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Day school, neighbors are at odds over house
By TIM GRANT, Times Staff Writer CARROLLWOOD -- Neighbors in Original Carrollwood have begun a new wave of speculation about the long range plans of a private school. Independent Day School paid $170,000 in December 2001 for a 2,600 square-foot house at the corner of Orange Grove Drive and Phoenix Circle, fueling some concerns about future school expansion. News of the real estate deal spread through the neighborhood last week by word of mouth. It was discovered when one resident contacted the Property Appraiser's Office and confirmed the sale. "What are we supposed to think?," said Tracey Howell, who lives on Phoenix Circle. "What would anyone think who lives on this street? This is our street. This is our home and they are invading it." The IDS home purchase marks the latest episode in an ongoing feud between neighbors and the school. Homeowners have complained about the road congestion at drop-off and pick-up times. They've accused the school of breaking its promise to build an "attractive" middle school campus, and they vigorously fought the school in rezoning a strip of residential property now used for school parking. This time, however, IDS has bought a home in the Original Carrollwood special tax district, making it an official member of Carrollwood's pioneer subdivision. School officials insist they have no ulterior motives. "It is residential property," said Cornelia Corbett, chairman of the IDS board of trustees. "It was bought for residential use, and it will remain residential." Corbett said the previous owner of the house at 11729 Phoenix Circle contacted the school with an offer to sell. "We thought it was a good idea for teacher housing," Corbett said, adding that the home is being rented by an IDS teacher and her friend. As a member of the Carrollwood Recreation District, IDS will pay the additional taxes other neighbors are required to pay and also have access to the community's private parks, private lakes and meetings. But there could be some challenge in determining which school official will have the privilege of using the recreational facilities, said Betsey Hapner, president of the Carrollwood Civic Association. IDS can designate the renters to use the facilities. But the renters would have to be listed in the Carrollwood Directory, Hapner said. Hapner said IDS also will have to comply with and maintain neighborhood standards. The school must get permission from the homeowners board for any requests that fall outside the neighborhood rules. "We've never approved anything outside the guidelines," Hapner said. ". . . Certainly as far as we're concerned, that property is going to remain residential." The IDS campus has more than doubled in recent years through residential land acquisitions. Across the street from its main campus at 12015 Orange Grove Drive, IDS built a middle school two years ago for grades six through eight on about 6 acres. Residents criticized IDS for erecting industrial type classroom buildings inconsistent with the area's residential character. The Carrollwood Civic Association, along with about a dozen people who live outside the subdivision but near the school spent about two years fighting the school's rezoning bid to build an administrative building on 1.5 acres near the main campus, a site that was eventually approved for a school parking lot. Howell said she's convinced IDS will buy even more residential property and force neighbors to fight more rezoning battles. "That school is the bane of my existence," Howell said. "My fear is they want the entire block from the school to the Carrollwood Recreation Center at MacFarland Road." - Tim Grant can be reached at 269-5311 or at grant@sptimes.com.
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From the Times |
