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The subdivision's homeowners are seeking protection against possible annexation by Pinellas Park.
By ANNE LINDBERG, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 16, 2003
PINELLAS PARK -- The Bonnie Glynn subdivision has asked the county to protect it from annexation.
The area's homeowners association asked in a letter last month that it be taken out of Pinellas Park's annexation planning area and put in an annexation-free zone.
"We felt that (in) our situation as it stands right now, we are better off than if we were incorporated into the towns that are near us," said Jim Rivers, president of the Bonnie Glynn Homeowners Association.
"We felt the towns could not provide us any better benefits. We want to stay as we are now."
Bonnie Glynn has 145 homes located generally to the west of Pinellas Park Middle School and the Belcher Road extension.
Pinellas Park Mayor Bill Mischler declined to comment on Bonnie Glynn's letter, saying the first he'd heard about the issue was when a reporter called.
"I really don't have an opinion one way or another," Mischler said. "I don't know how to comment on it."
Bonnie Glynn's request is not without precedent. Residents of the Lealman Fire District last year persuaded the county to move planning area lines to prevent successive annexations by Pinellas Park, Kenneth City and Seminole.
The County Commission agreed to temporarily move the lines to protect Lealman while all sides tried to find a permanent solution. A meeting is tentatively scheduled between the county, those cities and Largo at 7 p.m. May 21 at the Harborview Center, 300 Cleveland St., Clearwater.
The county's attempt to gauge Lealman's wishes led to the Bonnie Glynn letter. County Administrator Steve Spratt held a meeting in the western part of the fire district -- that area between Pinellas Park and St. Petersburg west of Kenneth City and east of Park Street.
Bonnie Glynn residents attended the meeting and looked at the map, which showed a sawtooth border on Pinellas Park's south created as the city annexed properties one at a time. In the area where Pinellas Park and Kenneth City are close, it's hard to tell whether a particular piece of property is in the county, Pinellas Park or Kenneth City.
"I refer to it as a jigsaw puzzle look," Rivers said. "We don't want that happening in our neighborhood."
Irregular boundaries cause problems as multiple jurisdictions try to figure out who has control. A resident may not know which policing agency to call.
"If you have multiple governments in there, it only makes things more complicated," Rivers said. "If we're going to go with somebody, we're all going to go, that's the feeling."
County Commissioner Ken Welch, who sponsored the Lealman change, said he feels for people caught in a difficult situation. Welch said he and Spratt are working on a response.
"My plan is to forward a copy of our response to each commissioner and that we incorporate their request as we negotiate with each of the cities," Welch said. "This is not the county fighting over turf. We're simply reflecting the wishes of residents who say they want to remain unincorporated. ... We just want to make sure their voices are heard."
Rivers said that was the goal: To make sure Bonnie Glynn's concerns were heard.