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'Green' school? Not to county

The charter school is cited for clear-cutting trees .

By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK
Published October 21, 2006

TAMPA - Learning Gate Community School, an A-rated charter school in Lutz, markets itself as ecologically friendly.

The school's Web site says it aims to foster "the environmental purity of Rachel Carson."

This week, Hillsborough County cited the school for a second time in a month for clear-cutting cherry, oak and laurel trees and removing ground cover without permits. The violations became part of a Friday hearing over Learning Gate's request to add classrooms and students.

Neighbor Greg Hofschneider, who does not want to see the 360-student school grow in his neighborhood, reported the violations. He wants landowner and school principal Patti Girard to practice what she preaches.

Girard said she did not know she had removed any protected trees. The school cleared some unsightly citrus trees and tangles of potato vines and grapevines, she said, with plans to replace them with unpaved parking for cars that otherwise line the narrow, two-lane road outside the school.

Learning Gate had warning.

County natural resources reviewers wrote in July that the school property had several "significantly mature trees" that warranted "every effort to minimize their removal." They encouraged Girard to consult with the county staff.

Tipped off by Hofschneider, investigators visited the school Oct. 7 to find four oak, four black cherry and 12 cherry laurel trees cut down to stumps, along with several citrus trees and a "large amount" of brush. They told Girard to stop.

They got another call Thursday. Unpermitted brush removal had begun again, investigator Arnaldo Cintron reported. He issued a cease-and-desist order on the spot.

Cintron forwarded the matter to code enforcement and said Girard will have to put together a tree restoration plan.

[Last modified October 21, 2006, 00:43:31]