County plans to appeal annexation ruling

The county had objected to Brooksville's takeover of 900 acres, but a judge dismissed the challenge.

By DAN DEWITT, Times Staff Writer
Published November 7, 2007

BROOKSVILLE - A judge has ruled against Hernando County's challenge to Brooksville's annexation of nearly 900 acres east of Southern Hills Plantation.

"Basically, the judge threw them out of court," said David La Croix, the former city attorney who had argued the case.

But by late Tuesday afternoon, the two sides appeared to be headed back before a judge. The county decided to appeal the decision from Senior Circuit Judge Victor Musleh, said Assistant County Attorney Jon Jouben.

Musleh's order, issued on Oct. 31, included no reasons for his decision and no obvious reasons for a challenge. Jouben declined to comment on the basis of the appeal, which will go before the Fifth District Court of Appeal.

The City Council annexed the land in November of 2006, despite the county's objections. The county said allowing development of the property - 225 acres owned by Bell Fruit Co. and 658 acres owned by James DeMaria, owner of Blue Stone Development Corp. - would violate the county's comprehensive plan, which designated the land as rural.

The county also argued the annexation of the DeMaria property would create an illegal "enclave" of unincorporated land on Hope Hill Road surrounded by city property. Because the Bell property is not adjacent to the county - only to the DeMaria property - it cannot be annexed without annexing DeMaria's land.

La Croix, in his response to the county, said the city's possible plans for development of the property were irrelevant to the annexation issue.

The land on Hope Hill is not an enclave because it is connected to county property by a strip of land east of Hope Hill, La Croix said.

He added that the county failed to request an out-of-court resolution before suing the city, as state law requires.

"Obviously, we disagree," Jouben said of La Croix's arguments.

LandMar Group LLC, the developer of Southern Hills, has previously said it planned to develop the land east of this project. The plans would depend on DeMaria's willingness to sell his property, which he has previously said he bought as a weekend retreat and hunting ground.

Though Jim Doyle, LandMar's vice president of marketing, did not return a request for an interview about its plans on Tuesday, the Jacksonville development firm has not submitted any proposals to the city, said Bill Geiger, Brooksville's community development director.

"I think the lawsuit pretty much put everything on hold," Geiger said.

Dan DeWitt can be reached at dewitt@sptimes.com or 352 754-6116.

[Last modified November 6, 2007, 21:33:42]