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City seeks county aid to secure park land

The Penny for Pasco money would buy about 12.5 acres to join with other Port Richey land for a nature park.

By PHIL DAVIS
Published November 10, 2005

PORT RICHEY - City Manager Jerry Calhoun is looking for county financial help to create an 80-acre nature park on the southeastern edge of the city.

Calhoun is seeking money from a nearly $4-million Penny for Pasco fund set aside for the purchase and preservation of environmentally sensitive land.

The funds would go to the purchase of a 9-acre lot at the corner of Pine Hill Road and Washington Street and about 3.5 acres owned by Unity Church of Port Richey, 5844 Pine Hill Road.

Those properties would be joined to 60 acres of wetlands already owned by the city and an additional 3.9 acres of undeveloped land promised to the city by U.S. Home, which now is building the Cotee River Townhomes development on Washington Street.

"This is such a beautiful piece of property," Calhoun told the city council Tuesday night. "It's a parklike setting already. Gorgeous oaks. All kinds of fruit trees. Beautiful palms."

Calhoun said property owner Elva Clark of New Port Richey asked government officials whether they would be interested in buying her property. Several developers also are interested in the lot, but Clark wants the government to preserve the trees, Calhoun said.

Clark could not be reached Wednesday.

Calhoun was not sure how much the two purchases would cost. According to county property records, Clark paid $440,000 for her land in 2002, before the recent boom in real estate prices.

Calhoun envisions a 3-mile hiking and biking loop that meanders through the wetlands that make up most of the 80-acre tract. He said there would be room for a sports field on the already cleared areas of Clark's 9 acres.

Calhoun said he already has spoken with New Port Richey officials about possibly connecting the proposed park's trails to nearby paths along the Pithlachascotee River. The river trails ultimately could connect to trails in Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park, a 4-mile stretch of protected wetlands on the west side of U.S 19.

"This is not a done deal by any means," Calhoun said. "I'm not sure the county will go for this."

The first step for the proposed Port Richey park is winning the approval of the county's Environmental Lands Acquisition Committee, a 11-person panel charged with screening the projects to be set aside for green space preservation. The county earmarked a quarter of its sales tax proceeds, about $36.3-million over 10 years, to buy environmentally sensitive land.

If the plan wins preliminary approval, it will undergo a scientific site review and a second committee vote, said Rene Brown, the county's environmental lands program administrator. The Pasco County Commission gets final say on which projects receive funding.

Brown said the approval process takes a minimum of three months.

[Last modified November 10, 2005, 11:40:03]