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Election unlikely to affect project
By ED QUIOCO, Times Staff Writer OLDSMAR -- With Tuesday's special referendum rapidly approaching, more and more voters called City Hall last week looking for an explanation of the issue. City Clerk Lisa Lene said she usually starts with a brief history of the Westminster apartment complex for low- and middle-income tenants. Then she explains that the question before voters is whether to repeal an affordable housing density bonus that paved the way for the project, probably the most controversial topic the city has faced. That's the easy part. Callers inevitably ask: Will the results of Tuesday's election stop the project? "If they ask whether it will make a difference, I just refer them to the city attorney," Lene said. "That's a legal question." City Attorney Tom Trask's answer to that question is simple. "No," he said. "None at all." Attorneys for Pinellas County and the developer, the Wilson Co. of Tampa, have echoed Trask's opinion. Even if voters repeal Ordinance 2002-01, which paved the way for the complex, it will not affect the project, they say. "There is no doubt in our minds that the election will have no legal effect," Wilson Co. attorney Tim Johnson said. "That is an opinion that has been confirmed by the county attorney's office and . . . by the city attorney." The company will receive about $15.8-million in state financing for the 270-unit complex in return for offering discounted rent for low-income tenants. The complex is under construction on the 27-acre property on Pine Avenue N and should take about a year to build. Given that the election will have no effect on the project, Johnson said, if voters approve repealing the ordinance anyway, doing so will send a message about the city and its residents. "It seems to me that all they will be doing is labeling Oldsmar as a city that doesn't want to have affordable housing," Johnson said. "If that's how Oldsmar residents want their town labeled then that's how they should vote for it." The question of whether to repeal the ordinance made it onto the ballot after a group of neighbors who opposed the project collected 1,330 signatures to warrant the election. But those residents have since reached a settlement agreement with the Wilson Co. Part of that settlement prohibits them from further challenging the project. Karen Manning, who was one of the residents spearheading the opposition, said last week she could no longer comment on the referendum because of the settlement. Manning and some of her neighbors were involved in a legal battle with the Wilson Co. for months, with the developer threatening to sue each of the residents individually. That action could have cost each resident tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees and damages. Before coming to the settlement agreement last month, residents had argued that county land development rules prohibited that many units on the property and claimed that the company bullied city officials. To get the city's approval of the project, opponents claimed, the developer threatened to bankrupt the city with a multimillion-dollar federal housing discrimination lawsuit. Rather than face that prospect, Oldsmar city officials in November settled their dispute with the developer. That agreement established for the Wilson Co. an "affordable housing density bonus," which allows the company to sidestep restrictions on how many units can be built on the land. The city's settlement agreement with the company included two provisions that created the housing density bonus, Trask said. Even if voters repeal the ordinance, there is still another provision that gives the company its density bonus. "They kill one and the other is still active," Trask said. The complexity of the issue may keep some voters from the polls on Tuesday, said Lene. She anticipates that voter turnout for the election, which will cost the city about $4,000 to put together, will be less than 10 percent. "I've had a lot of calls about what it's about," Lene said. "It is a little confusing. If people don't know exactly what it's about, they might not come in and vote." Hypothetically, if the election were able to stop the project, Johnson said, that would cause immediate harm to the city. That's because the Wilson Co. has already said it would go after the city for more than $15-million in damages if it were not able to build the complex. "It seems to me that a yes vote on this is a losing vote for Oldsmar either way you look at it," Johnson said. "If it's meaningless, all you have done is labeled your town as anti-affordable housing. If it is meaningful, then all you have done is exposed your city to millions of dollars in damages, which of course would be covered by taxpayers." Regardless of whether the election will have any effect on the project, residents should come out and vote, Trask said. If anything, they can make a statement about how strongly they feel about the issue. "I always think that people should go out and vote their conscience," he said. "But do I think ultimately it will make a difference? The answer is no." -- Ed Quioco can be reached at (727) 445-4183 or quioco@sptimes.com. Oldsmar's special referendum at a glanceThe ballot will read: "Shall Ordinance 2002-01 providing for an affordable housing density bonus be repealed?" Polling locationsPrecinct 629 -- Forest Lakes Elementary School, 301 Pine Ave. N Precinct 630 -- City Hall, Council Chamber, 100 State St. W Precinct 631 -- Tampa Electric Co. (TECO Hall), 106 State St. E (Precinct 631 usually is in Gull Aire Village but was moved to TECO Hall because of a scheduling conflict.) Polls will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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