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Hillsborough officials join opposition for Pasco mall

The County Commission and a state agency object to an outdoor mall at State Road 56 and Interstate 75.

By MICHAEL VAN SICKLER
Published March 22, 2005

TAMPA - Convinced that a proposed mall in Pasco County poses a threat to Tampa's drinking water, Hillsborough County commissioners voted Tuesday to side with state officials in opposing the project.

Commissioners voted 5-2 to join the Florida Department of Community Affairs in objecting to a 1.3-million square foot outdoor mall at State Road 56 and Interstate 75. The state is objecting to the project's destruction of 56 acres of wetlands. The wetlands filter into Trout and Cypress creeks, two tributaries of the Hillsborough River, where Tampa gets its drinking supply.

Commissioner Kathy Castor made the motion to intervene in the case, and commissioners Brian Blair, Tom Scott, Mark Sharpe and Ronda Storms sided with her. This means that the county will lend officials from its water management team and attorneys to provide testimony during negotiations and hearings.

"This demonstrates Hillsborough County's commitment to environmental protection," Castor said. "Whatever happens next, this vote means it will only be a better project."

A May 17 hearing in Hudson is the next scheduled meeting where DCA will seek changes to the Cypress Creek Town Center, which is about 10 miles north of Tampa's University Mall. Castor has said she worries that the new mall will hurt the older mall, but those concerns won't be made a part of the state's case.

Commissioners Ken Hagan and Jim Norman voted against joining the state. Norman said it was too late to get involved now.

"We're acting like we never knew the mall was going to be there," Norman said. "The process is now closed. We're not being consistent."

The Richard E. Jacobs Group, a Cleveland developer, plans to open the mall on 100 acres just a mile north of the Hillsborough-Pasco line. Biff Craine, an attorney representing the project, said Hillsborough's involvement means little to the mall, which is still planned to open in October 2007. He said it's likely that the case will be settled before the May 17 hearing, leaving the county with a small role.

"I'm surprised the county wants a seat at the table when nothing is going to occur," Craine said. "Politically, it makes sense what they did because it looks like they're doing something. But this doesn't do much."

But Ralf Brookes, a Cape Coral lawyer representing some Land O'Lakes residents who are protesting the mall plans, said the Tuesday vote was a major victory for environmentalists.

"I'm delighted to hear that the county is intervening," Brookes said. "As we build out the Tampa area, we need to make sure we're set back far enough from creeks and swamps and we aren't destroying the sources of the water we drink."

[Last modified March 22, 2005, 18:25:02]