said Leslie Holmes of Hudson, after hooking a leash back on Brandy. "But we're catching on."

Braem said as many as 600 boats have been counted using the small sand bar in one day. A few years ago, boaters organized as "Save Our Sandbar" deflated a state proposal to monitor activities on the sand bar more closely.

"On Saturday, it's wild here," Holmes said. "They have all kinds of dogs running around here."

This year, Pinellas beach-nesting birds have all but abandoned mainland municipal beaches in favor of barrier islands, where storms, predators and human disturbance threaten nesting success each year.

The resourceful least tern also is moving to flat, gravel roofs in increasing numbers, where they face a new set of perils. And black skimmers, a Florida species of special concern, seem to be increasing their roof nesting, even though they generally have less success there.

As the Fourth of July, a big boating weekend, draws near, state officials and Audubon Society volunteers who do their best to protect beach-nesting birds through nesting season hope boaters will give the birds a little space so they can fledge their next generation.

Officials also point out that fireworks are not allowed on any of the islands.

"This is the birds' last chance," Braem said.

Tracking the nesting success of beach-nesting birds such as least terns, black skimmers, American oystercatchers, snowy and Wilson's plovers, laughing gulls, and other terns is kind of a shell game. As colonies are destroyed, the birds often fly to another location and try again.

But Audubon volunteers and state parks officials do their best to piece together a count, to make sure no population is decimated before anyone notices.

The overall numbers they report in the last few years show a dramatic decline in the number of beach-nesting least terns and black skimmers

Beth Forys, a professor of biology and environmental science at Eckerd College, collects data on least terns and black skimmers nesting on Pinellas beaches and rooftops, as well as those nesting in Sarasota and Manatee counties and on Egmont Key in Hillsborough County. The number of least terns counted nesting in 2003 was more than twice the number counted this year: 1,042 to 418. And the number of black skimmers counted nesting in 2003 was nearly twice the number counted this year: 2,568 to 1,355.

Audubon of Florida, which counts beach-nesting birds in Hillsborough Bay and on other Tampa Bay islands, reports a similar decline in numbers for least terns and black skimmers.

Those numbers have some overlap with the numbers compiled by Forys, as both include some islands.

In the Audubon count, the number of least terns declined by about two-thirds, from 514 in 2003 to 158 in 2005.

Black skimmers declined by more than half, from 2,454 in 2003 to 978 in 2005.

Talk with Nancy Douglass, a nongame biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Southwest Region, and interpreting those numbers becomes dicey.

"From the hodgepodge of what we can put together, it looks pretty grim," she said. "But the truth is, we don't have the good science that backs up that anxiety."

She said a lot of people are trying desperately to count the birds, but "nobody has their eye on the ball from the big-picture perspective."

That would take funds and a scientific study design that measures nesting success, not just the number of birds nesting. Douglass said the commission did a comprehensive study of colonial nesting seabirds from 1998 to 2000. But due to competing priorities, that study has yet to be published. But when it is, the study will provide a baseline for future studies.

"These birds are my passion," she said. "I would like to see us commit the resources to do this work."

She describes the black skimmers like this:

"On the one hand, they are clowns and bark like dogs on the beach," she said. "Then they take off with those long, elegant wings..."

And as a small and scrappy person herself, she feels a kinship with the least terns.

"It's so cool that they fly all the way to South America for the winter," she said. "And they are such pioneers. They are always the first one to colonize a new habitat."

She admires the way the least tern has tried to work with humans, even adapting to roof nesting.

"If we can't find it in our hearts and lifestyles to accommodate them," she said, "what hope is there for all the other species that might not be so adaptable and tenacious?"

Endangered turtles threaten efforts to replenish Gulf beaches

By MELISSA NELSON
Associated Press Writer

NAVARRE BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Michael Martino's specialty license plate reads "Helping Sea Turtles Survive." He rents kayaks and bicycles instead of Jet Skis and motor scooters at his eco-friendly beach shop on this Florida Panhandle barrier island.

But the San Francisco native, who has seen two homes destroyed by hurricanes since 2004, calls himself "an environmental hypocrite" because he supports sand dredging that will help protect the island's homes from storm surge but has killed three rare sea turtles.

One more turtle death would likely result in the project being shutdown until fall, leaving two miles of shoreline exposed through the bulk of hurricane season, which began June 1. The turtles are close to shore because it is mating season.

"There is a saying about how you can be a tree hugger until you start to get splinters," said Martino, who lost his home to Hurricane Ivan two years ago, rebuilt, and saw the new home washed away by Hurricane Dennis less than a year later.

"We are on the edge of our seats over the turtles. We are into their season. It's just like with the hurricanes - we know they are out there and it's just a matter of when are we going to kill another one of them and the project is going to have to stop," Martino said.

The beach replenishment is a frantic round-the-clock process. Machines use pipes to suck sand from the ocean floor and put it back on shore. The pipes also suck up shrimp and crabs, two of the turtles' favorite foods, luring them near the pipes. If the turtles, which can weigh 350 pounds, get too close, they get sucked into the pipe and die.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has a per-species quota of turtles that can be killed through annual dredging projects in each of its Gulf Coast districts.

Ron Silver, who tracks turtle deaths for the corps' Jacksonville district, said managing the projects requires a careful balancing of the overall turtle allotment for the region.

In May, Silver's office shutdown dredging in Destin after three died. The city had hoped to buffer five miles of beach before hurricane season. Under federal guidelines, dredging cannot resume until October when districts receive new turtle allotments for the year.

Florida isn't the only place where sea turtles are holding up plans to rebuild beaches. South Padre Island, Texas, is awaiting a decision from the corps on a variance from the Endangered Species Act that would allow it to begin dredging this summer during mating season for the Kemp's ridley turtle.

"The fact is that we've had two very active storm seasons in a row and that has resulted in an additional need for beach renourishment. This has been coupled by milder winters, which has lead to more turtles," Silver said.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., has spent months trading and borrowing allotments of endangered turtle species among corps' districts to allow several Florida projects to continue.

"There needs to be some type of recognition that sea turtles are important, but there are a lot of homeowners and taxpayers in harm's way without any type of protective barrier or beach and they are being hung up because of the turtle issue," Miller's spokesman Dan McFaul said.

The congressman supports changing the federal Endangered Species Act as a long-term solution, McFaul said.

Such talk worries Florida sea turtle advocates including David Hochberg who serves on Brevard County's Sea Turtle Preservation Society. Although his county has the largest nesting population of loggerhead turtles in the country, Hochberg said the turtles are not plentiful.

"This time of year you will see a lot of them in Florida waters, but there is a reason (cities) have to have incidental take permits to be allowed to dredge in case they kill a sea turtle. The sea turtles are in trouble. Certain species, if we don't act, might not survive beyond 15 to 20 years," he said.

While converted shrimp trawlers used by dredging companies to catch turtles and remove them from the path of the equipment are effective in preventing many turtle deaths, dredge work done in the summer mating season poses a danger to the animals, said Peter Eliazar, a scientist with the University of Florida's Archie Carr Center for sea turtle research.

At Longboat Key, a barrier island of 7,500 residents north of Sarasota, a 10-mile beach restoration is weeks away from completion. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection had listed the beach as "critically eroded," meaning residents were especially vulnerable to hurricanes.

Juan Florensa, Longboat's public works director, points to the 112 turtles relocated by trawlers during the work as proof the region's turtle population is strong. Three turtles have perished there since work began last year.

Florensa advocates increasing the number of turtle deaths allowed for some species in dredging projects.

"I think people can be protected and turtles can be protected at the same time," he said.

Destin Mayor Craig Barker said beaches in front of the hotels and condominiums that line his popular tourist town are so washed out "tourists cannot even put chairs and umbrellas in some places."

With dredging on hold until October, even a mild hurricane or direct hit from a tropical storm could mean big trouble, he said.

"I am vitally concerned about what is going to happen here in the next few months with hurricane season," he said.

At Navarre Beach, Martino monitors the progress of the dredging work in his office by a webcam mounted on a pole on the lot where his home once stood. He celebrated when construction crews reached the area in front of his property.

As he watched the piles of sand go up, he talked about plans to rebuild his home for a third time - this time on 48 pilings 48 feet above sea level.

"This good," he said. "They are getting it done. I understand (the turtles) are a protected species, but my children have lost their nest twice and I am looking out for my children."

--

On the Net:

http://www.navarrebeachwebcam.com/

http://accstr.ufl.edu/

http://www.seaturtlespacecoast.org/

The quest for a downtown

The Lake Mary City Commission approved a plan to develop a downtown 5 years ago -- and since then little has happened.

Who will pay to improve roads?

Because of rising costs, state funding is drying up. Unless the county or developers pay, some projects won't get done.

BROOKSVILLE - State Road 50 just west of Brooksville was widened to four lanes less than a decade ago and still seems like more highway than is needed along that stretch.

It passes woods, pasture and the isolated grounds of Brooksville Regional Hospital. Even during morning rush hour, the space between cars often stretches beyond 100 yards.

But think ahead to 2025, said Dennis Dix, the county's transportation coordinator. Medical offices and condominiums will surround the hospital. The hundreds of acres to the north will be filled with subdivisions and shopping centers; the county's population could be as high as 277,000.

The road, meanwhile, may look exactly the same.

Because of the fast-rising cost of building roads, $45-million the state Department of Transportation had planned to use on this and two other sections of SR 50 will be absorbed by other projects in the county, including the higher-priority widening of SR 50 between the Suncoast Parkway and U.S. 19.

That means that unless the county or developers who build projects near SR 50 pay for improvements, three key sections of the major east-west thoroughfare will remain four lanes rather than six: the 4-mile stretch between the Suncoast Parkway and the Brooksville truck bypass, the bypass itself, and a 1-mile section east of Interstate 75.

More bad news: The true cost of all this work is not $45-million, but $135-million, Dix said. Worse still, this does not cover other stretches of the road - such as sections farther east of the interstate - that need to be widened to accommodate expected increases in traffic.

"The problem is, there is nowhere near the funding needed to maintain the long-range transportation plan," Dix said. "Unless we come up with a significant local funding mechanism, we're going to be losing a significant number of improvements that we have in the plan."

The information about the shortfall of state funds comes on top of another sobering assessment.

The county passed its long-range transportation plan in early 2005; a year later, dramatically rising transportation costs forced the county to re-examine its feasibility. That study, performed by the consulting firm of Tindale-Oliver & Associates in Tampa, came to these conclusions:

The situation is the same across the state, said Bob Clifford, planning manager for the DOT district based in Tampa. He emphasized that the state has not pulled money out of Hernando, but that the price of the work has climbed far above the amount available to pay for it.

The underlying cause, he said, is a booming real estate market that forces the state to pay more for road rights of way and to compete with private builders for labor and materials - costs that escalated further after the devastating hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005.

County Commission Chairwoman Diane Rowden said she does not see how the county can raise the money for these improvements considering the stance of Commissioners Robert Schenck and Jeff Stabins. Both recently spoke against raising the gas tax to cover a much smaller revenue shortfall - $1.4-million for the county's road-paving program. They did not return telephone calls to the Times on Friday.

"We don't have any long-range plans. We don't have any vision," Rowden said. "We have no alternative plans to fund what is happening to road costs."

Commissioner Nancy Robinson also opposes raising taxes, but agrees with Rowden on another point: Developers will have to pay their share.

"It's going to fall to development to step to the plate, pure and simple," she said.

And, in a major shift in recent years, developers are increasingly willing to pay for substantial road improvements.

"The state's leadership has placed the concept of growth paying for itself under the microscope," said Cliff Manuel, president of Coastal Engineering Associates of Brooksville. "I think it's a very healthy way to plan for a community."

This shift has come for two reasons, Manuel and others say. A growth management law passed by the state last year tightened what is known as "transportation concurrency." That means roads must be available to serve developments at the time they are built or shortly afterward.

To make sure local governments did not strike down developments that are not near adequate roads, lawmakers included a provision - called "proportionate share" - that allows developers to build if they pay for their share of needed road improvements.

The other reason that Hernando has seen more transportation agreements with developers is simply that it has seen more development, Clifford said.

"Counties to the south have been dealing with this for years now," he said. "They have been getting money and projects out of developers for years now. Hernando is just beginning to see that."

That does not mean developers will be willing to pay the prices the county demands, said Manuel, whose company is representing the developers of four subdivisions planned on 4,800 acres designated for future growth near I-75 and SR 50.

County planners expect 12,000 residential units to eventually be built in this zone. Along with 1,750 homes and three golf courses in the proposed Hickory Hill development nearby, $782-million in long-term transportation improvements will be required, the county says. That includes the widening of Old Trilby Road, now a quiet rural lane, into a four-lane highway that would cross over I-75 and provide a connection to the interstate at the SR 50 interchange.

Manuel and other development representatives have argued that some of these improvements are not necessary. They also say the work could be done for far less money if the county allowed developers to build the collector roads.

The state recently released estimates that building and buying right of way for a two-lane highway costs $13.4-million per mile. A more accurate figure, based on recent local projects, is $5-million, Dix said. Developers put this cost at $1-million or less.

"There is an efficiency in letting the private sector build roads," Manuel said. "We think there are savings to be had."

For example, he said, developers building on their own land don't have to pay for the land. Nor do they have to foot the bill for appraising the land or potentially defending those appraisals in court, as a government must do when it condemns private property to build a road.

But he also agrees with Dix on some other points. The stretch of SR 50 near I-75 is the most important part of the area's transportation network. Because this is a state road, its widening will have to conform to state procedures. Manuel and Dix also said it is likely to cost nearly as much as the state estimates to widen it from four to six lanes: $14-million per mile.

The county has scheduled a meeting to discuss the cost of improvements to serve the developments near I-75 and SR 50. That will give the county a firm idea on how much the developers are willing to contribute, Robinson said.

If the developers and county don't work out a plan to meet the needs, the consequences could be frightening, the commissioner said.

"I think the price of roads is going to continue to rise and to rise at a relatively rapid rate," she said. "It is not going to get any better. It's going to get worse."

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

Estimate to drain county: $260M

And that's the low-ball, an official says. At the county's current spending rate, it would take 2,600 years, so a consultant is working on a proposal to charge fees to speed up the process.

Of all of the numbers that Michele Baker threw at the County Commission last week, $260-million was the most sobering.

That's the estimated cost of drainage improvements needed countywide to stem flooding problems and meet federal water quality standards.

"And when you look at the study, that's the low-ball," Baker, the county engineering program administrator, told commissioners.

The county spends about $100,000 a year on new drainage improvements: "We're not doing much but a little ditch maintenance," Baker said.

At that rate, it would take 2,600 years to finish the job.

That's why a county-hired consultant is working on a proposal to charge a stormwater fee to homeowners and businesses, to raise the millions of dollars needed to do the work sooner.

The proposal is to come before commissioners this fall, after consultant Camp Dresser & McKee gets more specific estimates for the drainage projects needed. As with any new fees, the County Commission would have to hold public hearings before voting on them.

But a report that went to commissioners last week gives a rough idea of the costs in store.

Using the $260-million estimate, the consultant said the work could be done in 23 years if homeowners pay $113 a year businesses also would contribute, based on the size of the property.

Other options provide lower fees, but it would take longer to do the work. If homeowners paid $79 a year, the improvements would take 31 years; if they paid $55 a year, the work would take 51 years. For a $35 annual fee, the improvements would be done in 74 years.

Those fees assume that everyone pays the same countywide. Commissioner Ted Schrader said he would rather see a proposal in which people pay for the specific projects in their drainage basin.

The report that comes to commissioners in the fall will have that option, too, Baker said.

As the proposals take shape, county officials plan to meet with residents in the soggiest basins to answer questions and enlist their support, Baker said.

"We had 30-plus years of drought where this really wasn't an issue," Baker told the Pasco Times. "Then we had the flooding in 1998, 2003 and 2004. The forecast now is for normal rainfall and heavier hurricane seasons.

"I think people will be asking us to fix these problems," she said, "and in order to fix these problems, we will need a funding source."

But the clock is ticking. If commissioners want to get a stormwater fee on the 2007 property tax bills, they will have to make a decision by Nov. 8, Assistant County Attorney Barbara Wilhite said.

"That's what we're shooting for," said Baker, although she said that will hinge on whether the consultant has the updated estimates in time.

The $260-million in new projects is only one piece of the county's drainage program. The county also plans to spend $450,000 on a firm that will identify every culvert, storm drain and holding pond in Pasco, so officials can come up with a maintenance plan to keep the water flowing.

As it is now, county crews do little preventative maintenance. Most of the time, they're called out to fix a problem after the flooding starts.

Camp Dresser & McKee found that the crews provide "less than full response to all complaints." Responding to all complaints would cost $2.1-million a year. Hiring the crews to perform all of the necessary preventative maintenance would run $8.8-million a year.

Those costs would be discussed with the stormwater utility proposals coming before commissioners later this year. Paying for everything likely would involve a mix of existing property tax dollars and a new stormwater fee, plus grants from the Southwest Florida Water Management District and other agencies, Baker said.

"Good report," Commissioner Ann Hildebrand told Baker after hearing the early estimates at Tuesday's meeting. "But just don't let it sit on the shelf. The longer we carry (on), the more expensive it's going to get."

Bridget Hall Grumet can be reached at (727) 869-6244 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is bgrumet@sptimes.com.

LAKELAND
In Lakeland, there's limited sympathy for people who live in posh homes overlooking a near-dry lake. That's the case for the wealthy homeowners near Scott Lake who have watched a source of pride dwindle to pond status.

Dave Curry, 66, who is leading an effort to restore the lake, said he knows that's true, and he understands that people are ambivalent about seeing the well-to-do in a fix.

But what he can't understand is the joy that some people feel in seeing the temporary doom of the lake.

He said he was a little irked by a letter to the editor in The Ledger that said Scott Lake residents got what they deserved, a shrunken lake.

People are envious of others in big houses, Curry said, "but if they work hard enough and get ahead, they can have one too."

Curry said his wife, Edris, was livid about the letter, but Curry wasn't peeved enough to respond to it, saying nothing good would have come from doing so.

"I don't expect people to have sympathy for us," he said. "But don't hold it against me or the other homeowners that we've been successful."

Curry is the owner and president of Curry Controls in Lakeland, a thriving business that made him a millionaire. "The good Lord has been good to us," Curry said.

He said Scott Lake residents never conspired years ago to eliminate public access to Scott Lake.

He takes a "never say never" stance about Scott Lake residents asking for public money to restore the lake, but doesn't anticipate that happening.

Curry is a doer with an engineering background. He's smart and personable, a well-liked and respected pillar of Lakeland who knows everyone. He gives plenty to charity, but prefers not to talk about it.

He's politically conservative and a leader and adult Sunday school teacher at the First Baptist Church of the Mall.
In other words, Curry is a perfect fit for the job that he's been asked to do by friends, neighbors and members of the several homeowners associations surrounding Scott Lake. He's accepted the task of leading the effort to restore the lake. He's got a great view and a short walk to survey the challenge.

"Dave has been involved with the lake for a long time and he's a guy who's up to the challenge," said Barney Barnett. "He's an engineer and he's a great guy. He has more integrity than anybody I know."

Curry said he intends, with plenty of help, to succeed.

"I have somewhat of a technical background (beginning with an engineering degree from Auburn University), and I didn't want to shirk the responsibility," he said. "Somebody had to do it."

People just a stone's throw from what was Scott Lake would make the list of the richest and most powerful people in town.

Influential homeowners surrounding that lake include Barnett and his wife, Carroll Barnett, both of Publix Super Markets; Ed Crenshaw, also of Publix; John Watkins and Buzz Watkins of Watkins Motor Lines, developer Joe Ruthven, State Farm Agent Buzz Tarver, Oz Mutz, the father of Lakeland Automall owner Bill Mutz, Realtor Bob Harper, contractors John and Carolyn Prahl, and August A. Busch III, the beer baron.

Curry joked that there has been some thought of filling the lake with Budweiser.

So far, the only home on the lake known to have suffered significant damage because of the sinkholes belongs to Glenda Fontaine and Steve Beebe, on Pier Place Drive.

Curry vows the Scott Lake story will have a great ending.

"Right now it's a negative story, but it's going to end up being a positive story," he said.

As the leader of the lake revival effort, Curry has been and will continue to meet with the engineers hired to figure out the extent of the problem and how to fix it.

He's been talking with the Southwest Florida Water Management District, which tracks sinkholes. Curry said Swiftmud has so far been a great help.

Curry, as the public face of the effort to restore the lake, will also speak with the media about whatever needs to be done and what progress has been made.

Curry built the family home on Lakepoint Drive in 1975. He bristles at any suggestion that Scott Lake residents conspired to eliminate public access to a boat ramp on the lake, which was on private property.

There are numerous and conflicting accounts of what happened decades ago, but Curry said he has the correct one.

"I've got it right here," he said, pointing to his noggin. "The county let the lease expire. They didn't renew it. It's that simple."

Curry said Scott Lake residents haven't asked for public money to restore the lake and have no plan to do so anytime soon.

"But it hasn't been entirely ruled out," he said. "If there's some program that comes up later, we might apply. And we might not."

Curry said it would be impractical for Scott Lake residents to trade public money to fix the lake for another public boat ramp.

"First off, nobody is waving checks at us," he said. "And the lakefront is developed now. This isn't 1979. Where would people park?"

The restoration of Scott Lake "may take two or three years, but the lake will be back," Curry said. "And it will be better than ever, better than what it was."

Rick Rousos can be reached at rick.rousos@theledger.com or 863-802-7516.

Maxcy Group Plans Condos for Chain of Lakes

By Joy Cochran
The Ledger
WINTER HAVEN -- Viewing the Chain of Lakes as an underutilized resource, developers with the Maxcy Development Group decided some improvements were in order.

So they purchased about 10 acres between lakes Howard and May, and plan to build some high-end condominiums in an eight-story building.

"We were fortunate enough to get a good site close to downtown development," said Hood Craddock, president of Latt Maxcy Corp., the umbrella corporation for the development.

"The (city's) planned pedestrian path is a real important benefit to this development," said John Blakley, president of Maxcy Development Group Realty. "We're trying to be a catalyst for that whole process."

Winter Haven is planning to build a walking path around the east side of Lake Howard in the next few years. The path is expected to link to the South Lake Howard Nature Park.

The property was the former site of the city's Public Works yard and Osborn Marine.

The site is being cleared in preparation for construction planned for the fall, Blakley said.

"There will be 82 units in the first building facing Lake Howard," he said. "Eventually we'll have somewhere between 160 and 190 residences."

The total value of the project is estimated at $50 million, including a second building that will be constructed later, Blakley said.

Latimore Landings, within the city's downtown redevelopment district, is a great asset to the Community Redevelopment Agency for two reasons, said Dale Smith, assistant city manager and CRA director.

For one, the additional tax increment-funding dollars will benefit the CRA, he said.

And the development will be a catalyst for additional redevelopment in the Lake Howard/Lake May vicinity, Smith said.

Joy Cochran can be reached at joy.cochran@theledger.com or 863-401-6970.

Stuart may relax mixed-use projects

By Rachel Simmonsen

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Sunday, June 25, 2006

A project developer with fans

Don Whyte is just about to change Bexley Ranch forever. But his past gives him currency - and the benefit of the doubt.

In the sunny cradle of a Florida morning, the 7,000 acres of Bexley Ranch are a pause in Pasco's frantic pulse. A flock of sandhill cranes wheel low in languid flight, past cattle herds, miles of cypresses and the purple-headed bayonets of bull rushes in bloom.

New houses nip at its southern edge, and the Suncoast Parkway is a distant throb to its west. But hemmed in the heart of development country, Bexley Ranch may at least save some of its grace.

"We're going to keep 50 percent of it intact," Don Whyte said.

The 52-year-old head of Newland Communities' southeast operations says this as his Cadillac Escalade shivers through an unpaved road on the ranch where Whyte plans to develop 7,000 homes, 540,000 square feet of offices, 206 acres of parks and three schools.

The proposal is still in the planning stages and is about to enter rezoning hearings.

As he crafts it, the man behind Hillsborough County's Tampa Palms, FishHawk Ranch and MiraBay draws on the memory of his first development project, Lake Midnapore in Calgary, Alberta.

"It was open farm field," he said. "We constructed toboggan hills, vegetated it like a forest, created natural features from scratch. We planted more trees ... I thought that was spectacular."

* * *

Bexley Ranch's sheer size carries an ecological significance that must influence how it is developed, environmental activists say.

The question so far is its impact on flooding.

The Anclote River ribbons through the 100-year floodplain that Bexley sits on before spilling into the Gulf of Mexico.

The Bexley proposal includes a 176-acre wildlife corridor along the Anclote River and a 1,433-acre green-way belt with walking trails and bike paths.

Bexley's county development order shows 86 acres of wetlands - less than 5 percent of its total - would be impacted. The order commits Newland to avoid "Category I" wetlands, meaning those connected to natural water bodies or the Floridan Aquifer, a major source of groundwater.

But, for its staggering size, the proposed development has so far not attracted fire from environmental concerns the way others have, for example, the Richard E. Jacobs Group's plans to remove 55 acres of wetlands at its Cypress Creek Town Center project, and Standard Pacific Homes' attempt to dig a 40-acre pit at the Ashley Glen proposal south of Bexley.

So far, Whyte enjoys the benefit of the doubt among environmental interests.

"I met with Don Whyte to talk about the size of his project, to ask him what steps he's taking to build within green infrastructure," said Jennifer Seney, executive director of Pascowildlife. "As far as I'm concerned, with Don Whyte or Newland, nothing's developed to an issue level. There wasn't much for me to do that he wasn't already trying to do. For a corporation of that size, they do have a green sense. I would rather have Don Whyte and Newland develop all of Pasco than half a dozen others that I won't name."

* * *

For a guy who takes helicopter ski vacations in British Columbia and wears faux snakeskin shoes, Whyte grew up in what he describes as a background of modest means in Calgary.

His father was an accountant turned Mobil crude oil trader, and his mother worked first as a day care center operator, then as a legal secretary.

It was during his college days at the state University of Calgary, as a civil engineering undergraduate, that Whyte became struck by Calgary's boomtime opportunities.

"I thought, gee whiz, you can actually shape this," he said. "You can actually name the roads and build the golf courses."

He took on an array of development-related stints, from testing materials to paving parking lots in schools.

At 31, two years after moving to the United States, Whyte settled in Florida to helm Tampa Palms, at the time the region's largest residential community.

"At the time, no one had done something on that scale," he said.

Next came FishHawk Ranch, where Whyte passed an unexpected test.

* * *

In 2003, traffic problems cropped up at Newland's FishHawk Ranch, a 7,500-home development in Brandon, whose community center entrance sits directly across from Bevis Elementary School.

When Whyte met county and school officials, he offered solutions at Newland's expense, one Hillsborough School Board member recalled.

"I think he should be the poster developer on how to work correctly with government agencies to build communities," said Jennifer Faliero. "He should formula it and package it."

But despite its reputation as an environmentally sensitive developer, California-based Newland Communities has not escaped controversy.

In Montgomery County, Md., Newland's Clarksburg Town Center was built in apparent violation of height and setback requirements, amid a slew of other traffic and occupancy-permit problems.

When asked about Clarksburg, Whyte said Newland took over the property from the developer, Terrabrook. As head of southeast operations, Clarksburg was never under Whyte's charge. Still, he acknowledged that the company failed to listen closely to residents there.

In central Pasco, Octavio Blanco, the northern end of whose 100-acre property butts up against Bexley's southwestern corner, has a more jaded eye.

Blanco has spent nearly three years and thousands of dollars fighting Standard Pacific Homes' efforts to dig a sand pit that may drain wetlands on land Blanco owns next door.

He wants to know that Whyte's plans won't also affect his swamp.

"He's cordial," Blanco said of Whyte. "Says he wants to work things out. But everybody starts out that way. They say they want to move trees and save stuff. It's a wonderful thing if it's true. I'm not positive or negative about them, but it sounds like they are being proactive."

* * *

At Bexley Ranch, the idea is to "re-naturalize" the streams.

Cattle grazing altered the water network that criss-crosses the pastures' wetlands, Whyte said.

"It's very difficult to bring the streams back to exactly what they were," he said. "But we'll return them to the manner they were, where there's tree cover around them, and we'll put walkways along them to allow public use, as opposed to just walkways along the road network."

As part of the Bexley deal, Newland will also pay $78-million for road improvements, including widening part of SR 54 and building most of Sun Lake Boulevard, a new north-south road linking SR 52 and SR 54.

For those like Blanco, the jury is still out on whether Bexley will remain an oasis of calm.

For Whyte, it comes back to the Clarksburg experience.

"The lesson learned from that is that you can never fully tell what the issues are," he said. "The best thing is to talk to people and always work with residents."

Chuin-Wei Yap covers growth and development in Pasco County. He can be reached at 813 909-4613, or e-mail cyap@sptimes.com.

Supreme Court OKs planning amendment likely for the 2008 ballot

By BILL KACZOR
Associated Press Writer

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- A revised citizens initiative that would give voters the final say on where new homes, roads and other development should be allowed received the Florida Supreme Court's approval Thursday to go on the ballot but probably not this year.

Florida Hometown Democracy, the group sponsoring the proposed state constitutional amendment, missed a Feb. 1 deadline for submitting enough signatures - 611,009 - to get on the ballot Nov. 7, but it would be eligible for the 2008 ballot.

The group has challenged the deadline in Circuit Court, but even a favorable decision certainly would be appealed, said Hometown Democracy lawyer Ross Burnaman. Another problem is that only 69,317 signatures have been obtained.

"In all likelihood it's improbable that we will make it to the ballot this year," Burnaman said.

The Supreme Court last year rejected a similar proposal because the ballot summary was misleading and used "emotional rhetoric" by referring to Florida's natural resources and scenic beauty, but the justices unanimously ruled the revised version corrected those mistakes.

The Florida League of Cities, Florida Association of Counties and Florida School Boards Association opposed the proposal. It would require voter approval for new local land use plans and amendments to such plans.

The opponents are worried it would block the construction of new schools and other needed public facilities.

"It comes as close to totally stopping growth in the state of Florida as anything we're going to face," said School Boards Association executive director Wayne Blanton. "We will be forming a coalition to oppose the amendment."

The high court did not address the merits of the proposed amendment but focused on whether it meets criteria for getting on the ballot by addressing no more than one subject in clear and unambiguous language.

The opponents argued the terms "local government," "comprehensive land use plan" and "local planning agency" are ambiguous and misleading.

The justices wrote in their unsigned opinion that those terms cannot be challenged because they were used in the previous proposal and no one objected to them in the first case.

They wrote that citizen initiative reviews are intended to let proponents remedy any flaws and that the fact they found a problem only with the first sentence of the ballot summary indicated they implicitly had rejected other challenges.

"To hold otherwise would allow serial attacks on a proposed amendment, thwarting a proponent's efforts indefinitely," the justices wrote.

Having said all that, though, they still addressed the objections and found them to be meritless.

Blanton said his group would try to enlist builders and businesses to oppose the amendment. Officials with the city and county groups have not yet decided whether to participate.

"It's a tough thing to oppose when you are talking about the power of the people to vote," said Association of Counties spokeswoman Kriss Vallese.

The Lake is Dry

By Diane Lacey Allen
The Ledger

LAKELAND -- After more than a week of losing water to what may be four sinkholes -- where fish and turtles were gobbled in dramatic gulps -- Scott Lake is now little more than a stinky, puddled beach.

"The lake is dry for all intents and purposes," Rick Powers, president and CEO of BCI Engineers & Scientists, said Thursday.

It has taken nearly 10 days for the 285-acre lake, which is ringed with the Who's Who of Lakeland's bestknown businessmen and executives, to drain.

Powers, whose company has been working with homeowners on the exclusive lake, said Thursday there is still residual water in the lake, with about 10 to 12 feet near the biggest sinkhole along with pools of muck and water that are inches to about a foot deep.

The vanishing lake left boats stranded, a buffet of dead fish for wading birds and traffic concerns for the Sheriff's Office as the receding banks brought gawkers with cameras to its westernmost shoreline.

On Pier Place Drive, where a dock and gazebo were consumed last week, more land has dropped into the lake to form a cliff hundreds of feet wide. Two of what now appear to be four sinkholes are located where residents first noticed changes in the lake. One sinkhole is located to the east. Another is suspected to be at play somewhere else in the lake.

Only one home has been severely damaged since the sinkholes began appearing. But the sand revealed by an exposed lake bottom is riddled with cracks.

Yellow caution tape and "no trespassing" signs have become the latest trend in Pierpoint, the gated South Lakeland community betrayed by nature.

What was left of the lake turned into riverlets this week in a race to the biggest sinkhole.

Powers said the sinkhole consumed "as much water as was available."

Then its ravenous appetite sucked muck, sediment and wildlife, all of which has provided the fill for a sort of cap.

"It looks quiet," Powers said. "It's choked itself off, to some degree."

So for now, Scott Lake is on hold.

"It's inactive right now, but we're not sure if it will reactivate," said Powers.

He said it will be next week before it is safe enough for scientists, engineers and workers to investigate the lake and its problems.

Although a more humble sinkhole was good news Thursday, residents were still concerned about what might happen next.

"You never know how big this is . . .," said Nicky Longtin, staring down at two-by-fours stuck in the muck and dead fish.

"I sleep," she said. "But there's still that thought in the back of your mind. You never know. We sleep fine. But if we hear anything, we're going to get up and run."

Scott Lake could fix itself and simply fill back as Lake Morton is expected to do this summer after a construction-induced drawdown.

Or the current watery truce could end, and Scott Lake residents might have to look to an engineering solution such as filling a sinkhole with cement grout, clay or some type of barrier.

"It's an expensive fix," Powers said.

If the lake does not heal on its own, Powers estimated other options could cost "hundreds of thousands (of dollars)."

Restoring the lake will most likely fall to homeowners as it did in the 1970s, when the lake also lost water. Back then, homeowners drilled a well and pumped water into the lake until the lake gradually returned to its normal state. That effort took at least a year to accomplish.

Scott Lake has been a private lake since the county lost its lease to a boat ramp on what was the only public access in 1979.

The county has been monitoring the sinkhole dilemma from a public safety standpoint to make sure houses are safe. It has no plans at this point to help resurrect the lake.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District also has no plans to correct the problems in Scott Lake. It is currently serving as a liaison between homeowners and Florida's Department of Environmental Protection.

Under state law, the DEP owns the bottom of the lake and any fixes would require its approval.

The DEP sees its role as a regulatory agency that issues and enforces permits. But would the DEP help pay for a Scott Lake restoration?

"I have never heard of any funds going toward something as similar as this," spokeswoman Pamala Vazquez said Thursday.

But routines continue, despite the brutish sinkhole on the south end of the lake that has eaten at least one alligator.

Gary Radsick, a landscaper, continued to make sure the grass around the dangling boat ramp got mowed.

"You've got to keep it up." Radsick said. "You know these people around here. It's the day to cut. If I don't get it done, it'll look like a jungle."

"I really believe that this lake (will come back)," Franco said. "It will take a while. But the people here are not going to let it go.

"In the end, people will come together -- have to chip in (our) fair share and try to bring this lake back," she said. "I don't know how many years, but I'm sure in the end we will recoup this beautiful lake. We can't afford to let this nature go."

Radsick, though, was careful to avoid cutting too close to the caution tape. And he tried to be sympathetic to his crew that typically does not work near the aroma of dead fish.

"The smell is unbelievable," he said.

Longtime resident Hilda Franco said she's optimistic that the lake will return.

Diane Lacey Allen can be reached at diane.allen@theledger.com or 863-802-7514.

Temperature Study Gives Credence To Global Warming

By THOMAS H. MAUGH II and KAREN KAPLAN Los Angeles Times

Published: Jun 23, 2006

After a comprehensive review of climate change data, the pre-eminent U.S. scientific body found that average temperatures on Earth have risen by an average of about 1 degree during the past century, a development that "is unprecedented for the last 400 years and potentially the last several millennia."

The report from the National Academies of Science also concludes that "human activities are responsible for much of the recent warming."

Coupled with a report last month from the Bush administration's Climate Change Science Program that found "clear evidence of human influences on the climate system," the new study signals a growing acceptance in Washington of widely held scientific views on the causes of global warming.

The academies' review focused on the controversial "hockey stick" graph, which shows Earth's temperature rising abruptly to its highest point in 1,000 years after a long period of stability.

The panel dismissed critics' charges that fraud and error are responsible for the graph's sharp upward swing, noting that many studies had confirmed its essential conclusions in the eight years since it first was published in the journal Nature.

The finding was a rebuke to global warming skeptics and some conservative politicians who repeatedly have attacked the hockey stick as the work of overzealous scientists determined to shame the government into imposing environmental regulations on big business.

"There is nothing in this report that should raise any doubts about the broad scientific consensus on global climate change ... or any doubts about whether any paper on the temperature records was legitimate scientific work," said Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Science Committee, who requested the study last November.

Time For Action

Geophysicist Michael Mann, of Pennsylvania State University, lead author of the study that debuted the hockey stick graph, said it's time "to put this sometimes silly debate behind us and move forward to do what we need to do to decrease the remaining uncertainties."

Though scientists have documented global warming in myriad ways - including the melting of polar ice caps and measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide - the hockey stick stood out for encapsulating the issue in an instantly recognizable way.

The graph shows a stretch of stable temperature lasting for 900 years that suddenly arcs upward in the past century, resembling a hockey stick laid on its side.

"It's a pretty profound, easy-to-understand graph," said Roger Pielke Jr., director of the University of Colorado's Center for Science and Technology Policy Research. "Visually, it's very compelling."

The graph actually drew little attention until it was highlighted in a 2001 report by the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

After that, "the hockey stick was everywhere," Pielke said.

It also became an easy target. "If you are someone who's interested in critiquing climate science," he said, "the hockey stick would be a lightning rod."

Science Challenged

One attack came from Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, who last year launched an investigation of Mann and his colleagues. The chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee demanded information about their data and funding sources - an effort widely viewed as an attempt to intimidate the scientists.

The crux of the dispute is that humans have only had thermometers for 150 years. To determine temperatures before that time, scientists have to rely on indirect measurements, or proxies, such as tree ring data, cores from boreholes in ice, glacier movements, cave deposits, lake sediments, diaries and paintings.

Mann and his collaborators attempted to integrate data from many such sources to produce climate records for the past 1,000 years. Their report was laced with caveats and warnings about the uncertainties of their conclusions - caveats that were overlooked as the icon achieved more celebrity.

The panel affirmed that proxy measurements made during the last 150 years correlate well with actual measurements during that period, giving confidence that the proxies provide an accurate picture of earlier times.

They concluded that, "with a high level of confidence," global temperatures during the past century were higher than at any time since 1600.

Although the report did not place numerical values on that confidence level, committee member and statistician Peter Bloomfield, of North Carolina State University, said they are about 95 percent sure of the conclusion.

The report also says the panel is "less confident" that the 20th century was the warmest century since 1000, largely because of the scarcity of data before 1600.

The panel placed the least confidence in Mann's conclusion that the 1990s was the warmest decade since 1000 and that 1998 was the warmest year.

The use of proxies, they said, does not readily allow conclusions based on such narrow time intervals.

The report says that establishing average temperature before 1000 is difficult because of the lack of data but that the trend appears to indicate that stable temperatures could extend back several thousand years.

Citizens To Limit Sinkhole Coverage

By RANDY DIAMOND The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 23, 2006

TAMPA - Citizens Property Insurance Corp. announced Thursday that it plans to end coverage for screened swimming pool enclosures and limit coverage for sinkhole damage.

The sinkhole coverage changes - which must be approved by state insurance regulators - present a mixed scenario for homeowners in Pasco and Hernando counties, where a lot of sinkhole claims have been made to Citizens. The company paid $60 million for such claims last year, primarily in the Tampa Bay area.

Citizens' proposal for limited sinkhole coverage would mean potentially smaller rate increases. But such rate relief wouldn't come until 2007 or 2008, depending on when homeowners covered by Citizens renew their annual coverage. That delay may be the last straw for many policyholders in Pasco and Hernando who already have seen premium increases of 100 percent or more in the past year and face another jump in the fall.

Sinkhole coverage would be reduced to nothing under the proposal unless policyholders paid an extra fee to buy back limited sinkhole coverage for up to $50,000.

"This is the only way to give folks rate relief," said Paul Palumbo, Citizens vice president of claims.

Citizens has not released specific rates for the optional sinkhole coverage, and it has not said what the cost will be for a policy without sinkhole coverage. The company hopes to figure out the new rates by September and implement them by March.

Douglas said the savings "would be significant" but that Citizens still was calculating the premiums under the various options of its plan.

Pool Enclosure Change Unique

Also Thursday, the state-sponsored insurer of last resort announced plans to end coverage for screened swimming pool enclosures. Citizens officials said such structures do not stand up well to hurricane winds and thus are uninsurable.

Citizens is thought to be the first insurer in Florida to propose ending coverage for pool enclosures. Some insurers have coverage limits, such as State Farm, which caps coverage at $15,000.

"We lost tens of millions of dollars replacing pool structures destroyed in the hurricanes," said Bruce Douglas, chairman of Citizen's board of governors.

The surprise announcements came at the insurer's board meeting in Orlando. The company said the new measures would help the insurer in its effort to stabilize rising rates for its 850,000 policyholders. Both plans are subject to approval by the state Office of Insurance Regulation.

Lost Houses Would Be Covered

The broad sinkhole coverage Citizens would eliminate is now a standard part of insurance policies in Florida. Instead, customers could either go without sinkhole coverage or buy optional coverage of $10,000, 25,000 or $50,000.

Despite the limits, the company noted that it still would cover a house being swallowed by a sinkhole - even for those who waived coverage for what is known as a cover-collapse sinkhole.

But the majority of the company's sinkhole claims - that Citizens officials say amount to nothing more than minor foundation cracks due to house settling - would not be covered unless optional coverage were purchased.

One advocacy group is not impressed with Citizens' latest proposals.

The insurer's plan comes a little too late for help, said Barbara Polsky, a founder of the Homeowners Against Citizens organization and a Port Richey homeowner.

"People will be losing their homes before the end of the year," she said. "We can't afford the rates now."

Polsky, 64, and her husband, Harold, saw their Citizens rates double at renewal time in November from a little above 1,000 to more than $2,000.

Polsky said the couple can't pay the high rates on their modest one-story house, a situation faced by many in Pasco County.

She said she is retired and her husband makes $13.20 an hour as a customer service representative at Home Shopping Network.

Polsky said she is dreading her new Citizens bill this fall.

"We will be forced to move out of the state of Florida by the end of December," she said.

Contact Randy Diamond at

rdiamond@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-8144.

Building Influence: Industry Holds Sway In Hillsbrough County

By MARK HOLAN The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 23, 2006

TAMPA - Imagine being able to negotiate the fees you pay for water and garbage service.

For years, the building industry in Hillsborough County has played a big role in deciding how much it pays in permit fees to the county for the cost of reviewing designs and inspecting home sites.

"There's been a culture, or practice, of the industry having more input in the budgets," said Bruce McClendon, director of the county's Planning and Growth Management Department. "I'm not saying that's wrong. It's just different than most places."

Recently, a county auditor told commissioners that Hillsborough lost $2.6 million in fiscal 2005 because the permit fees had not been raised since 2002. The lost revenue meant fewer inspectors could be hired at a time of unprecedented growth in the county.

The county is considering increases in the fees and is re-evaluating the influence builders have over fees and other matters related to how the county regulates the building industry.

Permit fees charged to the building industry pay to fund the county's Building Services Division. McClendon said the county rarely has asked builders to pay more than the bare minimum.

"We self-imposed ourselves with the smallest amount to get by on," he said. "I fault us. I fault the bureaucracy."

Bernardo Garcia, a former assistant county administrator of development and infrastructure, said the Tampa Bay Builders Association has been involved with the wording of ordinances and in hiring decisions involving the building division.

"They would get involved whether you wanted them or not," said Garcia, who retired in March.

With 1,800 members in Hillsborough and Pinellas, the TBBA is the second largest builders group in Florida and among the largest in the nation. Joseph Narkiewicz, the association's executive vice president, said there's nothing unusual about the industry's relationship with the building division in Hillsborough.

"It's a relationship between the regulated industry and the regulators," he said. "There's no such thing as a cozy relationship in that regard."

The cost of permit and inspection fees and other impact fees typically is passed along to buyers, and Narkiewicz said that's why builders want a say about the fees and other regulatory decisions.

"It's in our interest to make sure the final product is affordable," he said. "New regulations and fees drive up costs; then people wonder why there's an affordable housing crisis."

New Director

In the fall, Garcia and McClendon say, the Builders Association asked to participate in the hiring of a new director for the Building Services Division, which assesses the permit fees. They said the request was denied.

Jerry Sparks, who got the job, soon noticed the county had lost millions of dollars because it had failed to update permit fees since 2002.

Building permit fees are charged to pay for plan examiners, construction inspectors and other costs associated with regulating the building industry. The fees are calculated based on construction values and home size and can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars.

The fees generated $19.1 million last year, up from $15.1 million the previous year, and the number of permits being processed increased to 138,822, up from 109,889.

To contend with that growth, the builders supported a county plan last year to add 21 positions to the Building Services Division.

Instead of raising rates, the county and builders agreed to rely on a reserve fund created by the fees, then began arguing over the appropriate size of the reserve as the fund dwindled more quickly than expected.

County Administrator Pat Bean said she wasn't aware the fees had been stagnant since 2002 until Sparks proposed an increase and she began hearing complaints from builders.

"I still don't know why they weren't updated," she said.

Dave Ford, who held the job before Sparks, did not return calls.

Builders and county officials are meeting periodically to discuss the fees and other issues in dispute. In the meantime, five of the 21 positions requested last summer remain open, contributing to a work backlog.

Bean said builders don't have any undue influence over the county's building department.

"I wouldn't say the builders were controlling the decisions," she said.

Differing Relationships

Neighboring counties work with builders in different ways.

In Pinellas County, building permit fees have increased 10 percent each of the past five years, said Jack Tipton, assistant director of the building department.

"We've never had any input from the builders, and they don't seem to complain," Tipton said. "They realize that costs are going up."

Pasco County hasn't changed its fees since 2001. Polk County plans to update its permit fees for the first time in about two decades, said John Hall, the county's building division director.

Hall said a consultant is being hired to review the charges and make recommendations. He said builders will have input on the consultant's recommendations.

"It is their dollars that pay for the service," Hall said. "Because we know the homeowner is ultimately the payer of the fees, we don't want it to be unduly high."

There are signs that Hillsborough is beginning to distance itself from builders.

In addition to the discussion about raising permit fees, county commissioners have signaled they are ready to increase the impact fees homebuilders and developers pay for new schools associated with growth, and staff regulators are enforcing tougher rules on stormwater retention associated with development.

"I feel the relationship has become more adversarial," said industry veteran Jim Lee, president of Sabal Homes Inc.

On the other hand, a TBBA representative was on the committee that hired a replacement for Garcia, the former assistant county administrator, and the group reviewing the fee rates will have four builders and three county officials, including Sparks. That group will make a recommendation on permit fees to the county commissioners, who have the final say.

McClendon said it's important to maintain good communication with the industry.

"We don't want to steamroll the builders," McClendon said. "We want a partnership."

Contact Mark Holan at (813) 259-7691 or mholan@tampatrib .com.

Mall sues Zephyrhills in rezoning case

The owners say the city did not follow procedures in allowing commercial space across the street.

ZEPHYRHILLS - The owners of the Town View Center mall sued the city Tuesday for a rezoning decision that could bring in a potential rival across the street.

Town View's lawyers say the crux of the case centers not on competition, but on the city's accountability in following proper procedures, especially on traffic studies.

"I don't think one retail establishment can stop another properly accommodated establishment," said Hutch Brock, Town View's attorney and Dade City's mayor. "But I do think holding development accountable for its costs is what should rightly be expected."

City Attorney Joseph Poblick said he could not comment before receiving an official copy of the lawsuit.

Zephyrhills Retail, which owns Town View, has 17 acres on U.S. 301 and Pretty Pond Road, home to a Publix supermarket, a Blockbuster video store and a clutch of smaller stores.

The contested 65-acre Gore Dairy Supply property is across Pretty Pond Road. The rezoning would allow for its change from agricultural to 700,000 square feet of commercial space.

Among other complaints, Zephyrhills Retail said insufficient notice was given for the rezoning decision, and traffic studies were not properly introduced.

"One of the options is for the judge to say (to the city), "Go back and start over," Brock said.

The lawsuit may be one unexpected symptom of Zephyrhills' catching part of Pasco's boom.

As development applications backlog in county offices, mid-sized developers have been increasingly interested in Dade City and Zephyrhills because of faster city rezoning processes, real estate brokers say.

A pristine, serene trip along the river

Leave the scenes and sounds of the city behind and settle into a kayak or canoe to commune with nature. This scenic journeywill take you on the Weeki Wachee,where marine life and wildlife are just around the bend.

WEEKI WACHEE - Once summer arrives, most Floridians tend to disappear from the outside world, holing themselves up in air-conditioned cocoons as they wait for the heat and humidity to subside. If they do venture outside, it's usually in pursuit of the cool comforts that the beach or a swimming pool provide.

Sadly, the Central Florida outdoors is perhaps at its most beautiful during the months when folks are less likely to enjoy it. Many native trees and shrubs are at the height of their green splendor this time of year, and innumerable critters scurry about in the lush habitat.

All of which is why we North Suncoast residents should be thankful to live near such an environmental jewel as the Weeki Wachee River. Fueled by a 64-million-gallon-per-day charge from the Floridan Aquifer, the pristine waterway flows from its headwaters inside the Weeki Wachee Springs theme park through one of the area's most scenic wild spaces.

The only legal way to get on the northern stretch of the river is via Weeki Wachee Canoe and Kayak Rental, where, for about the cost of a ticket to an overhyped summer blockbuster movie, you can spend a few leisurely hours enjoying the wonder and beauty only nature can bring to the screen.

Since taking over the business in December, owners Lou and April Olivas have endeavored to make the river accessible for the seasoned paddler and novice alike.

"We get quite a few people who have never operated a kayak or canoe before,'' April Olivas said. "Fortunately, it's one of those activities where you can make a few mistakes without worrying much about the consequences."

True. Even if you have fairly limited physical capacity, paddling a kayak is a fairly easy endeavor once you get the hang of it. It's one of those activities that actually takes very little practice to get good at.

Once you plunk down your rental fee for a single-seat kayak $30, plus tax, two-person kayak or canoe ($38, plus tax), the Olivases' staff will assist you in launching the boat. The nice thing about the Weeki Wachee River is that it flows fairly steady its entire length. Most of the time you don't even need a paddle, except to steer.

There are, however, a few stretches where the water narrows into some tight turns - not too difficult for a solo paddler, but for two-person vessels it means having to do some work in order to stay out of the bushes.

The first hour of the journey is a dream. As you traverse the heavily wooded Weekiwachee Preserve, which is managed by the Southwest Florida Water Management District, you are unaware that bustling Cortez Boulevard lies just a few hundred yards north. Even on a hot day, the 74-degree water keeps you cool and comfortable as you slip quietly beneath the canopy of oaks, bay and cypress.

The abundance of wildlife that thrives along the sandy banks is amazing. You'll see lots of birds - egrets, hawks and ospreys - and it's not unusual to find otters popping their heads up or manatees floating beneath the surface. If you're quiet, they might even venture closer.

What you likely won't see are alligators and poisonous snakes. These critters don't like living in clear, spring-fed waters, preferring to reside in murkier confines where they can hide. If you do encounter them, they'll usually head in the opposite direction.

Later in the trip, the river flattens into a sparse scrub pine area on the southern edge of the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area. Though still scenic, you won't find the cool shade of the journey's first stage. There are some beach-like spots where you can stop if you want to take in lunch or a swim, but be wary of venturing onto private property.

The final third of the 7-mile journey is something of a mixed blessing. The shady trees return, but at the cost of having to travel through a heavily developed area. In this stretch, you will likely encounter more people on the water than anyplace else. Most are friendly, though, and will give you plenty of room to maneuver. By the time you reach your pickup spot at the Weeki Wachee Christian Camp, you will be surprised how quickly three hours went by.

A few things worth considering:

First, don't bring anything you don't really need. The rental vessels, especially kayaks, have limited storage.

Snacks and drinks are okay, but alcohol is not permitted on the river. (There's a $148.25 fine for a single unopened beer.) And be sure to bring something to stow trash until it can be properly disposed of.

If you bring cell phones, cameras and other gadgets, be certain they're packed in water-tight bags and secured in case of a tip-over.

Finally, it's worth noting that most people consider river sightseeing a quiet leisure activity where they can get away from it all. Be considerate when you approach others on the river, and remember that excessive noise drives away shy wild creatures.

Logan Neill can be reached at lneill@sptimes.com or (352) 848-1435.

He's not quitting after all--again

A Yankeetown council member rescinds his resignation for a second time to assure a quorum for the embattled body.

YANKEETOWN - In what is becoming another part of the saga of this embattled town, council member Roger Myrick has rescinded his resignation for the second time.

Myrick turned in a letter to Town Hall dated Monday.

"I feel it would be best for me to continue on the council so town government can function while Mary Pate takes time off to help her husband through his illness," Myrick wrote.

The council has been forced to cancel two recent meetings because of a lack of quorum. Only Pate, Glen Spetz and Dan Bowman remained on the council after Myrick and council member Diane Blomgren resigned May 11.

But Myrick rescinded his resignation a few days later, so the council could make quorum for a regular meeting May 16 because Pate was absent.

At the meeting, the three council members present voted to enter into negotiations with developers who want to build a controversial resort hotel on the Withlacoochee River.

Some residents questioned whether the vote was valid, since Myrick had written "effective immediately" on his original letter of resignation.

But Myrick and other town officials said the resignation was not effective unless accepted by the council.

"At this time, it is my understanding that no council action has been taken to accept the resignation submitted," Myrick wrote in his second letter to rescind the resignation.

A council meeting is scheduled for today at 7:30 p.m.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement began officially investigating allegations of wrongdoing in Yankeetown Tuesday.

Elena Lesley can be reached at 564-3627 or elesley@sptimes.com.

In their view, local scenes are naturally works of art

Paintings by Citrus artists will be on display through August in an exhibit that presents visions of the natural and man-made beauty here.

Citrus County has so many scenic places it's sometimes easy to take them for granted.

It's a good thing we have plenty of talented painters here who know a thing of beauty when they see one.

"History Rendered: Artistic Visions of Citrus County" features local landmarks as painted by local artists. Many of them, such as Marie Bellamy, have been painting here for decades.

This is a county full of beautiful rivers, lakes and backwaters. Take a bicycle ride on the Withlacoochee State Trail through Inverness and you'll see a couple of scenic lake overpasses.

In Floral City, who can drive beneath the oak canopy of County Road 48 and not enter an instant state of bliss?

Citrus County also is brimming with historical structures that add their own texture to towns and neighborhoods.

The Historic Courthouse, the only one in the state that sits diagonally on a block, is the crown jewel of Courthouse Square.

The Plantation Inn in Crystal River is also an architectural beauty.

Many of the artworks were inspired by historic landmarks, people of the past, picturesque communities and natural resources and rendered in different media. Several artists are still living, but the ones who have died are remembered through their art.

Artists include Anita Roy, Dorothy Freeman, Phyllis Milton, Esther Hampton, Epie Boatright, Vance Hendrix, Jean Innis, Walt Huffman and Joseph Newton.

Jorge Sanchez covers arts and entertainment in Citrus County. Contact him at sanchez@sptimes.com or 860-7313.

"History Rendered: Artistic Visions of Citrus County," an exhibit of local scenes painted by local artists, opens Saturday at the Old Courthouse Heritage Museum, One Courthouse Square, Inverness. Free admission. Exhibit runs through Aug. 15. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free.For information, call Laurie Diestler at 341-6429. There is a reception and sneak preview from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. today at the museum. The life and works of the late Anita Roy will be discussed at the reception, plus six of her paintings that are not part of the exhibit will be on display. Cost is $20.

Ruskin Incorporation Movement Has 'Plan B'

By LIZ BLEAU The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 22, 2006

RUSKIN - Hidden amid the smaller print of the final budget approved by the state Legislature last month is $50,000 for a new feasibility study on turning Ruskin into Hillsborough County's next incorporated municipality.

That means a proposal ushered to Tallahassee by a grass-roots band of Ruskin residents but killed by state lawmakers last session could be resuscitated.

"This was the Ruskin Incorporation Committee's Plan B, should there not be enough support for the 2005 bill," said Denise Layne, a lobbyist the committee hired to push passage of the bill.

The measure was killed in committee by members of the Local Government Council, who stopped short of vetoing it and told incorporation supporters they would revisit the proposal with new financial calculations.

Opponents of incorporating Ruskin criticized the original feasibility study drafted by consultant Joe Markiewicz, of Coral Gables, as not using realistic numbers in calculating how much the new city would have to pay to contract for municipal services.

The new study would be done by contract with the state Department of Community Affairs and could be completed in time to put a new bill before legislators next year, Layne said.

The original bill, which was introduced by state Rep. Ron Reagan, R-Bradenton, earned unanimous support from the Hillsborough County delegation in late 2005. It would have let Ruskin voters decide whether to incorporate in this November's election.

Just before the bill was considered by the Local Government Council, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office released a report that said Markiewicz's study had underestimated the cost of contracting for services by at least $1.6 million.

By then, several community groups had organized in opposition to the bill, county officials had said the study was flawed and county commissioners voted to lobby against the proposal.

Apollo Beach development lawyer Mike Peterson spearheaded an opposition group called Citizens for Sensible Taxes Inc., made up of about 25 people, many of them developers and large landholders.

Peterson was unavailable to comment on the new feasibility study.

Wade Clark, president of the Ruskin Incorporation Committee, said his group welcomes it.

"If the state redoes the study and the numbers show it's feasible, then maybe there will be no complaints," he said. "The main complaint we heard before was that the study was flawed. So, if the study is not flawed, we are ready to go forward and work to bring this to the voters of Ruskin."

Draft Appraisal Is City's Crystal Ball

By RAY REYES The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 17, 2006

PLANT CITY - County planner Terry Cullen stood before the city commission Monday and compared cities to forests. Both are always changing - boundaries expand, sections wither, parts are reborn, he said.

"The city is an organic being," Cullen said. "It lives. It's the sum total of all the people who live here."

Cullen's metaphor introduced commissioners to what he called "an audit" of Plant City's comprehensive plan, a work-in-progress that, when completed in 2008, will set guidelines for the community's growth for two decades.

At a workshop Monday in city hall, Cullen and his staff unveiled their audit: a 186-page draft document identifying what's missing in the city's comprehensive plan with suggestions on how to enhance it.

Mark Hudson, principal planner with Hillsborough's City-County Planning Commission, said the report shed light on two concerns that must be addressed in the finished comprehensive plan: preserving the city's small-town charm and avoiding the label of bedroom community.

Hudson said the draft does "very well protecting the physical assets of the city" and the historical district, yet a vision is lacking for preserving the small-town ambience.

"We are not planning for buildings; we are not planning for roads," Cullen said. "We're planning for people."

The report offered few specifics on how to maintain Plant City's small-town feel; it would be up to city leaders to come up with more precise plans.

Hometown Charm?

Mayor John Dicks said because of the city's anticipated growth, it would be difficult to maintain that small-town identity.

"I think the buzzword is maintaining the 'hometown' charm," Dicks said. "We're not going to be a small town."

According to the report, the city's population is expected to grow from 33,650 to more than 50,000 by 2025. From 1995 to 2005, the city gained about 7,300 residents, an average annual growth rate of 2.5 percent.

The expected population boom also presents an opportunity for the city to develop a stand-alone economy to prevent becoming a bedroom community for Tampa and Lakeland, Hudson said. The report mentioned a need for the community to formulate an economic strategy to attract and sustain a skilled workforce and encourage new minority-owned businesses.

"There is no overall strategy in attracting new businesses," Hudson said.

Dicks and Commissioner Bill Dodson said new industry was needed - high-tech industry, not "smokestack" industries and factories. Dodson said attracting industrial research firms would be a boon for the city.

"If we continue to emphasize Plant City as an agrarian society, we fall into the trap of thinking we're a bedroom community," Dicks said.

Several Key Points

The report, titled Embracing the Future while Preserving Our Past, also included these findings:

&bullThe city's Hispanic population has grown from 1.5 percent of the population in 1980 to 17.4 percent in 2000.

&bullAs compared with other jurisdictions in Hillsborough County, Plant City has the largest percentage of residents younger than 18, almost 30 percent.

&bullAt 28 percent, the city has the highest percentage of adults in the county who had not attained a high school diploma.

&bullFrom 1995 to 2005, the city grew by 1,752 acres.

&bullMore than 80 percent of voluntary annexations, by area, have been to the northeast of the city.

Vice Mayor Rick Lott praised Cullen and Hudson for their efforts.

"I felt that you and your team did a great job reaching out to the community and getting to know who we are," Lott said. "We're more than just bricks and mortar."

A public hearing for the report will be held at the next city commission meeting, 7:30 p.m. June 26 at city hall. Planners must submit the approved draft of the report to the Florida Department of Community Affairs by July 1.

Cullen said appraisals for Plant City, Temple Terrace and Tampa were initiated in 2003. Since then, more than 50 public, town hall or focus group meetings, which involved about 3,000 people, were held to produce the appraisals for each of Hillsborough County cities, Cullen said.

Contact Ray Reyes at (813) 865-4433 or rreyes@tampatrib.com.

Developer ramps up projects

Crescent Resources says market is ready for more office space.

Franklin, Gulf counties may get water-supply plan
By Bruce Ritchie
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

The Northwest Florida Water Management District board today will consider telling agency staff to develop a water-supply plan for Franklin and Gulf counties.

Both counties have had water-quality problems caused by saltwater getting into the drinking-water supplies of some coastal communities, such as Alligator Point in Franklin County.

The counties together have been designated as an "area of special concern" since 1998 because of the water problems, said Ron Bartel, an agency official.

Both counties have plenty of water, Bartel said, but the board could decide that a water-supply plan is needed to identify water sources 20 years into the future.

The district in recent years has been drilling test wells in eastern Franklin County to find water supplies that are further inland. And it helped Port St. Joe in Gulf County acquire a freshwater canal that delivers water from the Chipola River.

"We have been looking at this problem for some time," Bartel said.

If the board takes action, a draft plan will be made available for public comment. The St. Joe Co. has planned for the construction of thousands of homes in both counties.

But Bartel said the planning is not intended to identify water supplies for any particular developments, only for the region as a whole.

What hazards?

Report lacks 1 detail: growth in storm zones

DAYTONA BEACH -- A committee appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush to scrutinize building in hurricane zones produced a law encouraging more of it, in part by making it easy to excavate more sand.

 

	Committee members
	The Coastal High Hazard Study Committee at a glance: · Eight government agency heads · Three builders, architects or developers · Three local government officials · Two state legislators · One Republican political consultant · One insurer · One environmentalist

In September 2005, Bush appointed 19 members to the Coastal High Hazard Study Committee, a group whose job was, according to its mission statement, "studying and formulating recommendations for managing growth in coastal areas most vulnerable to hurricanes."

The reasons for the committee were many. Development in coastal areas "will threaten the safety of Floridians," said the Department of Community Affairs, the state agency heading the effort. And insurance costs -- many of them borne by the state -- were rising. After meeting three times, the committee gave its report.

They defined the High Hazard area as the Category 1 storm surge zone and proffered ideas for protecting septic tanks. They also gave the state more authority to block sea wall construction after storms (local governments tend to allow a free-for-all).

Notably absent, though, were ideas about managing growth. Instead, the committee suggested big new buildings be accompanied by more hurricane evacuation routes or shelters, and that developers work with cities to widen evacuation roads if needed.

As for specifics, there weren't many -- requirements for "adequate" shelter went undefined. Some members advocated a "less regulatory and more market-driven approach" to beachfront development, the report said -- in which local governments would have to pay for any hurricane damage caused by their permitting policies.

The resulting law signed by Bush this month reflected some of the committee's findings. It gave the state more muscle on sea walls and protected septic tanks. And lawmakers added a bonus for developers who wanted to excavate for the underground garages increasingly common in large beachfront condominiums.

Before, the sand had to remain on the property from which it was evacuated -- usually behind a retaining wall. Now it can be moved, as long as it's put somewhere on the beach.

The new rule, lobbied for by the Chamber, Daytona Beach/Halifax Area, applies on all beaches between St. Augustine and Ponce Inlet, an area the state singled out for redevelopment nearly a decade ago.

The point of the excavation clause was to make it easier to dig large holes for large buildings such as the Ocean Vistas condominium in Daytona Beach Shores, which recently dug up 28,000 cubic yards of sand for its 11-story building. A normal hole for such a building, said David Kriger, who evaluates coastal permitting in Volusia County for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, would be about 5,000 cubic yards.

Big excavations are becoming more popular, because height restrictions lead condo developers to go underground for parking, gaining an extra story. But they wind up having no place to put all the sand.

"A lot of the little mom-and-pops have been selling and it became apparent this was needed" said Rep. Pat Patterson, R-DeLand, to accommodate the larger buildings that replaced them.

Mike Barnett, chief of the department's beaches division, said his department was "absolutely concerned" about large excavations and that moving sand out of the beach system was "unacceptable." The compromise, included in the new law, was to move it onto the beach, even if it must be spread in front of other properties.

With the sand provision and the road-widening recommendation, the overall effect of the law, said Charles Pattison, director of the environmental group 1,000 Friends of Florida, is to encourage coastal development, not put the brakes on it.

"It's amazing to think something like this passed," he said. "It will be real interesting to see what happens during hurricane season."

Republican Rep. Holly Benson of Escambia County, one of the law's co-sponsors, said it was "sad" that the committee had to come up with its recommendations in three meetings, and couldn't achieve more of the original goals.

There were supposed to be four meetings, but "our first meeting was canceled by Hurricane Wilma," Benson said.

virginia.smith@news-jrnl.com

Beachside residents staying put

Homeowners refuse to sell to developers

BY SHAWN GREEN
FOR FLORIDA TODAY

Gladys Engel said she has no interest in the real estate business and that is why she refused to sell her Avon-by-the-Sea home to developers.