Petition protests developing vacant land

Neighbors oppose a proposal to allow a single-family home on land near Sunset Beach that was designated a park in 1969.

By KELLEY BENHAM, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published December 17, 2002

TARPON SPRINGS -- A spit of land at the entrance to Sunset Beach is again stirring controversy as the owner tries to have it rezoned for development.

The property on the northwest corner of Gulf Road and Shore Drive is vacant except for birds, mangroves and wildlife. Neighbors want to keep it that way.

"It's beautiful; it's quiet," said Linda Gradual, 62, who signed a petition circulating the neighborhood in opposition to the proposed changes. "It would be such a shame."

The owner, Belleair architect Stephen Spencer, has asked the city to change the land use designation from recreational open space to residential suburban and to rezone the property from land conservation to residential single family.

The City Commission will consider the request at tonight's 6:30 meeting at the Tarpon Springs Cultural Center, 101 S Pinellas Ave. The commission will meet at the center because its usual room at City Hall is booked for another event.

Spencer nearly sold the property in July, but the would-be owner backed out after dozens of his potential neighbors protested his plans to build a modest stilt home there.

Neighbors worried that their waterfront views would be spoiled and that development would threaten the environment. That application was withdrawn after the planning and zoning board recommended against it.

Now the issue is coming up again. Spencer has submitted no plans to indicate whether he intends to build on the land himself, said planning director Renea Vincent. Spencer did not return calls Monday.

The planning and zoning board recommended 3-2 Nov. 18 that the commission approve Spencer's request.

The property consists of less than half an acre of buildable land and nearly 11 acres of submerged land in the Gulf of Mexico. For years, neighbors, real estate agents and even the city thought the property was publicly owned. The city maintained it and cut the grass. Neighbors thought they lived next to a piece of protected coastline.

One day, a "for sale" sign went up.

"Everybody went, 'Whoa, who's selling city property?' " City Attorney John Hubbard said. "Then somebody looked it up, and by golly, it wasn't."

The land was originally zoned residential in 1944, according to research by the city. It was designated as a park in 1969, along with surrounding property, some of which has since been developed for waterfront homes.

Spencer bought the land in 1998 for $220,000, according to Pinellas County Property Appraiser's records. Its value is assessed for tax purposes at $4,500, so Spencer paid $97.13 in taxes on it this year.

Now residents, in the absence of details about what might become of the land, fear the worst. They envision condominiums, traffic and environmental devastation. They worry that someone could try to develop the submerged land some day.

"It's just a tiny strip of land," said Kathleen Carothers, 67.

She said word has spread that a multifamily residence could be built there.

"How anything could be built on it is beyond me," Carothers said.

If approved, the rezoning would allow only a single-family residence, not an apartment or condominium. The zoning change would apply only to the upland area of the property.

Even so, Carothers worries about the mangroves and fiddler crabs and the shy species of birds she has seen on the property. An avid bird watcher, she worries about the American bittern, a skittish bird that freezes and pretends to be a weed when frightened.

The property is bordered by city-owned land. If a home were built there, it would be alone on its side of the street.

The commission has two decisions to make, Hubbard said.

In considering the land use, it has fairly wide latitude to determine how useful the property is as recreational space and to decide whether that use should change.

In considering the zoning, the city must follow narrower guidelines looking at the abutting property and the suitability of the land for residential development.

Public opinion matters more in the first decision than in the second, he said.

Public opinion is strongly opposed to the change, Vincent said. If the commission gives its approval tonight, it will take a final vote Jan. 7.

"We just want to preserve what coastline we have left," Carothers said. "There are very few places you can see the water anymore."

-- Kelley Benham can be reached at (727) 445-4182 or benham@sptimes.com .

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