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City, county talk but a deal proves elusive

By ASJYLYN LODER
Published December 14, 2006

BROOKSVILLE - Like many a divorce, the two disillusioned parties eyed one another with skepticism and disappointment while the lawyers argued the particulars.

So went the joint meeting Tuesday night between the Hernando County Commission and the Brooksville City Council. Both sides said they would like to work together, but after nearly three hours, there had been little compromise in the intractable battle over development and annexation.

"I'm sure if we got the two attorneys to change places, they could argue this either way," new City Council member Joe Bernardini said wearily. "That's the way attorneys are."

There were four items listed on the agenda, but in the end only one question: Where does the city's right to expand end, and the county's right to control development begin?

The first issue was Majestic Oaks, a 600-home or 910-home or 999-home development on Mondon Hill Road, depending on which document you're looking at.

The city, county and developer have an agreement that calls for 600 homes plus 100,000 square feet for stores and restaurants. In the complex math of traffic impact, that roughly equals the impact of 910 homes.

So the developer has the flexibility to build more homes if it cuts the retail space, said Jake Varn, the attorney for Majestic Oaks.

Everybody agreed that's the plan. The city agrees. The county agrees. Varn agrees.

The dispute is where, exactly, that agreement ought to be written down. The city and Varn say the three-way agreement is the place to put it. The county says it should be put in the city's comprehensive plan.

The comprehensive plan currently calls for up to 999 homes and 100,000 square feet of retail.

The county suspects that either the city or Varn will later push for more density and overburden rural Mondon Hill Road, because future city councils aren't bound by the three-way agreement.

The county said it's willing to withdraw its legal challenges if the language of the three-way agreement - 600 homes and 100,000 square feet of retail - is added to Brooksville's comprehensive plan.

Varn said that if the city added the restrictions to the comprehensive plan, he might have grounds for a lawsuit.

The City Council and the County Commission voted Tuesday night to give their respective planning and legal staffs two weeks to come up with a compromise that will suit attorneys for all three sides.

"We all agree what the goals are," said new council member Lara Bradburn. "Let's just get it done."

With that impasse acknowledged and punted back to the staff, the two governing bodies turned their attention to the city's takeover of two properties totaling nearly 900 acres south of Brooksville. County commissioners had asked the City Council to hold off on that annexation until a joint planning meeting could be held, but the former City Council forged ahead.

The county filed a lawsuit challenging the annexation, arguing that it creates an "enclave" of county property trapped within the new city boundaries.

"This is more of a pocket, not an enclave," said Brooksville Mayor David Pugh.

"Well, it's possibly a pocket, but not an enclave," clarified Brooksville City Attorney David LaCroix.

Pocket or enclave, likely the courts will have to settle it, said County Attorney Garth Coller.

Bradburn agreed to work with new Commissioner David Russell to see if a compromise could be reached on that issue.

The three-hour meeting ended about 9 p.m. with all sides agreeing they will try to work together.

Staff writer Dan DeWitt contributed to this report. Asjylyn Loder can be reached at aloder@sptimes.com or 352754-6127.

[Last modified December 13, 2006, 20:56:12]