Neighbors blast idea to change land use

A proposal to alter the land-use designation of the south end of downtown Dade City upsets residents.

By HELEN ANNE TRAVIS, Times Staff Writer
Published September 22, 2007

DADE CITY - Another letter has ruffled the feathers of some Dade City residents.

This one did not demand an investigation of the mayor. Nor did it call for the recall of a city official.

The letter, sent Sept. 14 by City Attorney Karla Owens, informed residents at the south end of downtown near the U.S. 301 bypass that the city is considering whether to change the neighborhood's land-use designation from residential to residential/office.

If the change is approved, individual property owners within the area could apply for a zoning change that would allow them to run small businesses or bed-and-breakfast inns from their homes.

Businesses within the area would be restricted. No drive-throughs or gas stations would be allowed. The wording of the possible change states that any proposed business would have to be "sensitive to and compatible with the neighborhood context," giving city commissioners plenty of wiggle room when considering any future development within the area.

The letter invited citizens to a community meeting Sept. 17 to share their input on the proposed change.

And share they did.

Nearly all of the residents from the area begged officials to leave their neighborhood as it is.

"This is old Dade City. We want people to come and see the charm. Leave this area alone," said James Shive, who lives a little more than a block away from the area that could be affected.

"We have the whole north side of the city that is prime for business," said Tami Bentley, who owns property in the area but lives just outside it.

Most of the homes that could be affected by the change are less than a mile from downtown's shops and restaurants.

Many of the e-mails commissioners received supporting the change came from people who grew up in the city and still own property there but have since moved away.

That irked some residents.

"I don't want people who don't live in my neighborhood to make decisions for my neighborhood," Bentley said at the meeting.

One of the change's biggest proponents is Julia Schrader, who owns property in the area but lives in San Antonio. She has sent the city numerous e-mails and called officials in support of the change.

In her e-mails, Schrader, wife of Pasco County Commissioner Ted Schrader, paints a picture of neighbors walking to local restaurants and meeting at coffee shops.

Diane Heiler also wrote to the city in support of the land-use change. She grew up just outside the city limits and raised her children in a historic home on Church Avenue. She moved away 10 years ago but owns rental property in the area.

"This city is going to grow," Heiler wrote commissioners on Sept. 14. "This city needs tax income to support that growth."

But she attended the community meeting, and after she heard the outcry from residents, she changed her mind.

"I had to respect their points of view. You can't push something on someone if they really, really don't want it," she told the Times Friday.

But she still thinks that some homes in the area would make good business locations, including the one she owns next to Hibiscus Park.

"It would make a lovely little gift shop or sewing shop or art studio," she said. "It could be something of value, other than a rental house."

Two days after the meeting, Commissioner Steve Van Gorden wrote an e-mail to Schrader and other property owners stating his position against the land-use change.

"Not one property owner that resides in the designated area supports this. Everyone that spoke in favor of it lives in other parts of Pasco County or Tampa Bay," he wrote. "Thus, they will not be personally impacted by this decision."

Van Gorden added, "proceeding with this will continue to divide a city that needs to heal after a very ugly period of time in its history."

Commissioners will vote on Thursday whether to recommend to the Department of Community Affairs that the city's comprehensive plan include the land-use change.

Staff writer Molly Moorhead contributed to this report. Helen Anne Travis can be reached at 352 521-6518 or htravis@sptimes.com

[Last modified September 21, 2007, 22:20:47]