Hernando says no to strip mall near spring

Residents of an RV resort near Bobhill Springs persuaded commissioners to protect the area.

By DAN DeWITT, Times Staff Writer
Published January 10, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - The stickers on the chests of more than 100 residents Wednesday asked County Commissioners to save a natural feature most Hernando residents probably don't even know exists: Bobhill Springs.

The spring, a few hundred yards west of U.S. 19, is the centerpiece of the Holiday Springs Travel RV Resort, they said. Allowing a Tarpon Springs developer, Jallo Enterprises, to build a strip mall on an adjacent 13-acre parcel would destroy the spring and the peaceful atmosphere of the resort.

"It's a jewel in the crown of Hernando County," said Maggie Wood, who lives at Holiday Springs.

The commission sided with her and the other residents of the resort who crowded into the meeting chambers, voting 4-1 to deny a rezoning for the strip mall. Commissioner David Russell voted against the motion to deny the rezoning.

Robert Williams, the Tampa lawyer representing Jallo, said two lots on the 13 acres had been previously zoned for commercial use and the county's comprehensive plan allowed for strip commercial development on U.S. 19.

Both the planning staff and the county's Planning and Zoning Commission had recommended approval of the proposed 50,000-square-foot shopping area.

Williams also said the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the state Department of Transportation would ensure that Jallo protected wetlands on the property.

Rosanne Clementi, a wetland scientist hired by the owners of Holiday Springs, disagreed. The commercial zoning would allow uses such as automotive repair that could easily contaminate the wetlands or the spring.

A lawyer for Holiday Springs, Deborah L. Martohue, said the road the developer planned to use to access the strip mall was private, and the deed forbid it to be used for public access. Also, the comprehensive plan calls for a transition between intense commercial use and residential and recreational areas.

That was the main concern of most of the residents who spoke.

"Right now, you don't even know U.S. 19 is there," said Wayne Garber, who bought the resort in 2002 with his brother, Lamont. The resort, with about 250 lots for RVs and manufactured homes, was built in the early 1970s.

Bobhill Spring is enclosed in a swimming hole rimmed by a concrete walkway. The water flows from there into a creek that runs through the resort. Walking trails lead through woods populated by wild turkeys, tortoises and alligators.

"Please vote no," said resident Annette Smerdon. "Please don't disturb our lives."

In other action, commissioners backed changing the county's comprehensive plan to allow Florida Crushed Stone Co. to mine about 120 acres of agricultural property south of Yontz Road, west of U.S. 98, and north of Maneke Road north of Brooksville. The company, which is owned by the Mexican cement manufacturing giant, Cemex, asked to add this property to an adjacent 226-acre parcel that it plans to begin mining for lime rock in 2010.

The commission also rezoned 27 acres to allow a shopping center at the southwest corner of the intersection of Yontz and U.S. 98. The center will be anchored by a supermarket and include about 250,000 square feet of retail space, according to the developer, Brooksville Commons LLC of Tampa.

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

[Last modified January 9, 2008, 21:39:11]