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© St. Petersburg Times, published August 25, 2002
CONDO GROUP CONSIDERS OUSTING KIDS -- Some residents at North Oaks condominiums say children are to blame for the noise and vandalism around their community's pool.
Their solution: Get rid of them. Gradually.
Residents of the roughly 240-unit complex just north of Bearss Avenue on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard will meet Tuesday night to discuss a proposal that would forbid renting or selling units to families with children. Families with kids under the age of 19 would be allowed to stay.
According to the association's August newsletter, North Oaks was never designed for families with children and is "experiencing the grow(ing) pains of over-crowded conditions and bored unsupervised children."
The idea, which raises sticky legal questions, doesn't please everyone, especially residents with children.
"It (is) a dark day for our country when the rights of families with children perish and people find the pitter-patter of little feet offensive," said W.F. Casey Ebsary, a lawyer who has a 5-year-old son, Sonny.
Hillsborough County's Human Rights Ordinance states that housing discrimination against families with children is illegal, but the issue is not clear-cut.
Retirement communities such as Sun City Center, are exempt from standard federal housing rules. North Oaks is mostly a mix of young families, professional couples, University of South Florida students and some retirees.
Tom Lewis, property manager for North Oaks, said Tuesday's meeting will be a discussion; but if the board opts to put it a vote, it would need support by 75 percent of the condo owners to become the rule.
CITY ANNEXES K-BAR PROPERTY -- The City Council welcomed the owners of K-Bar Ranch into Tampa city limits Thursday after taking steps to alleviate concerns about traffic congestion and green space.
The unanimous vote for annexation pleased the owners of the 2,280-acre property in northern Hillsborough, and brings another 1,600 homes into the city's tax base.
But not everyone was happy with the agreement, which was two years in the making. Some residents of nearby New Tampa wanted K-Bar's developer to provide more park space. Others worried about the impact on local schools and roads.
Two weeks ago, Pasco County administrator John Gallagher told the city that his county would not allow two northern outlets in K-Bar to link up with its roads. After meeting with the city last week, Pasco officials agreed to let K-Bar roads connect with Meadow Pointe Boulevard and Beardsley Drive. But they continued to balk on extending Mansfield Drive across the Pasco County border.
Council members added a clause to the annexation agreement that forbids K-Bar's developer from building 400 homes if the Mansfield Drive extension cannot be agreed to in the future. Also added: A phrase guaranteeing that park space in K-Bar Ranch will be open to all residents of Hillsborough County.
"This is the toughest agreement we've ever created," said Ron Rotella, special consultant to the mayor.
K-Bar's owners gave up seven acres for community parks and 22 acres for a regional park.
Land for an additional school is not locked up either. In similar language, the owners will enter negotiations with the school for more land if the Hillsborough County School Board wants to construct a new facility.
"There is a history of growth in New Tampa that consistently outpaces infrastructure," said Jim Davison, a candidate for District 2 of the Hillsborough County Commission. "That's what has people out in New Tampa worried."
K-Bar's owners had already donated 20 acres that Pride Elementary was built on.
The council approved the agreement despite concerns that the east-west road running through K-Bar will not be allowed to connect up with the east-west road in the Live Oak development and access Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.
Although members said they hoped to convince Live Oak otherwise, Dan Ward, a spokesman for Live Oak, said the plans are for a private road. "At this point there are no considerations to open it up," said Ward.
LAWSUIT OVER FORMER TESTAVERDE HOUSE -- Buyers of the Lutz luxury home of former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Vinny Testaverde have sued the quarterback, saying he should have disclosed that the house had a badly leaking roof.
Barbara and Wieslaw Henry Kasprow contend in the lawsuit that they've had to spend $48,000 to fix the roof and another $600 to exterminate pests in the house, which they bought from Testaverde and his wife, Mitzi, in January 2001. They are seeking reimbursement and legal costs, said their attorney, Robert J. Jones of St. Petersburg.
Jones attached a letter that the Testaverdes wrote their builder, saying they were surprised to learn the roof leaked and the new owners were saying that faulty construction was to blame.
Testaverde's sports agent, Mike Azzarelli, said Testaverde considered it a "nuisance" lawsuit. "He never had any leaks and it's an inappropriate lawsuit," Azzarelli said. Testaverde now plays for the New York Jets.
The 14-acre Testaverde property included a main home and a second home, a caretaker home, a shed, and a building housing a weight room, said Azzarelli. A purchase agreement attached to the lawsuit showed a sales price of $2.375-million.
The suit involves only the main house, in which the Testaverdes lived for more than six years, according to the lawsuit. The property, at 936 Crenshaw Lake Road in Lutz, is 7,777 square feet and valued for tax purposes at $978,939.
FIRE IN TOWN 'N COUNTRY -- A Town 'N Country man was severely burned early Tuesday after fire broke out in his home. Joe Woodruff, 40, was in serious condition at Tampa General Hospital, said Hillsborough County Fire Rescue spokesman Ray Yeakley. Firefighters were called to the home in the 6000 block of Theresa Street at 6:04 a.m.
When they arrived, they found Woodruff inside the pool, trying to ease the pain from burns from the blaze. He suffered second- and third-degree burns over 65 percent of his body, Yeakley said. Some of the more severe injuries were to his feet and legs.
Woodruff was the only one home at the time the fire broke out. It appears to have started in his bedroom, where he was sleeping, Yeakley said. Damage to the house was estimated about $60,000. The cause did not appear suspicious, Yeakley said.