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Vote on mine deal is delayed

If approved, the county would get $3-million and 20 acres for a park, and give up its interests in a limestone mine that could become part of residential development.

By CHUIN-WEI YAP
Published April 26, 2006

A County Commission vote, delayed from Tuesday to May 9, could pave the way for a 2,250-acre gulf-front residential development just north of Hudson.

The vote would have sealed a settlement between the county and Sun West Acquisitions, which is emerging from a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization begun in 2003.

If commissioners agree, the deal would give Pasco $3-million and a proposed 20-acre park just east of the Old Dixie Highway, about a mile north of Hudson, next to 280 acres the county already holds west of the highway.

In exchange, the county would give up its interest in a 915-acre limestone mine to the north that Sun West operates on a county permit. Pasco had sued to keep the mine when Sun West filed for bankruptcy.

If the vote goes through, the mine - which County Attorney Robert Sumner said was "just about mined out" - would become part of 2,250 acres held by a Sun West associate, Bill Hunt, of Hudson, that surround the county property.

County officials think Hunt's property could be headed for a Development of Regional Impact application in less than a year.

Such applications are for developments of 1,999 homes or more, and typically take three to five years to clear.

Bankruptcy court papers show that Lindell Investments Inc., a Tampa real estate firm, had sought last August to buy the mine, but Sun West resisted. County Administrator John Gallagher said the site has many suitors, but Sun West and Hunt appear to be biding their time. County officials say there hasn't been any preapplication conferences on the development yet.

County records from 2003 show Sun West holding about 1,800 acres in the area. Since then, Hunt appears to have been on a buying spree, adding at least 450 acres in December, say officials in the county's Environmental Land Acquisition and Management Program.

On Tuesday, the decision to delay the vote put on hold plans for a county park that would overlook two large lakes, connected to the Gulf of Mexico by a canal. Plans for the park in the settlement agreement list a restaurant, a boat ramp, a bait-and-tackle shop. Gallagher said the park would have space for 250 boat trailers.

Gallagher said he asked to delay Tuesday's scheduled vote, to further negotiate two relatively minor details on 11/2 acres in the settlement. But Sun West's attorney could not get a reply from his clients in time.

"It's not a deal-breaker," Gallagher said.

[Last modified April 26, 2006, 01:22:18]