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Suit follows Oldsmar's rejection of plan

Bay Arbor Place alleges that the City Council disapproved its plan only because it would not provide a new traffic signal.

By TAMARA EL-KHOURY
Published March 28, 2006

OLDSMAR - The developer whose multiuse project on Tampa Road was rejected by the City Council last month has asked a judge to reverse the council's decision.

"We filed suit to have a court review what the city did," said Tim Johnson, an attorney for Bay Arbor Place LLC. "We believe when the court does that, the court will find the city acted illegally and should approve the plan."

The 13-page suit was filed in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court and says the council denied the site plan without justification. City Attorney Tom Trask said Monday that he had not seen the suit and could not comment. Trask said he will wait for a judge to order the city to answer the suit.

Four council members voted last month to reject the plan after a heated meeting attended by 150 Bay Arbor residents who demanded that the city not approve the development without ensuring that a traffic light was installed. Mayor Jerry Beverland missed the meeting because of a back injury.

In its suit, Bay Arbor Place contends that city staffers had determined that the site plan met all of the requirements of Oldsmar's land development code and that the council's decision denied the developer due process of law.

"Vocal opposition is not evidence and is simply not a proper ground on which to impose an unreasonable, arbitrary ruling, such as denying the approval of a site plan that does not provide for a traffic light at an intersection," Bay Arbor Place's suit says.

The site plan for the development, proposed for the former Cox Lumber site, showed entrances on both Tampa Road and Bay Arbor Boulevard. The suit contends that in July, the council approved a site plan included with a conditional use application for the project. That plan showed an entrance on Bay Arbor.

At the City Council's Feb. 21 meeting, Bay Arbor residents showed up en masse to say that they liked the 66,418-square-foot development, which would have included restaurant space, two banks, office space and shops.

But they said they were against the project unless a light was installed at Tampa Road and Bay Arbor Boulevard, the only entrance to their community of about 240 homes.

Gary Thompson, the district traffic operations engineer for the Florida Department of Transportation, said results of a traffic study didn't warrant a signal.

Residents, whose children wait at the busy intersection for the school bus, also wanted the traffic signal so the bus would turn onto Bay Arbor instead of stopping on Tampa Road.

Tony Dzielski, director of transportation for the Pinellas County School District, said the buses wouldn't turn into the subdivision unless a light was installed and the boulevard was widened to facilitate bus turns.

Before the meeting, Oldsmar staff members recommended approving the Bay Arbor site plan contingent upon several conditions. One was that a traffic study be conducted within the first six months of the development's operation. Another was that the developer widen Bay Arbor Boulevard to allow for a school bus to turn.

The site plan met all code requirements, Johnson said.

"The basis for the denial was the opposition of the Bay Arbor subdivision neighbors who wanted a traffic light," Johnson said. "That is not a legal reason."

Johnson said the developer has submitted a new site plan to the city. He said he would not drop the suit if the new plan is approved because the new plan isn't as good as the one that was denied.

"The new site plan is an effort to mitigate their damage caused by denial of the first plan, but the new plan is not as good as the one applied for," Johnson said.

[Last modified March 28, 2006, 03:01:29]