Tanglewood Terrace I and II and other areas can't deannex from New Port Richey as per state laws, the city attorney says.
By MELIA BOWIE
Published June 17, 2003
NEW PORT RICHEY - A request by some city residents to deannex might be moot, City Attorney Thomas Morrison said.
The City Council will discuss the issue at 7:30 tonight at City Hall.
Frustrated with rising costs for city services and proposed fire and street light fees, some homeowners in the city's Tanglewood Terrace I and II neighborhoods proposed in early May to leave New Port Richey.
They canvassed their neighborhoods and others seeking petition signatures.
"We're tired of being fee'd and charged and franchised and taxed to the ends of the earth," Tanglewood II homeowner John DiGiorgio said last month in leading the charge out of the city. He and co-organizers estimate aligning with the county could save residents about $1,000 annually.
On May 27, they submitted about 250 signatures to City Clerk Victoria McDonald, requesting to leave New Port Richey. The list of names included former mayor George Henry.
But it might not be enough.
Florida statutes require 15 percent of qualified voters in the area sign a petition for such a procedure, called contraction. The Times could not determine Monday how many signatures are actually required; the city official with that information was unavailable.
In addition, the Supervisor of Elections Office must verify that the submitted signatures are all from registered voters.
However, the petitions are not only "deficient" but fail to meet the threshold for other contraction requirements, according to Morrison.
In a memo to City Council members, Morrison wrote that petitions signed by residents in Tanglewood Terrace I and II, the Conniewood Square subdivision, Sunnybrook Condominiums and the Imperial Mobile Home do not meet the required criteria.
To leave the city, the neighborhoods should not be contiguous to New Port Richey's boundaries, nor should they be developed for urban purposes in which at least two people per acre live within the area's boundaries per state statute.
The neighborhoods fail on both counts, and others, according to Morrison's interpretation of state statutes. He recommended the City Council reject the requests.
DiGiorgio has said if city leaders deny the petitions, "we will take them to court, and they will have to show just cause why we can't leave the city."
- Melia Bowie covers the city of New Port Richey. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6229, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6229. Her e-mail address is bowie@sptimes.com
