Builder's pal may face test

A commission candidate says he would be impartial about a friend's landfill proposal.

By CHUIN-WEI YAP, Times Staff Writer
Published January 13, 2008

ST. LEO - John Nicolette wants to be a county commissioner.

He surprised quite a few people when he declared his candidacy in November, not the least of whom was Ted Schrader, the commission chairman Nicolette is challenging.

They were friends before. Nicolette, a developer and firefighter who's also the son-in-law of County Attorney Robert Sumner, gave $500 to Schrader's 2004 campaign. But he didn't tell Schrader about his change of heart last November.

If he is elected to replace Schrader this year, Nicolette could face an early test of his independence, when the issue of the Iafrate family's proposed landfill comes up for a commission vote.

The Iafrates are behind Angelo's Aggregate Materials, the company that's pushing to dig a sprawling landfill just east of Dade City.

On the other side of town, the same family has plans to develop hundreds of homes, a downtown village center, stores and offices on 200 acres at State Road 52 and Prospect Road.

This is where Nicolette's relationship with the Iafrates began, more than three years ago.

He said he played middleman when the Iafrates bought the property on Happy Hill from Tom Rankin, former chief executive of Lykes Energy Inc.

The relationship didn't appear to end with the sale.

Last year, Nicolette accompanied the Iafrates to at least two meetings with St. Leo officials to discuss the development plan. Nicolette had also discussed with a neighbor of the Iafrate property the need to rezone the property for development purposes.

While Nicolette said he considers the Iafrates friends, he said he hasn't taken a position on the landfill yet. He said he would be fair if he had to vote on it.

* * *

The Iafrates' proposed landfill could eventually cover 1,000 acres. The state Department of Environmental Protection is still evaluating it.

The plan has drawn intense public opposition and criticism from state senators.

When a vote comes up, the commission's decision will have to balance these factors with environmental sensitivities, the business climate, what to do with Pasco's waste-to-energy incinerator, and whether the environmentally sensitive garbage disposal business should stay in public or private hands.

The Iafrates' 200-acre purchase west of the city, on the outskirts of St. Leo, isn't quite so controversial.

But it has a much messier jurisdiction issue.

About 20 acres of the property lie within St. Leo's town lines. The rest are in unincorporated Pasco.

It also happens to be prime real estate.

Just before the Iafrates bought it, state and county officials had publicized plans to realign Clinton Avenue. The new road - an alternate route connecting SR 52 to U.S. 301 - would cut right through the Iafrate property, creating a natural internal thoroughfare for any future development.

On May 22, 2007, Nicolette accompanied Dominic Iafrate - son of Angelo Iafrate, the namesake of Angelo's Aggregate Materials - and Iafrate's planner, Thomas Levin, to a meeting with St. Leo Mayor James Hallett and Town Clerk Joan Miller.

Hallett said the group presented a layout of their plans.

It showed 750 homes, 300,000 square feet of stores and 100,000 square feet of offices. There would be about four homes an acre, radiating from a lakeside downtown at SR 52 and Prospect Road, into layered districts of apartments, townhouses, a park and recreation center, and single-family homes.

Dominic Iafrate said Friday he modeled the plan on the Disney-developed community Celebration, focusing on creating a pedestrian- and environmentally friendly development that maintains the property's hilly terrain.

"It was certainly elaborate and professionally done," Hallett said Monday. "We talked about the various elevations and positive use of topography. My impression was it was something I found attractive and interesting."

The Iafrates broached the prospect of having the entire property drawn within St. Leo's town limits. St. Leo officials were just as keen to clean up the jurisdiction issue.

"I have stated that my position is preferring all or nothing within the town limits, just to keep it simple," Hallett said.

On June 11, Nicolette and the Iafrates were at the St. Leo town commission where Sumner briefed commissioners on their annexation options.

On Dec. 10, the Iafrates and their lawyer John Wendell put the plan for a "village hub" before the St. Leo town commission, where they raised the annexation question again.

"Commissioners agreed that for these purposes, it would be best if all of the land be either entirely in or entirely outside of town limits," according to the minutes of the meeting.

* * *

Nicolette wasn't exactly a silent partner in all this.

About 11/2 years ago, Janis Klingle said, Nicolette approached her to discuss the property.

Klingle is St. Leo's mayor pro tem and also a resident of the Shakespeare Trail community, next door to the Iafrates' 200 acres.

"He came and talked about rezoning it from agricultural," she said. "This was right after the Iafrates bought the property."

It was also roughly this time that Schrader heard about the deal from Nicolette.

"He told me that he represented them the Iafrates in the real estate sale and that in lieu of the real estate commission, he would get some financial stake in it after the sale," Schrader said.

Iafrate said Nicolette's involvement ended with the land sale.

But why then did Nicolette accompany Iafrate to meetings last year to discuss the development plans with St. Leo officials?

"You're going to have ask John," Iafrate said. "I didn't ask him to be there."

Nicolette didn't return a call for comment Friday.

Sumner, his father-in-law, also said Nicolette only brokered the sale and got a commission. When asked why Nicolette attended meetings on the development even after the sale, Sumner said, "I have absolutely no idea."

* * *

On Thursday, Nicolette told a reporter he no longer has business ties with the Iafrates.

"My strings are cut," he said.

On Tuesday, he attended a County Commission meeting. He said he was there in honor of his father-in-law's last commission session as County Attorney. Sumner is due to retire Jan. 18.

The Iafrate property was on the County Commission agenda that day.

Commissioners eventually voted to exclude the property from Pasco's 50-year vision plan for the Pasadena Hills area, which sets out a series of village centers spread over 22,000 sparsely populated acres of east and central Pasco.

The Iafrates may be ready to make a formal annexation proposal to St. Leo as early as February, Hallett said.

Iafrate said he is going full steam ahead with the development plans.

"We are so prepared to pursue that plan," Iafrate said. "We think it's the best thing to put there."

Times staff writer David DeCamp contributed to this report. Chuin-Wei Yap can be reached at cyap@sptimes.com or (813) 909-4613.

[Last modified January 12, 2008, 20:22:36]