Week in Review

NO NEW GATES ON PUBLIC ROADS, COUNTY SAYS: Responding to complaints from an angry resident who was turned away at a gated subdivision, the Hillsborough County Commission said it will no longer allow such barriers on public roads.

Those in place can stay, commissioners said, but any new applications will be denied. The only exception is for subdivisions that already have submitted applications.

In the past seven years, the county has allowed private gates on public roads leading to Heritage Harbor, Bay Port Colony, Keystone Crossings and Crystal Lakes Manor.

Subdivisions that don't like the new rule can always buy the road and make it private, County Commission Chairwoman Pat Frank said. Not all of the commissioners agreed with the new ban. Jim Norman said he saw the gates as a public safety issue. But several of his colleagues called them a violation of personal rights.

Tuesday's vote probably would never have occurred if not for Carrollwood resident Henry Echezabal. On March 17, Echezabal tried to pick up his wife's dress from a seamstress at Keystone Crossings. The guard at the entrance asked him to leave.

A surveyor by profession, Echezabal located county files showing that the roads in Keystone Crossings were public. He demanded that the county remove the gates and guardhouses, calling them a violation of constitutional rights.

SMASH 'N GRABS HIT THE NORTHWEST: Investigators last week were looking for robbers who have broken into about 25 businesses in northwest Hillsborough County by smashing windows and stealing money and merchandise. According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, the thefts, called "smash and grabs," occurred between Aug. 19 and 26 at stores on or near Dale Mabry Highway, Gunn Highway and Sheldon Road.

The robbers have targeted establishments including the Applebee's restaurant on Sheldon Road, a Dollar General Store on Gunn Highway, a Pep Boys automotive shop on Dale Mabry and Red Barron Express, a delivery service on Waters Avenue.

Anyone with information about the crimes is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 247-8200 or Crime Stoppers, toll-free, at 1-800-873-8477 (TIPS).

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