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Letter to the editor

Rural types are ready for fight

KEYSTONE Homeowners vote to hire counsel to contest county amendments.

By Rodney Thrash Times Staff Writer
Published November 2, 2007

One developer wants to build 596 homes and 175,000 square feet of commercial space even as he subtracts 268 acres from Lutz-Lake Fern Road.

Another wants to revise a long-standing policy of one house per 5 acres and make way for 174 homes and 110,000 square feet of commercial space at Van Dyke Road.

The Keystone Civic Association doesn't plan to sit back as developers petition to change the face of not just their community, but rural developments across Hillsborough.

"Those people are going to have their teams waiting to get what they want," said Tom Rafferty, a Keystone homeowner. "We should hire an attorney to look after our interests."

On Oct. 25, the association did just that. By a unanimous vote, homeowners authorized the community group to withdraw up to $5,000 from its legal defense fund. The money will help Keystone retain an attorney to contest proposed amendments to Hillsborough's comprehensive plan, a blueprint of sorts that determines where and what kind of construction is allowed.

There are 13 proposed amendments on the books next year. Four affect Keystone. One of the four - a plan that would permit public water and sewer service through rural areas and increase the density of rural developments - has implications beyond the northwest Hillsborough community. It would affect the entire county, said Barbara Dowling, recording secretary for the civic association.

Gail Parsons, a former association president, said a high-powered attorney alone won't sway government officials. People will.

"Attorneys are good," Parsons said, "but the most effective thing is turnout at public meetings."

That's what saved the wetlands division of the county's Environmental Protection Commission during the summer. Three hundred people packed County Center in August, and commissioners backed off plans to eliminate the department.

"Those commissioners had to listen to the public," Parsons said.

Dowling urged homeowners who can't make the trip to write letters before the planning commission discusses the amendments at a public hearing Jan. 14.

Rodney Thrash can be reached at 813 269-5303 or rthrash@sptimes.com.

Fast facts:

To read changes

Four plan amendments - 08-09, 08-10, 08-11 and 08-12 - could directly affect Keystone. To read them, go to theplanningcommission.org, click on Hillsborough, then Plan Amendments, and then Comprehensive Plan Amendments - First Cycle 2008.

[Last modified November 1, 2007, 06:51:05]