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Zoning

Neighbors win battle against Feed Depot

By ANDREW MEACHAM
Published October 7, 2005

DOVER - Neighbors triumphed over a proposed feed store on McIntosh Road, which was unanimously rejected Sept. 27 by the County Commission.

Residents near a planned Feed Depot about one-half mile north of Interstate 4 argued against it, saying the store did not fit in a residential area. The store sought rezoning from residential status to planned development as an agricultural support business.

As the proposal made its way to the zoning hearing master and then the Planning Commission, which both recommended approval, 80 neighbors signed a petition to stop it from going forward. The stage was set late last month for the County Commission to hear the request.

Linda Pearson, half of the design team representing owner Michael Vincent, told commissioners that Feed Depot would sell lawn and garden supplies, animal health products and other items found at any feed store. The store would have a pitched roof and rocking chairs on a front porch, where a nearby canopy would shield exiting passengers from rain and wind.

Especially, Pearson said, the store would blend with what she called the "rural character" of the surrounding area.

By calling it an agricultural resource, developers sought to align the feed store with the county's comprehensive plan, which allows for agricultural support businesses in residential areas.

Opponents portrayed the Feed Depot as a retail store no different from Wal-Mart, just one that happens to sell farm supplies along with gardening tools, hardware and "shopper's goods."

Neighbors said the 7,500-square-foot store plus parking would increase flooding and traffic, citing an adjacent S-curve on McIntosh as a special hazard.

Commissioner Ken Hagan said that the sharp corner could inhibit driver visibility to and from the site and urged his colleagues to vote down a large commercial structure.

Commissioner Ronda Storms agreed, saying a feed store would turn a residential street into a truck route.

As for county planners who studied the proposal and recommended approval, Storms said, "We are not obligated to follow the recommendations of professional staff."

Consultant Richard Diaz, Pearson's partner, called the result disappointing.

"You have two choices," Diaz said. "You can walk away to the nearest bar and wallow in how arbitrary and capricious our government officials are, or you can file a lawsuit to appeal their decision."

That would be Vincent's call to make.

Diaz called the infamous S-curve that threatens safety a piece of "disinformation."

Vincent was prepared to remove all brush that could hinder visibility for drivers, whether there is a store on the site or not. He would keep the area cleared to 25 feet back from the road.

Neither of those things will happen now. Neighbors succeeded in repelling a business they did not want in their back yard. The decision has left Diaz wiser and perhaps more embittered.

"We felt the petition had merit," he said. "Commissioners should weigh more heavily the recommendations of their own staff than they do."

Hearings of county zoning hearing masters and land-use hearing officers, and land use meetings of the County Commission are held on the second floor of the County Center, 601 E Kennedy Blvd. All hearings before a zoning hearing master begin at 6 p.m. on Mondays or Tuesdays; commission meetings begin at 9 a.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. Both are televised on government access channels. Land use hearing officer hearings, which are not televised, begin at 9 a.m. every third Friday. Basic information about each petition is available online at http://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/pgm/zoning For information, call 276-5920.

[Last modified October 6, 2005, 08:26:07]