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Pulling land out of city discussed
By MICHAEL SANDLER
© St. Petersburg Times, NEW TAMPA -- For years, the city's expansion has depended on Tampa City Council's efforts to accommodate developers in New Tampa. But council's effort last week to slow the growth might ultimately cause Tampa's borders to shrink. The Scala 683 Group was seeking to build 300 more apartments along Bruce B. Downs Blvd., the only major roadway in New Tampa. Residents complained that the area was already saturated with apartments. Property owners who annex land into the city may be able to "deannex" by another legal process called contraction. Though the process is relatively uncommon in Florida, a top real estate lawyer in New Tampa said he may recommend the measure following City Council's vote on Thursday against his client's zoning request. "It's an alternative we are going to explore with our client," said Joel Tew, a Clearwater attorney who is involved in the majority of development deals under way in New Tampa. Tew said his client, a group of individual land owners, had a legal right to build apartments. The owners already had a land-use designation in the county that allowed for apartments, he said, and the city adopted a similar code in the annexation agreement approved in 1998. The zoning request would have allowed the apartments, 261 townhomes, 250,000 square feet of retail space and 100,000 square feet of commercial development on 213 acres at Bruce B. Downs and County Line Road. Bruce B. Downs already struggles to accommodate its current traffic load. The land owners agreed to contribute nearly $1.7-million for road improvements. Residential development could not begin until millions of dollars in public money were earmarked in a five-year transportation improvement budget, but city transportation officials said that there are no guarantees the roads would be fixed in that time. That issue, and the apartments, seemingly shifted the tide. Council granted preliminary approval to the Scala 683 Group in June, voting 5-2. But Charlie Miranda and Mary Alvarez changed their votes at Thursday's second reading to join Shawn Harrison and Linda Saul-Sena in defeating the request, 4-3. "I was really quite amazed that they (changed votes) when they got the additional information we provided," said Lynn Grinnell, president of the New Tampa Community Council. Grinell, a Pebble Creek resident who represents the area's largest community organization of business owners and homeowners, said half the 7,000 apartments planned for New Tampa had yet to be built. Those that were already up dominated Cross Creek Blvd. "When you are driving down Cross Creek, they are all very lovely apartments," she said. "But that's all it is, wall to wall." Tew said that not allowing apartments would be a violation of Florida law and the city's comprehensive plan. Should a judge agree with that position, Tew said the developers will not have to honor the agreements they made earlier, including contributions for road improvements and setting aside land for conservation. "If we go to court on a rezoning review, I'm not bound by any of the things we offered," said Tew. Harrison said contraction would be a costly move for the developer and is unlikely. "They will (have to) pay attorneys fees to deannex and go before the County Commission and ask for what the city denied," said Harrison. "And if they do that, it will be proof positive that they don't care what their community thinks." -- Michael Sandler can be reached at (813) 226-3472 or sandler@sptimes.com.
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