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Tampa Palms church asks for land gift
By MELANIE AVE © St. Petersburg Times, published February 25, 2001 TAMPA PALMS -- In the next couple of months, the Tampa Palms taxing district will decide whether to give Grace Episcopal Church just over half an acre on a prime corner off Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. The church says the land was part of a mostly forgotten land deal. But the Tampa Palms Community Development District has no record of the deal. The church's request for the property puzzles some district officials. "Most of us are a little confused or we don't understand," said Ed Copeland, vice chairman of the Tampa Palms Community Development District's Board of Supervisors. "We're trying to figure out what the request is and so on and so forth. Why does it need to be done? And if we're supposed to do this, is it right?" The corner property has been the subject of several clashes in the past. Grace Episcopal owns about 33 acres on Amberly Drive and completed a 9,600-square-foot sanctuary there in 1997. The parcels it has requested are on adjacent property and near three easements the CDD transferred to Grace in 1996. In the next few years, the church hopes to build a larger sanctuary there and possibly a private school for children up to Grade 5. The requested land would help the church meet distance requirements for its future expansion and placement of a permanent sign off Bruce B. Downs. "They agreed several years ago to deed it to us," said the Rev. Bob Cain of Grace Episcopal. "It's fallen between the cracks." Cain said the requested land is part of a prior property deal between the Tampa Palms church and the taxing district, which transferred three corner easements to Grace in 1996. The six-tenths of an acre the church wants includes two parcels that run parallel to Bruce B. Downs and one that runs along Tampa Palms Boulevard at the main entrance to the Area 2 neighborhood. Hillsborough County property appraiser records show the assessed value of the three parcels to be $300. The transfer was forgotten until recently, when an official with Enterprise Title of Tampa Bay discovered the oversight, the church contends. But no one with the taxing district can find evidence of such an agreement. John Daugirda, assistant CDD manager, said he has researched minutes of the supervisors' meetings and can find nothing requiring the CDD to give the land to the church. And some district officials say they're not apt to hand over the land until they have more information. "What I'd like to hear from Grace is, tell me why?" said Mark Fitzpatrick, chairman of the CDD. "If they want us to give away land, there ought to be a good doggone reason other than the fact that they're just good neighbors. If they come up with a good reason why, they might get the land." According to a memo from the church to the district, Grace needs the land to meet distance requirements as part of the expansion. "It is Grace's intention to use the parcels for church benefit ... all in full compliance with community restrictions," wrote LeGrand Jones, recording secretary for Grace. Cain said the church, which has about 400 worshipers, has planned all along to build a larger sanctuary, and possibly a parish day school. "But that's well into the future," he said. The confusion surrounding the property prompted the CDD's supervisors to postpone a decision on the request two weeks ago. They are expected to consider the issue in March or April. Cain said most of the CDD's supervisors and the district's attorney have changed since the 1996 land deal between the two entities. That could be a source of the confusion, he said. Fitzpatrick, who was on the CDD board when the three easements were transferred in 1996, said he can't remember any agreement with the church, although the two entities have exchanged various parcels of land in the past. But that doesn't mean the district will refuse to hand over the land, he said. "They're going to build a building," Fitzpatrick said. "That is their land and they can build what they want there." CDD supervisor Mark Hensleigh said he'll consider the church's request, but "I'm not supporting spending any money." District officials said they have a deep interest in the corner property because of its prominent location, which makes a first impression on passers-by about Tampa Palms. The bottom line? "Show me something," Fitzpatrick said. "What's in it for the Tampa Palms community?" The church and the CDD board have disagreed in the past about landscaping costs and who should clean up a retention pond. Separately, the church sued the Tampa Palms Owners Association in 1998 over deed restrictions that prevented a vendor from selling Christmas trees in a parking lot tent. And some neighbors were angered in 1999 when they learned the church might open a private school that would enroll high school students and possibly include athletic fields. "That's what people objected to," said Asbury resident Jennifer Loktu. "It would eliminate an open, nice woodsy area. With teenagers and track, football and all that stuff, it would eliminate a ... quiet area." Loktu said she still opposes a private high school, but "I wouldn't object to the church itself expanding." - Melanie Ave can be reached at (813) 226-3473 or melanie@sptimes.com.
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