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Industrial park wins in zoning conflict
By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET, Times Staff Writer INVERNESS -- The county's growing pains were evident at the Citrus County Commission meeting Tuesday. Responding to what was described as a pressing need for more industrial space, commissioners unanimously approved a rezoning request creating a 6.86-acre industrial park on County Road 495, a site neighbors protested was literally in their back yards. Later in the meeting, a divided commission approved development limitations to properties zoned for mixed use. The catchall zoning category, created in the late 1980s to classify such hybrid uses as mobile home parks with marinas and bait shops, had paved the way in February for the 54-unit Halls River Retreat complex in the coastal area where development was supposed to be limited. The ordinance would not affect the Halls River Retreat site, but would limit density of new development on other mixed use properties. "The whole intent . . . is to prevent future problems," Commissioner Gary Bartell said. But several attorneys questioned whether the ordinance could prompt legal challenges by taking away developers' rights to do certain things with their land. "We're creating a bigger problem than what we have today, and it'll come back to haunt you," said Commissioner Roger Batchelor, who cast the only vote against the ordinance. The more emotional debate over the industrial park drew a standing-room-only crowd of industry proponents and concerned neighbors. SMG Inc. trucking company owner Sean Gerrits, who proposed the industrial park on the farm just south of his CR 495 property, said the site is ideally located by an active railroad line and the possible Suncoast Parkway routes. Gerrits said the park would bring jobs, increase the tax base and provide much-needed industrial space. His attorney, Larry Haag, noted that Gerrits' nearby Shamrock Industrial Park was home to nine businesses, with two more businesses from Texas and Orlando planning to move in. "It is bringing the clean, light industry we've been talking about as far as I can remember," Haag said. But neighbors, especially the owners of the 13 homes along W Charlynn Lane, said the new industrial park would be too close for comfort. For years, the grassy site has been the only buffer between the neighborhood and SMG. "I just don't think we should be forced out," said Suzanne Pollard, who moved to the neighborhood 15 years ago from St. Petersburg. "This is where we planned on living." "If our homes are not safe from this kind of invasion, why would anyone invest their life savings in a home in Citrus County?" asked Tony Washington, a resident of nearby Shamrock Acres. But Haag said Gerrits would record a 100-foot-wide easement, forever providing a buffer between the industrial park and the neighborhood. Gerrits would also plant a thick, vegetative buffer, alleviating commissioners' concerns about the industrial park affecting neighbors. "This is a tough one," said Batchelor, adding that he could understand how both sides felt. "But that has been a strong industrial area for a long, long time." -- Bridget Hall Grumet can be reached at 860-7303 or bhall@sptimes.com.
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