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Complaints spur developer to rethink plans
By ANNE LINDBERG, Times Staff Writer PINELLAS PARK -- A developer has withdrawn one plan to build apartments and houses on a horse farm and submitted a second proposal that he hopes will quiet neighbors' complaints. Neighbors had objected to the original plan, saying Roger Broderick wanted to build too many houses too close together and clear the oak trees on the land that housed Millbrooke Station Stables, 5400 62nd Ave. N. Under the new plan, submitted Friday to Pinellas Park officials, Broderick would build 140 apartments and 16 single-family homes on the land -- 10 more apartments than previously proposed but 51 fewer homes than Broderick first proposed. The apartments will be on the 62nd Avenue side of the approximately 29 acre tract of land. The homes would be on 55th Street and 60th and 58th avenues N. The main difference will be the size of the lots, said Pinellas Park zoning director Tom Shevlin. The lots -- from a half-acre to an acre -- will have enough room for each homeowner to put one horse in their backyard. The idea, Shevlin said, is to help retain some of the rural, upscale flavor of the neighborhood. The Millbrooke proposal has caught the eye of many in mid-Pinellas County. People who board horses and take riding lessons at Millbrooke mourn what they see as the passing of another of the area's barns. Many neighbors did not want to lose the ambience of undeveloped green space. They worried about the effect of a small, crowded housing development on property values, drainage and traffic. Their objections were so vigorous that Broderick asked Pinellas Park's Planning and Zoning Commission to delay its decision until he could meet with residents. That meeting has not taken place because Broderick wanted to wait until he had something new to show neighbors, Shevlin said. But even if he quiets neighbors' fears, the development will remain controversial. The Millbrooke property is part of a "land bridge" that unites east and west Lealman. Some activists in that unincorporated area have advocated forming a city, which could be threatened if Pinellas Park annexes Millbrooke and cuts Lealman in two. Each Lealman would have to go its on way, whether to cityhood, annexation or remaining in the county. The annexation is scheduled to come before the Pinellas Park Council for final approval on Feb. 28. Part of the annexation contract includes an agreement that the city will change the zoning on the property to allow the development, said Bud Wortendyke, the head of Pinellas Park's annexation department. The agreement also requires Broderick to widen the intersection at 62nd Avenue and 58th Street, putting in a left-hand turn lane on each side of the intersection. Wortendyke said that should help alleviate some of the worries about increased traffic. The necessary sequence of events makes this annexation an oddity. The City Council agreed it will change the zoning if the property is annexed. However, the zoning cannot be changed until after the city's Planning and Zoning Commission has a chance to see the plan and hold a public hearing that is scheduled for April. The Council then has to rule on the zoning change and hold its own public hearings, likely in May. Shevlin said the Council could decide later not to grant the zoning change, which would leave the property owner with a choice. "As I understand it," Shevlin said, "then they could ask the property to be de-annexed because it's a contractual arrangement." If you're interestedRoger Broderick will meet with neighbors to discuss his proposed development of the Millbrooke Station Stables property at 7 p.m. Feb. 20 in the City Auditorium, 7690 59th St. N. The Pinellas Park City Council is scheduled to give final approval to the annexation of the Millbrooke property on Feb. 28. The Pinellas Park Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to consider a recommendation to change the zoning on the Millbrooke property at its April 4 meeting. The Council will consider changing the zoning on the property in May. Both meetings are open to the public. They take place at 7:30 p.m. in the council chambers, City Hall, 5141 78th Ave. N. For information, call Tim Caddell, 541-0721.
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From the Times South Pinellas desks |
