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Moratorium proposal dies, but not quietly

Mobile home owners who wanted delay, discussion and a vote on development are upset.

By ANNE LINDBERG
Published June 11, 2006

SEMINOLE - It's official: There will be no moratorium on development in Seminole.

The idea was so unpopular with the council that, late in last Tuesday's discussion, it was referred to as the "M" word. The council's decision was based largely on legal advice that warned such a move could subject the city to lawsuits brought by angry developers.

Mobile home owners had asked the council months ago to consider passing a development moratorium. The hope was that it would halt or at least slow down the redevelopment of mobile home parks in the city.

The idea had no traction with council members until they saw some proposed designs for other development in the city. The futuristic style of one building - reminiscent of something from The Jetsons cartoon - had council members worried that they needed to get a handle on design standards before the city lost the identity they are hoping to create. A moratorium, some thought, might give the city enough time to establish design standards to help create an identifiable "Seminole style."

But until last Tuesday's workshop, the idea was not seriously discussed.

In allowing the idea to die, council members heeded the advice of city attorney John Elias and attorney Robert Lincoln, who was brought in to advise them on development issues. The problem with a moratorium, according to the two legal experts, is that it would be unfairly directed at one group of people - developers - and would unfairly attempt to limit what they can legally do with their property.

Lincoln also argued that a moratorium would neither prevent nor delay the sales of mobile home parks and the expulsion of homeowners from those properties.

Calling it an "extreme" land development tool, Elias said, "If you pass a moratorium, I am almost certain you will subject the city to (litigation). I have to recommend as your city attorney against the passage of a moratorium."

The decision did not sit well with the roughly 200 people in the audience, most of whom were residents of Bay Pines or Harbor Lights Mobile Home parks, located at the city's extreme southern end.

Bay Pines was sold recently and residents have been told they have six months to vacate. Harbor Lights has an offer on the table. Mobile home owners there are trying to decide how to respond.

But there was no doubt about their response last Tuesday after the workshop ended.

Harbor Lights resident Ann Hitchcock asked, "What the hell did we get out of this? We're still going to be thrown out of our homes. I want to know where the affordable housing is."

Several mobile home owners cornered Vice Mayor Dan Hester to fuss at him about some of his comments. Leo Plenski, head of the Bay Pines Homeowners Association, promised Hester mobile home owners would vote him out of office during the next election.

The workshop had been called to hear a report from council members who had attended an affordable housing seminar in Tempe, Ariz. What they heard was dismaying and disappointing.

Mayor Dottie Reeder said housing prices have increased between 30 percent to 60 percent and salaries have not kept pace. Those factors make it impossible for seniors and others on low or fixed incomes to live. They also make it impossible for most workers to find suitable housing in Pinellas County. That means some people move farther away and end up paying more for the commute with the rising gas prices.

"It becomes a rolling ball going faster and faster. It starts with housing," Reeder said.

Council member Jimmy Johnson agreed, "Houses cost too much and people make too little ...When we left there, there (was) still not a solution to the problem.

Council member Pat Hartstein also expressed frustration and disappointment with the trip to Tempe.

"I went there seeking solutions and all I heard (is that) across the board there is trouble with housing," Hartstein said. "I felt like I got a lot of information but not the information I was seeking."

The solution, if there is one, lies in density, they said. Increasing the number of people who are allowed to live on a plot of land brings down the overall cost.

But the trick to that, Reeder said, is making dense housing look as if it is not dense housing. That can be done, she said, and that's what Seminole needs to remember as it develops design rules and standards.

[Last modified June 11, 2006, 08:26:12]