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Vote to annex country club is delayed
By ABBIE VANSICKLE LARGO -- For years the city of Largo has been openly assertive in its annexation efforts. Beginning in 1995, the city has worked hard to widen its boundaries, bring in more land and broaden its tax base. In 1998 alone, it brought in 58 properties. For the past few months, the city has had its eye on Cove Cay, a gated golf course community off U.S. 19, worth an estimated $58-million. Everything seemed in order. The city had made its pitch. And Cove Cay's registered voters were scheduled to vote today on whether to be annexed. But at a Largo-held meeting at the community's country club Jan. 13, Largo's plan hit a legal snag that ultimately forced city commissioners to delay today's vote indefinitely. Harry Sobel, a Cove Cay resident and retired attorney from Connecticut, questioned the legality of Largo's efforts. According to a Florida state statute, he said, if a corporation controls 70 percent or more of a property the city wants to annex, that group must agree to the annexation before a vote is held. The Cove Cay Country Club, run by a board of directors, controls 79 percent of the Cove Cay property. County officials investigated and delivered the findings to the city. Sobel was right. "We got caught with our pants down," City Manager Steve Stanton said Monday. "It's an extremely compromising position to be in." The Largo city commissioners responded early Monday morning at an emergency meeting, voting unanimously to postpone the Cove Cay annexation vote indefinitely. Stanton said city officials had two options to remedy the situation. Either Largo can redraw the annexation boundaries to decrease the percentage owned by the country club or it can secure the approval of the club's board of directors. Either way, he said, the city will not back down. The language in the statute did not take him by surprise, he said. He knew of the 70 percent rule. But, he said, city staff members had assured him that the area owned by the country club did not surpass the percentage. "One of the planners did the calculations wrong," he said. "It was simply a lack of focus on the detail, and I, as city manager, am ultimately responsible." Stanton said the mistake likely would compromise seriously the credibility of Largo among Cove Cay residents. He said he planned to have a "substantial conversation" with his staff before he decides how to prevent future errors. Although he took full responsibility for the error, Stanton was critical of the county for getting involved in the annexation process. But county Commissioner Karen Seel said she thought it was her duty to play an active role. "We're not trying to get involved in their back yard," she said. "But shouldn't they be doing things legally?" Seel said that after receiving several calls from Cove Cay residents, she felt an obligation to look into the annexation effort. "We're in a Catch-22 situation here," she said. "The citizens asked for information, and I felt I owed it to them." -- Abbie VanSickle can be reached at 445-4224 or at vansickle@sptimes.com .
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From the Times North Pinellas desks |
