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Hearing: Homes, schools, must link

To fight overcrowded classrooms, commissioners consider laws to develop what is called school concurrency.

By WILL VAN SANT
Published April 23, 2005

BROOKSVILLE - One proposal emerged as a topic for immediate attention at a growth workshop the County Commission held Friday: requiring schools to be in place to serve new development.

So-called school concurrency was one of several ideas County Commissioner Jeff Stabins offered for discussion.

Stabins also suggested requiring voter approval for developments above 500 units and that changes to the comprehensive plan, which serves as a blueprint for growth, be approved by at least four members of the five-member commission.

While those last two ideas were met with a rather cool response from those at the workshop, including board members, the public and the business community, enthusiasm for school concurrency appeared strong.

At present, the comprehensive plan allows the county to charge impact fees to developers to raise money for new school construction. However, there is no language in the plan that would allow the county to deny a zoning change or building permit to a developer if a school concurrency problem exists.

County Attorney Garth Coller said the county was doing all it could, without risking legal challenge, to ensure development helps cover the cost of school construction. But, he said, there is more that can be done.

Assistant County Attorney Kent Weissinger, who spoke after the meeting, said that state law allows local communities to deny developments that will add to school crowding. But the process is complex, he said, and only Palm Beach County has pursued true concurrency standards for schools.

Weissinger said that to achieve something similar to that in Palm Beach County, changes would have to be made to Hernando's comprehensive plan and land development regulations. Also, close collaboration between the county, Brooksville and the school district would be needed, he said.

Despite the hurdles and potential legal opposition, Stabins pointed to the severe stress development is placing on Hernando County schools and called on his fellow board members to be bold.

"We could be proactive here, and if we are challenged in court, we could be a test case," he said. "I would like to see us press this hard."

Hernando native Jake Varn, regarded as one of the state's foremost development attorneys, offered to bring in experts from his Tallahassee legal firm, Fowler White Boggs Banker, to assist the county in its school concurrency efforts.

No date for a meeting was set, but officials said it may be after the state Legislature ends its regular session May 6. In Tallahassee, development legislation is being discussed dealing with school concurrency that may make the county's effort unnecessary.

Varn offered his services free of charge.

After the meeting, County Commissioner Diane Rowden expressed skepticism. Rowden said she respected and liked Varn, but that he worked for business interests and was perhaps not the right choice to consult the county in demanding greater concessions from developers.

While Rowden expressed some worry over Varn's involvement in initial steps to develop stronger school concurrency standards in Hernando, School Board Vice Chairman Jim Malcolm voiced no misgivings when he rose to praise the board for taking some action.

"We are profoundly grateful that you are considering the needs of our district," Malcolm said. "We can't keep up. We need help."

A range of other growth related topics were discussed, from the need to lessen reliance on vehicles and promote community through high-density development to the need to expand the road network to accommodate booming traffic volumes.

The other specific proposals Stabins floated did not get the same attention as school concurrency. After the workshop, Stabins said he believed those proposals were very much alive and that he hoped they would be discussed in the future.

However, when the commissioner first raised the prospect of putting large residential developments to a voter referendum, there were audible groans, particularly from representatives of the business lobby.

"Sounds like I sucked some of the air out of the room," Stabins remarked.

One of the stated aims of the workshop, at least for Stabins, was to develop solid growth management measures the board could eventually vote on. Such measures often involve putting stricter limits into the comprehensive plan, local ordinances and county policies.

Yet many business people in the audience, including Varn, Clifford Manuel of Coastal Engineering and Len Tria, who serves as government liaison for the Greater Hernando County Chamber of Commerce, cautioned against being too strict.

"No plan is good unless it is flexible," Tria said in reference to the comprehensive plan. "This is not a static situation."

During the workshop, the issue of a growth moratorium, perhaps the most rigorous and controversial step the county could take, was treated in a rather strange way.

In early March, County Commissioner Chris Kingsley proposed a moratorium on large residential developments for a period of perhaps six months so the county could assess how to better meet infrastructure needs.

The idea was met with little enthusiasm from his colleagues then. On Friday, Kingsley and others again raised the idea of a moratorium. All agreed the growth forum was the proper arena for a full discussion.

After reaching that consensus, they promptly dropped the matter and went on to other business.

Will Van Sant can be reached at 754-6127 or vansant@sptimes.com

[Last modified April 23, 2005, 00:54:19]