Homeowners near a proposed development know they can't stop progress but they want to control it.
By STEPHEN HEGARTY, Times Staff Writer
Published July 15, 2005
DADE CITY - The view from LeHeup Hill along Fort King Road is impressive any day, with the green valley, citrus groveland and Buddy Lake down below.
On an exceptionally clear day, neighbors who live near the crest of LeHeup (elevation 225 feet above sea level) say, they can see downtown Tampa - if they stand up on the roof and squint.
Those same hilltop landowners can peer across the valley and see urbanization and development marching northward and eastward. They fear it's coming their way.
Many of the homeowners are protesting a proposal to develop 965 acres of groveland east of Handcart Road and a bit west of Fort King Road.
"We don't want to be unrealistic; we know it's going to be developed eventually," said Jonathan Blake, who grew up in a home on LeHeup Hill. "But we want to see that whatever comes makes sense for the area.
"What they're proposing doesn't make sense for the area," Blake said.
Today, the county's Development Review Committee will consider several proposed amendments to Pasco's Comprehensive Land Use Plan, the document that determines what kind of development is appropriate in areas of the county. Among them is a proposal by Evans Properties Inc. to change the land use plan to allow more than 3,500 homes, or up to three homes per acre, along Handcart Road. The land is zoned agricultural, allowing one home per 10 acres.
County staff members are recommending denial, contending that area roads, utilities and schools couldn't handle the load.
The nature of the debate over the Evans property is one of the biggest challenges facing Pasco County as development creeps into what had been sleepy rural communities.
"Landowners are trying to maximize their investment," said Sam Steffey, Pasco's growth management administrator. "Then you have people who say, "We want to protect our lifestyle' and "We don't want it to look like west Pasco County.' We have to weigh all that."
The fact is, large swaths of rural Pasco land that had been valuable to citrus farmers and ranchers are now worth a lot more to developers. Much of the land lies between highly developed areas such as Land O'Lakes and Wesley Chapel and traditional rural areas outside Gowers Corner, San Antonio and Dade City.
The Evans property off Handcart Road fits that description. It lies between the fast-developing Curley Road corridor and still-quiet northeast Pasco. The once fertile citrus trees on the property are ailing. Development is inevitable.
"It is an unprofitable business to be in," said Craig Linton, vice president of Evans Properties, speaking of the citrus industry. "If disease doesn't get the trees, and if the world markets don't get you, development probably will."
The Evans family, Linton said, have been good neighbors for going on half a century and will continue to be. In fact, Linton said, Evans Properties is planning to scale back its development plans to 1.7 homes per acre, not the three homes per acre detailed in their request.
The property was owned by J. Emmett Evans of Dade City, the unpretentious citrus magnate who once was one of America's richest men. Evans died in 1996 and his old citrus grove land is controlled by Evans Properties.
The development would include two parcels, one on either side of Handcart Road. The easternmost portion would utterly transform the view from Frank and Patty Richter's home along Fort King Road.
From the table under the shade tree in their side yard, the Richters can look down on rolling hills, a lake and a valley. LeHeup Hill is one of Pasco's highest points. It is no Mount Everest - which stands roughly 28,810 feet taller - but it offers a rare topographical vista for flat Pasco County.
The Richters fear the proposed development would leave them with a view of thousands of rooftops.
"We moved here to live in the country," said Patty Richter. "We're not against growth. We know it's coming. It just needs to be controlled."
The Richters, the Blakes and other neighbors plan to attend today's meeting to attempt to limit or control the development. They are unimpressed by the prospect that the march of development into their community will boost their property values.
"If we were just interested in making money off our property," said Wilbur Dew, who was born and raised in a house on LeHeup Hill, "we wouldn't still be here."
