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Manatees might get neighbors

A Tampa developer plans more than 300 housing units along Three Sisters Springs.

By BARBARA BEHRENDT
Published February 13, 2007

CRYSTAL RIVER - A gated community featuring more than 300 housing units has been proposed for Crystal River's best-known undeveloped waterfront, Three Sisters Springs.

In a preliminary plan submitted to City Hall late last week, Three Sisters Springs Holdings LLC of Tampa proposes constructing 69 single-family homes and 240 multifamily units on 57 acres.

The homes would line the waterfront area, with the multifamily units fronting Lake Linda, Kings Bay Drive and Cutler Spur, according to the site plan.

The area immediately around the pristine and popular spring would be set aside as recreational space, and no homes would be built there, said Kurt Woerner, the city's director of planning and community development.

Woerner is counting on being busy in the coming weeks: On the same day that he received the plan for Three Sisters Springs, he also received a plan proposing 549 units north of Crystal River Mall.

That plan, from NCDC LLC, is part of the mall's development of regional impact. It includes a mixture of single-family and multifamily homes and apartments, Woerner said.

If the City Council approves both plans at their current density, the developments could add 1,600 residents to the city in the coming years. The current population is 3,737.

The development plan for Three Sisters Springs has been much anticipated since Tampa developer Harry C. "Hal" Flowers and related business partners purchased the property from Miami businessman Harvey Goodman for $10.5-million in March 2005.

When he gave the media a tour of the site a few days after the purchase, Flowers promised that a plan to develop it would be thoughtful and reflective of the unique jewel that the property represented.

City zoning on the property would have allowed as many as eight units per acre.

"This property is zoned for 464 units, which would be a travesty," Flowers said Monday.

He said the plan for the site "mirrors the area."

The gated community concept was important, with one main entrance into the community, so there would not be public access to the recreational area around the spring.

Flowers said the development was planned to "be very, very careful not to deviate from the rules ... we are literally following the letter of the law."

Woerner is just beginning his review to determine if the developers have submitted all of the appropriate documents required under the city's development rules.

If they have, the preliminary plat for the development could come before the city's Planning Commission as soon as March 1 for its first review by that body.

The City Council could hear a recommendation on the preliminary plat and act as soon as March 12. The final plat would also have to go through the same process with the Planning Commission and the City Council in the coming months.

Other agencies will also need to review the project, including the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Among the critical issues Woerner is reviewing on the project: whether the roads around Three Sisters Springs can handle the additional traffic.

There is no indication on the site proposal that residents would enter and leave Three Sisters Springs from Cutler Spur. That would put much of the pressure on Kings Bay Drive and especially the intersection of Cutler Spur and Kings Bay Drive, Woerner said.

That intersection is already a questionable spot because another side road, SE Second Court, dumps traffic onto Kings Bay Drive near there.

The Three Sisters Springs property had been considered for purchase and preservation by several agencies, but a deal was never struck.

The spring is known as one of the most pristine areas of Kings Bay to view manatees, although examples of people chasing, riding and feeding manatees have been filmed in the area lately.

Flowers has seen people standing on manatees in the spring.

"What we're doing there probably in the long run is going to be a good thing," because there will be more eyes watching how the manatees in the area are treated, Flowers said.

Barbara Behrendt can be reached at 564-3621 or behrendt@sptimes.com.

[Last modified February 13, 2007, 06:28:27]