Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Keeping the feel of Ozona

The community seeks the status of an overlay district so it can alter policies, not zoning, to suitits needs.

By NICOLE JOHNSON
Published July 11, 2006

If the community gets its way, it will do the same for decades to come.

Ozona, west of Alt. U.S 19 and north of Curlew Road, is among the first to petition Pinellas County for a special designation that would turn preferences, such as historic building preservation and specifying the community's landscaping, into policy.

By becoming a community overlay district, Ozona residents and others in unincorporated areas of the county, would be able to outline goals for the future, such as maintaining a certain density pattern or specifying the need for more environmental preservation.

If a community chooses to become an overlay district and adheres to the requirements, it would be able to alter policy to suit its specific needs, said Brian Smith, county planning director.

Some communities, for example, may want unified streetscaping, while others may be in need of environmental protection.

"It's going to be done on a community by community basis," Smith said.

The policy move is the first of its kind for the county. Ozona and another community, at Alderman and Belcher roads in Palm Harbor, are both vying to get overlay district status in the near future.

While those communities push for overlay district status, county officials are still fine-tuning the process.

County officials say if all goes well with the Ozona and Alderman proposals, they would serve as models for other communities.

In January, spurned by increased development in the area, members of the Ozona Village Improvement Society began to outline strategies and goals to maintain the historic character of the neighborhood.

Ozona, first settled in the late 1860s under the name Yellow Bluffs, existed largely as a community for orange grove workers and fishermen. Some of the houses and shops those workers occupied are still standing.

"We were simply saying, 'We like the existing rules as they are, we like the charm of the neighborhood the way it is,' " said Peg Mahara, president of the Ozona Village Improvement Society. "And we didn't want to see that go."

In April, what became the Ozona Community Initiative was circulated to the more than 700 households in the area. More than 100 returned the initiative with comments.

The community's plan now lists more than 20 strategies, including making improvements to the Ozona Preserve, planting more canopy trees along the streets and preserving and restoring historic buildings.

"We know this is not a guarantee against development, but it will be something that residents and future homeowners can look to when it comes to the future of Ozona," said Merideth Grannan, who, along with Terry Fortner, drafted the initiative.

While an overlay designation outlines various preferences, it does not change zoning classifications on the county's land-use plan. If an area is zoned for multifamily use, it stays that way. But the overlay can, however, help prevent density from being increased.

Residents pushing for the proposed Alderman Road overlay want to use the policy to maintain the rural character of their area.

Earlier this year, residents spoke out against a proposed zoning request that would have increased density on 10 acres at the southwest corner of Belcher and Alderman roads from one unit every 2 acres to five units an acre. The plan failed. Developers are now reassessing and plan to present another project, said land use attorney Tim Johnson, who is representing landowners Louis Kwall and Bob Carroll, who want to develop the land.

Officials say the county's decision to institute overlay options is the result of a built-out county facing increased development pressure, said County Commissioner Susan Latvala.

"They want a level of protection," she said.

The process by which a community can become an overlay district is still being decided. The county will take up the matter this month.

Generally, a majority of the community must draw up its own plans and formally present them to the County Commission. A majority of property owners affected would have to agree with the proposal.

A public hearing would then be held and county administrators would review the proposal before the commission takes a final vote.

The Ozona and Alderman overlay district requests will be likely decided in December.

"It's not a guarantee," Smith said. "But it is a further policy statement, that we're going to try and keep the area stable."

Nicole Johnson can be reached at njohn son@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4162.

[Last modified July 11, 2006, 07:19:15]