Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Growth battle broadens

By CRISTINA SILVA
Published January 3, 2007

A local antidevelopment group that led a campaign during last year's elections is protesting Gov. Charlie Crist's decision to name a prominent Tallahassee land development lawyer as head of the state's land planning agency.

Citizens for Responsible Growth, a political action committee created by residents opposed to the City Commission's plan to redevelop St. Pete Beach, has started a letter-writing campaign to protest Crist's selection of Tom Pelham as secretary of the Department of Community Affairs, an agency Pelham ran in the late 1980s under then-Gov. Bob Martinez.

CRG members argue that as a land development attorney, Pelham is too closely tied to developers to oversee growth management objectively. Pelham recently represented St. Pete Beach in a lawsuit against several CRG founders. The lawsuit was over a proposed referendum vote on changing the city's charter to give voters more say on development.

Pelham, who was seen as a strong opponent to urban sprawl when he headed the DCA, said he was simply defending his clients and that the lawsuit would have no impact on his future job responsibilities.

"The Department of Community Affairs has nothing to do with what happens at the local level of a community with residents," he said.

In court, Pelham argued that the referendum questions were poorly written, which would make it hard for voters to understand what they were deciding.

Linda Chaney, a founder of CRG who was also named in the city's lawsuit, sent an e-mail to hundreds of St. Pete Beach residents urging them to protest the appointment by sending letters to Crist's office. So far, the group has sent 30 letters, she said.

"I have been in court with him numerous times and the man cannot clearly review growth management issues in my opinion," she said. "Growth management, insurance and taxes are the top three issues in the state of Florida, and they need to be approached with extreme caution and planning. And someone like Tom Pelham does not fit the bill."

At a news conference last week, Crist stood by his decision and defended Pelham's handling of the St. Pete Beach lawsuit.

"What he said to me when I asked him about it was that he was doing his job as an attorney, trying to work well and hard for a client," he said. "But he understands who his client is now, and it's the people of the state of Florida and he'll serve them well. He did before, and he will again."

In his time in government, Pelham was seen as a strict defender of the 1985 Growth Management Act, which prohibited overdevelopment. He even once threatened to place a moratorium on construction along U.S. 19 in Pasco County.

But in recent years, his critics have argued that he has used his law career to defend the same overdevelopment he criticized as DCA's head.

In 2004, Pelham represented Steve Samaha, a Tampa developer who was sued by Palm Harbor residents for a plan to build 35 condominium buildings and a high-rise on a golf course at the Westin Innisbrook Golf Resort. The residents argued that the course was already overbuilt, but the project was approved by the Pinellas Planning Council.

In 2005, he represented developers hoping to build a 1.3-million-square-foot mall in Land O'Lakes. Regulators with DCA first said the project would be too detrimental to the environment before eventually giving their consent. The mall was finished in November.

[Last modified January 2, 2007, 21:20:47]