Foes stand up to new highway

The county deems the road a vital east-west route, but activists say it will ruin the environment.

By JAMES THORNER

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 19, 2000

LAND O'LAKES -- Activists have joined forces to squash construction of Ridge Road's extension to U.S. 41, a road that critics argue could wreck the environment and encourage overdevelopment in central Pasco County.

Two groups allied to fight the road, the Sierra Club and Citizens for Sanity, insist the $22-million, 8.6-mile highway will sever a wildlife corridor created as compensation for construction of the Suncoast Parkway.

Activists also said the road would fuel urban sprawl in a county that has already "grossly overallocated" the amount of developable land in its long-range growth plans.

"This road is going to be another killing field," Sierra Club attorney Lesley Blackner said in reference to the road's alleged threat to indigo snakes, Florida scrub jays and other animals.

County officials view Ridge Road as a needed east-west route to relieve traffic on State Roads 54 and 52.

Only by building soon can the county stay ahead of surging population projections, said deputy county engineer Bill Joyce. Environmental concerns have been addressed through the lengthy application process, he said.

"It's the right project in the right location at the right time," Joyce said.

Construction of Phase I, from Moon Lake Road to the Suncoast Parkway, is scheduled to start in September. Phase II, which would extend Ridge Road farther east to U.S. 41, could start as early as January.

Both sections of the road, slated to open in July 2002, would converge at a future interchange of the Suncoast Parkway -- the $500-million, three-county toll road scheduled to open in January.

"It's a natural connection. Ridge Road already ends at Moon Lake Road. All the extension is, is a little country road connecting Moon Lake to U.S. 41," Joyce said.

The activists dispute the "little country road" label. Phase I of the project will start with four lanes, expandable to six. Phase II will be two lanes with room for four.

The Sierra Club and Citizens for Sanity are requesting a hearing to air grievances before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

To break ground on the project, Pasco needs construction permits from both the corps and the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

Clay Colson, spokesman for Citizens for Sanity, argues the highway is an asphalt assault on the so-called Serenova Property, thousands of acres once pegged for a massive development until the state bought it as a wildlife preserve.

Although Ridge Road will include wildlife crossings in the form of underground culverts, Colson insists the crossings will be inadequate, especially when the culverts are swamped by heavy rains.

In a letter dated March 22, the Atlanta office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommended denying Pasco the permits based on unanswered questions about wetlands.

Defeating Ridge Road fits into one of Citizens for Sanity's other announced goals: slowing the suburbanization of central Pasco.

It's no secret the highway is a future lifeline to several proposed developments.

They include the Groves, an 800-home subdivision in Land O'Lakes; Indian Lake Ranch, a 1,000-home upscale development near Moon Lake; and Connerton, a 15,000-home "new town development" south of SR 52.

Colson's group calls Connerton "ground zero" in its fight against urban sprawl in Land O'Lakes, arguing the development would lay waste to nearby well fields supplying water to the Tampa Bay region.

"Connerton ain't going in. It's not," Colson said. "We've already started the process of defeating it."

Colson and the Sierra Club are relatively old hands at attacking development in Pasco.

Citizens for Sanity is suing to overturn a 1,200-home development in Land O'Lakes called Oakstead. The Sierra Club sued to stop the Suncoast Parkway, a case under appeal after a defeat in a lower court.

County officials said they hope to fend off criticism of the project during upcoming hearings. With complaints growing about traffic-clogged SR 54, the need for extending Ridge Road is obvious, Joyce said.

"Pasco County is turning into a suburb for Tampa," Joyce said. "I think this road is designed for all of the citizens of Tampa Bay."

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