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Letter to the editor

Today's Letters: Preserve meeting has telling details

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published June 6, 2007

County hears options for ballfields May 23, story

I wish to thank St. Petersburg Times staff writer Theresa Blackwell for her concise reporting of the May 22 County Commission meeting regarding the fate of Brooker Creek Preserve. It was heartening to see a packed room of residents who sacrificed a work day to be heard and support the rightful future of the preserve.

There were some telling reactions to offers and alternative solutions. First off, Commissioner Susan Latvala's dismissal of Tarpon Springs Mayor Beverley Billiris' offer of land for the ballfields. Apparently, 3 miles is too far to travel for those soccer-starved kids from East Lake.

I also found it odd that there was any discussion with regard to the water blending plant, considering it appears to be a foregone conclusion that this facility is being built on preserve land. It is already shown on the county Web site!

And while I don't care if there's a soccer field for every child in East Lake, the county can't afford to lose more natural resources to meet that end. I take issue with the last speaker at the commission meeting who damned all pro-Brooker preservationists because we didn't appear to be inclined to bear audible witness to the decibel-breaking, teeth-grinding screech of children at play. Odd but true, there is a segment of the human population that is not a parent or grandparent. It is not remotely pleasurable, delightful, or even entertaining to be subjected to that noise.

Kathleen Finnerty, Largo Brooker Creek

Let's keep pristine land

Land was set aside for a preserve at Brooker Creek. This decision was official, and we citizens expected it to be binding. Any action that changes the preserve changes the spirit of the meaning "preserve" and is not the desire or the intention, nor does it have the approval, of us citizens.

Greed and corruption have depleted our natural resources. Inappropriate use of natural resources has caused the extinction of plants and animals. When will we stop?

Years from now, do our county commissioners want to be known as the persons responsible for the loss of this preserve by beginning to allow the preserve to be used for other purposes? Are they going to be the example for destruction or the example for preservation?

Now is the time to stop all destruction of pristine land. Now is the time to curtail development.

Do we really need that golf course (condominium, new mall, bridge, etc.), or does someone just want to sell some land for a good price? Who benefits? The few or the many? If many, then allow it. If only a few, preserve it for the future of all life currently using it.

Should we rebuild on land that has to be replenished after a natural process such as a storm? Let's get smart and stop the destruction of the land and start conservation of all natural resources.

Susan E. Tanner, Seminole

Support, with conditions

This letter is in support of the proposed Tropicana Center development, given the understanding that it meets code and no variance is given for floor area ratio. Additionally, it would be highly desirable that the project meet the pending new land development regulations. The application for this project will be presented to the City Environmental Development Commission today. St. Petersburg Preservation agrees that this building could greatly add to the economic vitality of our downtown core, assuming the infrastructure is in place to sustain it.

This project is not the same as the Westin Hotel project recently proposed for Fifth Avenue N on the edge of the North Shore National Historic District, which St. Petersburg Preservation opposed. That project did not meet the zoning code requirement that development projects harmonize and fit the character of adjacent development, and it did not meet requirements of the Comprehensive Plan relating to historic districts.

It is lamentable, however, that we will lose another historic building as a result of the Tropicana Center project. The Tropicana Office Building on this site was originally called the Floronton Hotel. Built in 1910, this building was the city's first masonry hotel. During World War II it served as the headquarters of the Army Air Forces Technical Training Command. It is a contributing structure to the Downtown National Historic District.

While on balance St. Petersburg Preservation agrees that the merits of the proposed development outweigh the merits of retaining this particular historic asset, we have asked that the city stipulate as a part of the application approval that the building be professionally surveyed so that its history will be fully documented for future generations, and that suitable information about the building's contribution to our city's history be displayed on site. We have also asked that the building not be demolished until the applicant has submitted complete permit applications and drawings and provided evidence of sufficient financing to move forward with the project. Attention needs to be given as well to the manner of construction so as not to destabilize nearby historic structures such as St. Petersburg's most historic building, the Detroit Hotel.

Will Michaels , president, St. Petersburg Preservation, St. Petersburg

Start a deposit program

After going for my last walk before going north to Maine, I picked up several plastic water bottles, four beer cans and half a dozen soft-drink bottles. Drivers throw them out of their cars after they're empty. I guess that's the way of life in Florida: Somebody else will pick them up.

What Florida needs is a deposit program. When a six-pack of Coke is purchased, add 30 cents. The money will be reimbursed at a redemption center. If you turn in 200 bottles or cans, you get $10 back. It works in Maine, Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts and New York. The streets would be a lot cleaner - except for the cigarette butts.

Larry Zwart, Dunedin

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[Last modified June 5, 2007, 22:23:17]