House next to wetland allowed

Neighbors planned to protest the variance a Tarpon commissioner had requested. Then she was informed she doesn't need one.

By KATHERINE GAZELLA, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 25, 2002

TARPON SPRINGS -- The city attorney Wednesday ruled that City Commissioner Karen Brayboy can build a house on the Gulf of Mexico with deck pilings that are as close as 1 foot from a wetland swale.

The city code prevents structures from being built within 15 feet of a wetland, so Brayboy had applied for a variance from the code.

But on the day that many neighbors planned to attend a Board of Adjustment meeting to speak against the request, City Attorney John Hubbard wrote a memo to the city planning department saying Brayboy needs no variance because the property is exempt from the 15-foot rule.

Under the city code, subdivisions that were platted and legally recorded before 1989 are exempt from the buffer requirement. Tarpon Shores, where the property is located, was platted long before that, said Olga Sowchuk, a planner with the city.

"I was obviously unaware of it, or I wouldn't have gone through all of this," Brayboy said of the exemption for pre-1989 subdivisions. "I'm very pleased."

Hubbard got involved after Brayboy's attorney, Tim Johnson of Clearwater, contacted him Wednesday, Brayboy said. She hired Johnson on Tuesday night after learning of a petition drive against the project.

Brayboy and her husband, Joe Part, plan to build an elevated home with two floors of livable space on the Beach Drive property. A deck that would be on three sides of the house would have one piling about a foot away from a wetland swale and other pilings within 15 feet of the wetland.

Residents who showed up for the scheduled Board of Adjustment meeting Wednesday night learned that the issue was taken off the agenda.

Dozens of people who live near the property had signed a petition opposing the variance.

Jeanne Peak, president of the neighboring Sunset Shores condominium association, was outraged by Hubbard's ruling.

"I know it's not April Fools' Day, so this can't be an April Fools' joke," she said. "This seems so underhanded. I am so sorry I voted for the lady."

Peak planned to find other ways to oppose the house being that close to the wetland, including contacting the office of U.S. Rep. Michael Bilirakis, R-Tarpon Springs.

"I think it's special treatment," she said. "I need to find out what our options are."

Brayboy hopes the animosity of her future neighbors will fade.

"I hope as things progress they'll see we have no intention of damaging any wetlands," Brayboy said.

-- Katherine Gazella can be reached at (727) 445-4182 or gazella@sptimes.com.

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