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650 acres may revert to nature under plan
The county is on the verge of delivering its first promise under Penny for Pasco.
By GARRETT THEROLF
Published October 14, 2005
When Penny for Pasco backers were pushing for the 1-cent-on-the-dollar tax hike last year, they promised it would secure a future with wide open spaces where wildlife could thrive.
This week, the county moved closer to delivering the first piece of that vision.
A committee including environmental experts and ecologists voted to recommend a 650-acre property near Crews Lake as the first the County Commission could decide to enter into formal negotiations for with the parcel's owner.
Officials said the site is home to fox squirrels, sandhill cranes and wood storks. If the the pasture land is restored to a hardwood hammock terrain, it could also support deer, foxes and bobcats.
Carol Morsani, whose husband, Frank Morsani, owns the property, said Thursday, "I hate to see everything paved. You begin to think that children pretty soon are not going to know what grass looks like."
Under the deal being considered, Morsani would sell the development rights but continue to own the property and retain the ability to live on a portion of it.
The last time Morsani was in the news it was for his effort to bring major league baseball to the Tampa Bay area in the 1980s.
After the effort failed and the Devil Rays expansion franchise went instead to Vince Namoli, Morsani took up ranching on the property now under consideration. A herd of 250 cattle now graze there.
The county has not begun to determine how much it is willing to pay to ensure no development takes place on the Morsani site, but the conservation lands program is expected to collect $40-million over 10 years.
Chris Miller, environmental science professor at Saint Leo University and member of the recommending committee, said "I think it's important to start showing that your tax dollars are working. It's going to stop the sprawl. It's going to stop the traffic. It's going to provide clean air and water."
Garrett Therolf covers Pasco County government. He can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6232 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6232. His e-mail address is gtherolf@sptimes.com
[Last modified October 14, 2005, 01:40:20]
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