Project gets a cranky okay

Despite bickering, a review committee approves a plan for the 112-acre development.

By CHUIN-WEI YAP, Times Staff Writer
Published November 30, 2007

DADE CITY - A 112-acre development proposal brought sharp words from the county's top staff planners Thursday - but a lot of it was aimed at each other, not the developer.

Bayshore-Broadway of Clearwater wanted four homes per acre for Citrus Ridge, a traditional-style project with front porches and back alleys, off St. Joe Road and 21st Street.

The county staff, led by zoning administrator Debra Zampetti, pushed to let the developer have only two homes an acre.

It took three hours and a whole lot of bickering among the Development Review Committee before it settled on three homes per acre.

County Attorney Robert Sumner scolded Zampetti.

Zampetti said the county's growth blueprint clearly puts Citrus Ridge in a special transition area that doesn't allow high-density "traditional neighborhood" styles. Sumner said the law to back that up hasn't been enacted yet.

Zampetti declared, "This is inconsistent with the spirit and intent of the comprehensive plan."

Sumner, the ranking official on interpreting the county's growth blueprint, snapped: "If the zoning department thinks it can take 'spirit and intent' and provide its own criteria, I think you're in trouble when you get to court."

Sumner disparaged the way Zampetti wrote her recommendation for 224 homes.

"I couldn't see where there was any real analysis done," he said.

Which is where Dade City officials enter the picture.

The project was floated before the City Commission last year. Bayshore wanted Dade City to include the project within its city limits. In September, city officials threw it out, saying it was too dense for the area.

Bayshore went to Pasco. So did Dade City, arguing for two homes per acre. The squabbling behind closed doors carried on for a year, before spilling out Thursday.

Backed by Dade City's top brass, neighbors packed the courthouse Thursday where the committee meets. They spoke about traffic jams on St. Joe Road and flooding in the area. Mostly, they felt Bayshore's proposal was too dense.

"Just use your mind," Carol Cruz told the committee. "It should be common sense."

Fishing for compromise, committee member Michael Nurrenbrock suggested 400 homes - a small reduction from the 450 houses that Bayshore wanted.

Nurrenbrock heard an unusual sound from the Development Review Committee: a chorus of "nays."

The brief exchange a couple hours earlier between County Administrator John Gallagher, who chairs the committee, and Dade City development director and city attorney Karla Owens, turned out to be an important one.

"What's wrong with three units per acre?" Gallagher had asked.

"I didn't say there was anything wrong with that," Owens said.

Three hours later, the planners agreed to let Bayshore have 3.2 homes per acre, but the developer would have to eliminate some smaller lots and cut a connection to Blanton Road to relieve the pressure on St. Joe Road.

Bayshore's attorney, Joel Tew, agreed to bring the conceptual plan back to the committee Jan. 24.

Didn't stop the bickering.

Chris Williams, who represents the Pasco school district on the Development Review Committee, voted against the proposal.

"Why are you voting on a non-School Board issue?" Gallagher asked.

Sumner jumped to Williams' defense. "It is a School Board matter because the development's going to generate students," Sumner said.

The squabbling went on. The matter passed.

Chuin-Wei Yap can be reached at 813909-4613 or cyap@sptimes.com.

[Last modified November 29, 2007, 22:02:53]