Old tree vs. new office building

Neighbors want the oak destroyed to reduce traffic and flooding; the city wants to save it.

By DAVID KARP, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 11, 2003

TAMPA -- The residents at Thursday's City Council meeting came to speak about the destruction of a grand oak tree, and their leader was a former Sierra Club activist.

But this South Tampa neighborhood wasn't trying to save the old tree.

They want a developer to cut it down.

In a reversal of the usual roles, all the residents on S Krental Street in Beach Park support a developer's plan to destroy the tree.

They say the plan to build a three-story office building on the lot off Kennedy Boulevard, near Lois Avenue, will fix flooding and traffic problems the city has neglected for years.

Even Ed Turanchik, the former Sierra Club leader who lives on Krental Street, supports the project.

"Typically people come to council meetings fearing the city will approve the development," said Turanchik, who also served on the County Commission. "This time, all the adjoining property owners came fearing the City Council won't approve it."

They had reason to worry.

City Council chairwoman Linda Saul-Sena, who voted against the project at an initial hearing two weeks ago, convinced other council members Thursday to delay a final vote on the project until May 1.

She asked the developer to consider an alternative design that includes the tree. And just to help, Saul-Sena pulled out a site plan that showed how the developer might redesign his building.

Saul-Sena has suggested urban design manager Wilson Stair Jr., a city employee who works under the mayor, sketch an alternate site plan. She passed the plan to the developer to review.

The plan turned the project upside down. Instead of building the 17,500-square-foot office along Kennedy Boulevard, it would be built along Krental. That would save the tree, but leave the neighborhood exposed to Kennedy traffic.

Outside City Council chambers, the stunned developers grilled Stair about his work.

They had spent thousands designing the plan, only to be surprised at the last moment.

"That took two years in development," said Daniel Nelson of Nelco Development. "We have looked at different designs. We came up with the best design that was economically feasible."

Stair, who is a landscape architect, acknowledged that his plan was rough.

It looked like a cut-and-paste job. Pieces of sketch paper were taped over the developer's professionally designed plan. Marks from black wax pencil made out the rough outline of a new building.

Neighbors were also mad.

They had taken the morning off to support the plan, but the council did not give them time to speak.

"This is not just about the people on the street," City Council member John Dingfelder told residents during the meeting. "It's a grand tree. People across the city have an interest in grand trees."

Resident Buck Hicks scoffed at that.

"I am sure the people in Ballast Point are really concerned about that tree," he said.

Turanchik said residents were shocked that the council would put a tree before a neighborhood.

"I think a good number of residents on this street would gladly vote to have a bonfire" he said.

For years, he said, the city had done nothing to fix flooding that occurs on Krental after heavy rains.

"This developer has worked hand in glove to fix it," he said.

The project's stormwater retention system will stop the flooding that has caused permanent damage to four homes.

The developer also wants to create a cul-de-sac on Krental, blocking traffic from Kennedy Boulevard and reducing noise.

"They care more about trees than humans," said Ernest Reina, 92, who lives next to the grand oak.

Reina has spent $10,000 fixing his house from water damage. He put his air conditioning unit on blocks and built a concrete barrier around his back porch to keep the water out.

Guests must step over a concrete rise at his front door. Without the barrier, water runs into his house. The flooding has ruined his plants and killed two avocado trees.

-- David Karp can be reached at 226-3376 or karp@sptimes.com.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright