Zoning

Worries over density kill rezoning request

TAMPA -- Bloomingdale residents emerged victorious from a Hillsborough County Commission meeting Tuesday when commissioners denied a petition from Centex homes to rezone 42.5 acres on the west side of John Moore Road, about 500 feet south of Bloomingdale Avenue.

It was the second time the request to change from agricultural to planned development had gone before the commissioners. It had been sent back to a zoning hearing master in January for review of transportation issues.

But it was the problem of compatibility with the existing neighborhood that led to the denial of the request. Centex wants to build 125 homes.

About a half dozen residents spoke in opposition to the project Tuesday.

Janice O'Keefe, who lives on Buckboard Lane, said lot widths on her street range from 110 to 220 feet. The lot widths proposed by Centex range from 50 to 70 feet.

Her neighbors on the southern boundary of the Centex property, she said, have lots that range from 1 to 2.5 acres, which would put 30 homes adjacent to the 12 homes already there.

"This is not compatibility," O'Keefe said. "We should not have to look out our backyards at more than one dwelling unit," she said, referring to the county's comprehensive plan requiring new developments to blend in with the surrounding neighborhoods.

"This planned development does not meet the intent of any of these policies," O'Keefe said. "My neighbors and I have chosen a suburban lifestyle, as evidenced by our wide, large, heavily treed lots."

Centex attorney Keith Bricklemyer countered that the plan does not require that lot sizes match those of adjacent properties.

"If you did, you'd never have any diversity," he said. "If you started in the ag area with five-acre lots, you'd have five-acre lots into the city. That makes no common sense."

But Commissioner Ronda Storms moved that the petition be denied because it did not blend with the surrounding area. Commissioner Pat Frank seconded the motion, which passed 5-2 with Commissioners Tom Scott and Ken Hagan voting no. Unless the site plan is substantially revised, Centex cannot file another request for rezoning for one year. (Petition RZ 02-1150)

In other action, commissioners approved several zoning requests Tuesday:

BRANDON: The Commission approved a request by Newport Developers Inc. to modify a 5.82-acre planned development on the southwest side of Vonderburg Drive, 900 feet north of Parsons Avenue, to allow for the construction of 49 two-story town houses. Surrounding the development are offices to the north, an assisted living facility and offices to the east, undeveloped land to the south and town houses and single-family homes to the west.

Commissioner Frank said she didn't support the request because she was concerned about traffic issues on Parsons Avenue and Oakfield Drive.

The request passed by a vote of 5-2 with Commissioners Frank and Storms voting against it. (Petition RZ 02-1150)

BALM: The Commission also approved a request from developer Highland Cassidy to make changes to a 487-acre planned development at the southeast corner of U.S. 301 and County Road 672. The property was permitted in 1980 to include 1,861 single-family homes, town houses and apartments. A golf course, motel and commercial areas also were included in the original plans. Instead, the developer plans to limit development to 1,660 single-family homes. (Petition PRS 03-0440)

BALM: The University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences got the go-ahead to build a $15-million research center on 475 acres at the southwest corner of County Road 672 and Sweat Loop Road. The County Commission rezoned the parcel from agricultural to planned development to allow the project.

The land was donated to UF by Hillsborough County; it will revert to the county if UF ends its activities there. Construction will be financed by the sale of 195 acres in Bradenton where the institute has operated a research center for 75 years.

Manatee County bought the property and will use it to build two schools and a park, said Joe Joyce, associate vice president at the institute.

The new, state-of-the-art facility represents the merging of the Bradenton facility and a 20-acre, 40-year-old satellite center in Dover. (Petition RZ 03-0250)

When and where

Hearings of county zoning hearing masters and land use hearing officers, and land use meetings of the County Commission are held on the second floor of the County Center, 601 E Kennedy Blvd. All hearings before a zoning hearing master begin at 6 p.m. Mondays or Tuesdays; Commission meetings begin at 9 a.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. Both are televised on government access channels. Land use hearing officer hearings, which are not televised, begin at 9 a.m. every third Friday. Basic information about each petition is available online at http://was.hillsboroughcounty.org/ pgm_zoning/home.cfm by petition date. For information, call 276-2058.