Amid uproar, tide turns in wetlands protection fight

Commissioners drop a controversial plan.

By MICHAEL VAN SICKLER, Times Staff Writer
Published August 17, 2007

TAMPA - Facing a throng of 300 residents who overwhelmingly supported Hillsborough County's environmental agency, commissioners Thursday backed off plans to eliminate the agency's role in protecting wetlands.

Instead, commissioners unanimously approved a compromise that cuts five positions at the agency and speeds up the review of building projects - an olive branch to developers who say the Environmental Protection Commission takes too long to approve permits.

The vote was a victory for the EPC's executive director, Richard Garrity, who said the compromise was practical, making his agency leaner and more cost efficient without sacrificing the protection of wetlands.

"It doesn't satisfy everyone," Garrity said. "But it makes us better."

It shaves $367,000 in salaries while clarifying many rules developers must follow. It sets up an advisory committee of developers, farmers and scientists who will help shape policy and enforcement. It exempts certain small wetlands from regulation, while consolidating some agency approvals into a "one-stop" process for developers.

The compromise caps two months of mounting public pressure on four commissioners - Brian Blair, Ken Hagan, Jim Norman and Kevin White - who initially voted to eliminate the $2-million division. They also endured a withering public hearing in July during which a majority of residents criticized them. Commissioners Rose Ferlita, Al Higginbotham and Mark Sharpe opposed the move and skirted the negative e-mails and phone calls from EPC supporters that bombarded the other commissioners in recent months.

White tried to convince a skeptical crowd Thursday that he wasn't changing his mind. He made the motion in June to abolish the wetlands division, but he said he did so to spur compromise.

"I'm developer friendly and environmentally friendly," White said. "Yes, it was unpopular to make that motion. But it got us here today."

The crowd wasn't buying it. Marcella O'Steen, president of the Balm Civic Association, said White was trying to "spin" his earlier vote to avoid political embarrassment.

"You made the motion to eliminate it," O'Steen said, as many residents applauded. "Don't tell me otherwise."

According to the transcript of the June meeting, here's what happened:

"I don't know if this will go anywhere," White said. "I'd like to propose a motion that the administration move to eliminate the duties of the EPC regarding the wetland division." Hagan seconded, and only later did Norman add that before eliminating the agency, they would consider a compromise by Garrity.

Norman credited that controversial vote, and Blair, for Thursday's result.

"We never would have gotten here without those four votes and the leadership of Blair," Norman said. "It was a bold move."

Twice, Norman told the crowd that commissioners "weren't in the pockets of developers," refuting a daylong parade of allegations from residents.

Blair noted that he had "taken a lot of bullets. There's no doubt about that."

Higginbotham and several pro-development speakers vaguely mentioned a vandalism incident at Blair's home, intimating that EPC supporters were behind it.

"I'm unhappy about the reports I've heard firsthand and in the paper about the unnecessary vandalism and the targeting of your home from people who oppose your position," Higginbotham told Blair during the meeting. "I just hope if anyone here has influence and can speak to folks who advocate your cause, you can discourage that because it doesn't help."

But Blair apparently didn't tell county law enforcement about recent threats or vandalism. The last time he enlisted the help of Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies, it was to report kids pelting his Forest Hills home with eggs, said sheriff's spokeswoman Vida Morgan. But that was May 5, before the June vote to end the wetlands division.

Cam Oberting, a Seffner resident, felt compelled to clear EPC supporters from suspicion.

"I'm very sorry about the vandalism," she said. "But it's all over the county. I guarantee you nobody in this room, the environmentalists, did that to your home."

Nearly 100 residents were listed as speaking on behalf of keeping the EPC intact. Many people scheduled to speak in opposition to the EPC, such as developer David Campo and attorney Keith Bricklemyer, left early. Developer Stephen Dibbs, who campaigned against the agency for most of the year, didn't speak either.

As the consensus built during the day, the tide turned, and elimination was no longer a threat by noon. In fact, by the afternoon, most residents wanted to make no changes and form a committee recommended by former Commissioner Jan Platt.

The crowd's confidence grew, and months of frustration with the commission spilled out.

Janet Kovach of Riverview told commissioners they had lost the public trust and asked that Blair resign.

"You don't have the skill sets to sit on the commission," she said.

After such a showing, EPC supporters were disappointed that commissioners chose the compromise, which many residents say may further weaken protections by speeding development reviews.

"I don't feel like celebrating at all," O'Steen said after the meeting. "They never even considered not doing anything and instead chose to go with the compromise. This is not a victory."

Times staff writer Michael A. Mohammed contributed to this report. Michael Van Sickler can be reached at 813 226-3402 or mvansickler@sptimes.com

[Last modified August 17, 2007, 09:13:57]