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Guest Column

Preserve is a misleading name for land

By STEVE SPRATT
Published April 23, 2007

Your editorial (Thwarted once, Spratt again wants preserve, April 15) hit an important point: I am absolutely looking for an opportunity to solve a thorny problem for this county. Thousands of children, parents and volunteers are waiting for a place to participate in organized sports in North Pinellas. Based on past assurances and agreements with the county, they are expecting the county to help them build the sports fields on land that is now designated in the Brooker Creek Preserve.

What's missing in published reports is how we arrived at this ironic situation and that without some creative solutions, we're likely to remain mired in this mess like a ball in the mud.

In 1983, Pinellas County Utilities purchased a dairy farm for future water uses, not for environmental preservation. Dairies are some of the most environmentally impacted agricultural lands. This is the area north of Keystone Road and the subject of the current dispute. Utilities then sold part of the land to parents in North Pinellas to build ball fields for their children. The parents later formed the East Lake Youth Sports Association (ELYSA), which exists today. At the time of the sale, the county assured the group it would provide additional nearby land for ball fields in the future.

In the early 1990s, the county established the Brooker Creek Preserve, which included all adjacent Utilities land in the preserve area. I was not here in the '80s and '90s and in my opinion, this move is the root cause of our current controversy. Despite the preserve designation, the potential for developing utilities purposes was understood and the promise of ball fields to ELYSA remained.

So in 2003, Utilities recommended licensing 38 acres of the land to ELYSA, and the County Commission unanimously approved this agreement. The commission also approved a water blending plant to be built on another portion of that original dairy farm tract that ultimately became designated within the preserve.

I agree that building anything in an area designated as a "preserve" sends a confusing message to our citizens. Unfortunately, those who were involved in these original decisions did not predict the dilemma we now face. Despite our best efforts thus far, including discussions with the School Board on use of their property, we've been unable to find sufficient land anywhere else in North Pinellas appropriate to meet the needs of ELYSA.

One tract that could accommodate the ball fields is the site planned for the water blending plant. Since the future of the plant is now in question and the site has been completely cleared, I see this as one option for the children and ELYSA. Instead of disturbing two locations within a designated preserve, this would use only one that is already disturbed.

I suggested that ELYSA apply for a zoning/land use change before a pending deadline of March 29. If the group had missed this deadline, it would have missed a biannual review cycle and faced a review setback of six months. This merely allows ELYSA to keep the possibility open and the commissioners a chance to consider it further.

I would ask all groups involved for patience and understanding. In upcoming work sessions, the County Commission and I are attempting to fully clarify the history, policies and conflicting intentions we have inherited.

Despite what some suggest, preservation of our natural lands is an important goal for this county and for me as administrator. I have recommended acquiring and the County Commission has approved the addition of 416 acres of green space to public ownership, including adding more than 200 acres to the Brooker Creek Preserve. However, I must do the best I can to balance the concerns and competing demands of all interests.

Steve Spratt is the Pinellas County administrator.

[Last modified April 23, 2007, 00:27:44]