Bayou dock is called a hazard

The developer for Lansden Court responds that the boat dock will be well-maintained and relatively unobtrusive.

By KATHERINE GAZELLA

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 8, 2000

TARPON SPRINGS -- Residents who live near Whitcomb Bayou have already said a proposed 128-foot dock would look so commercial it would threaten the character of their neighborhood.

On Monday, they took their arguments one step further. The dock, they contended, would violate Pinellas County regulations by endangering manatees and creating a hazardous obstruction for skiers and boaters.

About a dozen residents attended an administrative hearing in Clearwater to encourage county environmental management officials to oppose the dock. If constructed, the dock would serve residents in the 12-home Lansden Court development, now under construction.

Doreen Antonio regularly goes boating in the bayou with her children. The dock would make it impossible for them to ski there, she said.

Skiers "will crash directly into the center of that dock," she said.

Representatives of Carlen Inc., which is developing the property, said the concerns are unfounded. They said the dock will be well-maintained and relatively unobtrusive.

Don Hall, an attorney for Carlen, said the dock will not affect the safety of boaters and skiers in the bayou, and that the manatees will not be adversely affected. He also said that residents have no reason to worry about traffic congestion from Lansden Court residents parking along the narrow road.

"People can certainly walk down to their boat slips," Hall said.

Mark LeCouris, the chief of police in Tarpon Springs, has said he is concerned about the dock because Whitcomb Boulevard already is congested and can't handle people parking along the side of the road while they put things on their boats.

More than 150 residents have signed a petition opposing the dock, which is about twice as long as two nearby docks.

County staffers plan to make a recommendation about the proposal in the next week. The matter is scheduled to go before the County Commission on Sept. 12.

County regulations say the proposal should not restrict the free use of waterways, should not have an adverse effect upon natural beauty and recreational opportunities and should not conflict with state regulations, such as the protection of manatees. Manatees often swim in the bayou.

City Commissioners said last week that they want to hold a meeting about the proposal, and they had tried to have Monday's administrative hearing postponed. But county staffers decided there wasn't enough time to notify concerned residents if they postponed the meeting.

City staffers had looked at the proposal and found no objections to it. But city commissioners have talked about pulling the letter in which city staff expressed no objection, at least to give them time to have their own meeting so residents can air their feelings about the dock.

Times staff writer Katherine Gazella can be reached at (727) 445-4182 or gazella@sptimes.com.

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