 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
County: Fill did no harm to coast
By JAMES THORNER
© St. Petersburg Times, NEW PORT RICHEY -- Did Jim Williams, by trucking in dozens of loads of dirt, destroy a stretch of coastal Pasco County? According to engineers hired by the county, Williams' alteration of the coastline might raise wave levels a couple of inches but wouldn't invite more coastal flooding in violation of federal law. That expert opinion, which cost the county $18,000 in consulting fees, was enough for commissioners to drop complaints Tuesday against Williams, complaints that might have forced the developer to remove tons of fill dirt deposited on the coast in 1999. "This matter can now be put to rest," Pasco attorney Joe Richards told commissioners Tuesday. But the matter won't rest in peace, judging by the reaction of Williams' neighbors on McCray Drive and Edgewater Circle in Hudson. Richard Downing, whose home abuts Williams' property on McCray Drive, showed commissioners photos and a video that purported to show the flooding caused by Williams' landscaping. Downing insists that the fill dirt, by diverting storm water runoff, is undermining his concrete block seawall. "This is not right. My property is being destroyed. This fill must be removed," Downing told commissioners during a 15-minute presentation at the West Pasco Government Center. But Michael Poff, an engineer with Coastal Engineering of Naples, the consultant brought on board in December to rate the environmental impact of William's activities, concluded the harm was negligible. Digging a backhoe into 26 sampling sites along about 900 feet of affected coastline, Coastal Engineering rated the average depth of the fill dirt at 8 inches. Such an addition of dirt wouldn't deflect waves or encourage flooding, Poff said. Williams, who took the lectern in his own defense, called the consultant's ruling vindication for his position. In a separate complaint from the state environmental officials about the removal of a mangrove tree, Williams agreed to plant four mangroves in compensation and pay $1,000 in fines. "I have certainly paid plenty for what little damage was done to the environment," he said to jeers from his Hudson neighbors. Williams said neighbors are raising a ruckus because they fear construction of new homes on his land -- which the fill dirt was supposed to facilitate -- will block their view of the Gulf of Mexico. Even though commissioners agreed to rehire Coastal Engineering for further investigation of his stormwater complaints, Downing rated his chances of prevailing against Williams' lawyers as dim. "I know I have absolutely no chance to get the fill removed so I'm arguing damage to my property," Downing said. Outside the meeting room, Williams promised to truck away some of the controversial dirt, if only to clear his name, which he said was mentioned in the same breath as Al Capone. But he was fuzzy, under questioning from commissioners, about how much dirt was brought to his property in the first place. "I don't want to run any water off on anyone else's land," he said. Commissioners weren't united in their decision to drop the case against Williams, Pat Mulieri being the single holdout. After the commission meeting, as she commiserated with residents about the decision, Mulieri said of Williams: "It's ridiculous what he got away with."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From today's Pasco Times |
