Nearby homeowners say a shoreline filling project by St. Paul's School has done damage to Allen's Creek.
By SHANNON TAN
Published April 2, 2004
LARGO - The restoration project was supposed to stem erosion along the bank of Allen's Creek.
St. Paul's School, a private school, applied for a permit from the county to stabilize the shoreline with 40 cubic yards of dirt. Instead, they ended up putting about 600 cubic yards of dirt into the creek.
Eventually, the school refiled its dredge and fill application - this time with the correct amount of dirt.
The County Commission approved the application shortly before midnight Tuesday, but asked that the site be monitored monthly over the next six months.
But residents are still upset about the amount of dirt that already went into the creek. One plans to sue the school for damages to his property.
"I've got a lot of runoff silting into my waterfront," said resident John Terry, who's hired an attorney.
Ed Armstrong, an attorney representing the school, pointed out that when the project was first designed in 1999, 40 cubic yards of fill would have been enough. Erosion over the years required more fill to create the slope, he said.
Had the school initially applied for a permit for more than 100 cubic yards of fill, neighbors would have been able to voice their objections at a hearing. Until Tuesday, they weren't given that chance.
"The damage was done before the (public) hearing," resident Larry Newton said. "The mud is in the creek now. The school should have to dredge the mud out."
Newton moved to the area in 2001 because he wanted a waterfront view. But now, he says, his view is of a "swamp."
"That dirt is just going into the water," he said. "Several times when it rained, the runoff was in there."
Residents say they no longer see the manatees and ospreys who used to visit their side of the creek.
They talk of algae swarms, clogged streamlets and sandbars.
"We have to bid goodbye to the Allen's Creek we had lived with and loved for decades," said resident Marcia Gordon, who gathered 60 signatures for a petition.
Gordon says she believes the Armorflex, a concrete mat used to reinforce the slope created by the dirt, hasn't been properly installed. She worries that during the rainy season, more dirt will flow into the creek.
And several residents say they no longer trust what the school says.
"They lied," said Newton, one of about 160 homeowners living around the creek. "They got the permit under false pretenses."
School headmaster Douglas Eveleth could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Homeowners also are rallying to fight the school's plan for a proposed 20,000-square-foot addition. Many oppose it because it would create traffic problems in the area.
A neighborhood compatibility meeting over the St. Paul's addition is scheduled for April 5.
