Pinellas County commissioners decided Tuesday that putting houses near the county's landfill is not a good idea.
By a 5-2 vote, commissioners approved an ordinance essentially creating a 2,000-foot separation between the landfill near the Gateway area of St. Petersburg and any future apartments or homes.
The decision comes after the city of St. Petersburg asked the county to change the rules for building on industrial land.
Developer Grady Pridgen lobbied for the change because of his plans to build homes near the county landfill. He had sought a buffer of less than 1,000 feet.
Pridgen has not formally submitted plans for a development that could include manufacturing buildings, offices, parking garages, restaurants, shops, condominiums and apartments.
But the passage of the ordinance makes his work significantly more difficult, he said.
Under the new rules, the county will let a developer ask for a variance, or relaxation of an existing rule. The commission then could reduce the buffer zone.
Pridgen will go forward with his plans to develop the property, but said each day of delay costs him hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"I wish they had not voted on it," said Pridgen. "The normal process is six months; this is going to take two years."
County attorneys said Tuesday's action seeks to protect the landfill from residential encroachment and prevent the purchase of a home close to vacant land that one day may be filled with trash.
Several homes in the Lakes community are within 280 feet of the landfill, and some owners said they don't mind that.
Commissioners Calvin Harris and Kenneth Welch voted against the measure, which affects only new residences.
"If everybody else is grandfathered in, then the ordinance is written for one piece of property. ... What difference does it make?" said Harris.
