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Condo project draws more fire
By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET, Times Staff Writer HOMOSASSA -- At one time it was one of F. Blake Longacre's best arguments. Whenever environmentalists criticized his plans for four-story condominiums on the banks of the Halls River, Longacre would note that his project had already passed muster with the Southwest Florida Water Management District and other agencies that oversee environmental construction issues. Now his opponents are taking their fight to those agencies. This week the Save the Homosassa River Alliance and four residents filed a formal challenge to Longacre's environmental resource permit from Swiftmud. Two other environmentalists, Billy Mitchell and Citrus County Audubon Society president Ron Miller, filed a similar challenge Jan. 4. Both groups seek a hearing before an administrative law judge who would determine whether it was proper for Swiftmud to approve the permit for Halls River Retreat, a proposal that has been scaled back to include 54 timeshare condos and a manager's apartment. The plans still await County Commission approval. "It's my opinion there is no public benefit here that would come anywhere close to exceeding the damage that's going to be done," said Jim Bitter, one of the Homosassa residents who filed the challenge this week. "There are so many things that have to be brought out on this thing. This is just the beginning." Longacre said Thursday that he was disappointed, but not surprised, by his critics' latest move. "I've become these guys' poster child for no development," Longacre said. "That's what it sure does seem like." "I guess the bottom line is that they'll use every single thing in their power to frustrate me and hope I'll go away," he added. "But they're not the only people who live in Homosassa or Citrus County." By challenging the Swiftmud permits, Longacre's opponents are now fighting the project on several fronts. The developer and his foes already are scheduled to face off at a 10:30 a.m. time-certain hearing Thursday, in which the county's Planning and Development Review Board will take public comment and make a recommendation on the project. The board meets in Room 166 of the Lecanto Government Building. From there, the plans for Halls River Retreat would go to the County Commission for a final vote at a future date. Community Development Director Chuck Dixon said the Swiftmud permit challenges should not affect the planning board's ability to hold a hearing and make a recommendation on the project. If need be, he said, the County Commission could hold off on its decision until the Swiftmud challenges were resolved. The Swiftmud permit allows a quarter-acre of wetlands to be destroyed, 0.2 acres of former wetlands to be restored and 0.76 acres of wet detention ponds to be created to collect stormwater runoff. (Because he has recently scaled back his plans to remove several buildings from the wetlands, Longacre will file a request to modify his permit, allowing for less wetlands intrusion and less mitigation.) The concerns raised in the permit challenges include: That Longacre has not shown his project to be "clearly in the public interest," the standard for any project that could affect an Outstanding Florida Waterway such as the Halls River. Longacre said the benefits are obvious: It will add to the tax base, bring seasonal residents who will patronize local restaurants and other businesses, and create at least a dozen jobs to keep the complex running. That Longacre has not shown that his project will not adversely affect the wetlands or the waterways. On the contrary, Longacre said, the Swiftmud file is full of detailed information about the building products (which he said would not leach any pollutants) and the stormwater detention system (which he said would filter out any impurities before the runoff returns to the river). "Basically I think the file stands on its own," he said. That the project does not comply with the Swiftmud requirement that wet detention basins sit at least two feet above the Floridan aquifer. A water table sits about 10 inches below the surface, but that table is groundwater, not the Floridan aquifer, said Larry Doyle, a geology professor who is consulting Longacre on the project. The actual aquifer is at least 100 feet down, he said, and is a pressurized system that is not easily penetrated by anything seeping down through the soil. "Just think of how the springs bubble up," Doyle said. "You'd have to overcome that hydraulic head to force something down there." Longacre added that the detention areas would be broad but shallow -- "like a low spot in a golf course," he said -- and lined with clay to prevent anything from leaking into the groundwater table. But the critics aren't buying the developer's assurances. "This project site is over 1 1/2 miles deep into the most environmentally sensitive land area in the state, and the proposed development has the potential for significant environmental damage that cannot be reversed," reads the protest filed Jan. 4 by Mitchell and Miller. "The pristine Halls River, home to many species of wildlife, including the endangered manatee and a breeding area for many fish, would forever be altered." Aside from seeking additional scrutiny of the project's environmental impacts, river alliance member Winston Perry hopes the challenges send a message. "To Mr. Longacre and all other developers who are looking at this county as a possible place to put up high-rise condominium projects, especially on the environmentally sensitive wetlands, we want to send a message loud and clear that no, we are not St. Petersburg, we are not Clearwater Beach, we are not Hudson, where they have been allowed to proliferate and destroy the waterfront area that was there for everyone's enjoyment," Perry said.
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