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Builders retract Menorah Manor plan

Residents near the proposed site campaigned in full force to oppose the building of the assisted living facility.

By NICOLE JOHNSON
Published September 13, 2005

PALM HARBOR - Plans to build an assisted living facility on the west side of Belcher Road have been put on hold after sparking neighborhood opposition.

Residents in nearby neighborhoods started a petition drive against the proposal and came to speak out against the plans at a zoning meeting earlier this month.

Residents in West Lake Village collected about 325 signatures and those in Independent Square had more than 100 signatures, said Jim Nelson, 37, an area resident.

"If this is approved, it opens the floodgates to other projects that don't fit in a family-oriented residential neighborhood," Nelson said at the meeting.

Developers had proposed the project on the west side of Belcher Road, about 750 feet south of Nebraska Avenue. To build the facility, developers needed to rezone the land from its current agriculture and single family residential use to an institutional zoning.

That zoning request was pulled from the docket on Monday, said Ed Armstrong, a land use attorney for Menorah Manor.

Residents' concerns were only part of the reason for the withdrawal, Menorah Manor spokeswoman Judy Ludin said.

"We're still planning the project. We will be resubmitting our application," she said. "We'll be meeting with residents to discuss the services we offer, exploring different design options and we're also waiting to see the effects Katrina will have on construction cost."

Developers of Menorah Manor had not met with residents prior to submitting the rezoning request.

Plans called for two three-story buildings with 80 units in each building on almost 8 acres of land. The facility was designed to offer apartment-style living to the elderly, but with help provided for things like taking medication and preparing meals.

"There's a tremendous need for these kinds of services in that part of the county," Ludin said. "I really feel once people understand what types of services we'll be offering, there won't be that type of opposition."

But residents like Nelson said the staff and services that come along with the facility wouldn't mesh well with the surrounding neighborhood.

"You're going to have ambulances and all sorts of traffic added to an already very congested intersection," said Nelson, who owns a construction company.

It would have been the area's second Menorah Manor. The first location, built 20 years ago, is on 59th Street in St. Petersburg. The facility offers 24-hour assistance to about 180 patients in its medical wing. The assisted living residence wing has about 20.

It's not the first time residents near Belcher Road put the brakes on rezoning they deemed inappropriate for their neighborhood.

In June, Waterbridge LLC wanted to rezone 3.6 acres around the New Horizon Day School on Nebraska Avenue for office use. The proposed development would have been 35 feet high.

After considerable opposition from residents, developers withdrew the request.

[Last modified September 13, 2005, 01:45:22]