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The first day of talks to resolve the conflict over a 54-unit condominium proposal shows hope.
By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 26, 2002
CRYSTAL RIVER -- Nothing was settled by day's end.
But the roomful of people -- developer F. Blake Longacre, county staff, and several condominium opponents with their attorneys -- took the first steps Monday toward resolving the Halls River Retreat debate.
The groups spent the day at Fort Island Trail Park in mediation with the state Department of Community Affairs, the agency that oversees the county's Comprehensive Plan, a thick document that is supposed to guide local growth.
Ultimately, the goal is a negotiated settlement that could bypass the remaining legal challenges, crystalize the fate of the 54-unit condominium project and clarify the rules for future development west of U.S. 19.
"We're trying to see if we can find solutions instead of problems," said Cari Roth, DCA general counsel. "This is at its heart a Comprehensive Plan issue. It's not just about Mr. Longacre's project."
Aside from the issue of whether the four-story condos are built, the project has drawn attention to a Comprehensive Plan quandary. The county's Comprehensive Plan discourages high-density growth west of U.S. 19, and it limits new development in the coastal zone to one unit per 40 acres.
But the mixed-use zoning on the 11-acre property allowed up to 20 residential units per acre, paving the way for the condominium project.
"We don't understand how you go from some pretty good proscriptions in the Comprehensive Plan to a development order (for Halls River Retreat) that is inconsistent with that plan," said Dan Stengle, attorney representing Protect Our Waterways, an ad hoc group of homeowners fighting the project.
Meanwhile, the project is in limbo. The County Commission approved plans for the time share complex in February, but a circuit judge earlier this month struck down that vote, saying the project violates the Comprehensive Plan. The county is appealing the ruling.
In closed-door negotiations Monday, Roth offered some ideas for settlements that could resolve the fate of the project and the larger Comprehensive Plan quandary.
Roth will put those ideas to paper within the next week and e-mail them to the parties, providing a starting point for the next round of discussions.
Although they could not disclose the details discussed Monday, the condo opponents were optimistic of a resolution.
"I'm much more hopeful of that after today," said Denise Lyn, attorney representing the Save the Homosassa River Alliance. "It seems like the proposals being offered by DCA might go a long way in getting us past this issue."
Longacre said he is equally eager to resolve the issue. He came to Citrus County to develop, he said, "not to create the biggest hullabaloo since the nuclear power plant was
-- Bridget Hall Grumet can be reached at 860-7303 or bhall@sptimes.com .