Neighborhood notebook

By Times staff

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 30, 2001

Church leaders will consult with neighbors on building project

WEST MEADOWS -- A plan to rezone land for a new church in West Meadows was postponed Thursday night to give church leaders time to review the project with neighbors.

The Rev. David Gardner Tweed said he wanted a chance to meet with residents who said they had not been notified about the project. A handful of people, mostly from the Promenade townhouses, attended the meeting to ask questions and voice their concerns about buffers.

The Joyful Servants Lutheran Church is seeking approval from the City Council to build a church and day care center at the corner of New Tampa Boulevard and Highwoods Preserve Parkway.

The church, which currently meets at the Joyful Reader bookstore in the Pebble Creek Collection, has been under contract to buy the land for several months.

"The building is on the horizon, but right now we're focusing our efforts on getting the land," Gardner Tweed said. "There's no dates for groundbreaking."

The rezoning was rescheduled for 6:30 p.m. Nov. 15 at City Hall, 315 E Kennedy Blvd. Gardner Tweed said he would organize a meeting before the council meeting to inform residents about the project.

Circuit City's sign request is rejected

CITRUS PARK -- Circuit City had hoped to attract potential shoppers traveling on the nearby Veterans Expressway with a super-sized sign. But the Hillsborough County board of sign appeal rejected the request during a hearing this month, so company officials will have to content themselves with a standard-sized sign to attract business.

The board upheld a land use hearing officer's recommendation that Circuit City not be allowed to increase the size of its outdoor sign.

"You don't have to have a great big huge lighted sign sticking up in the air," said Janet Hiltz, who lives in Citrus Park and protested the store's request for a larger sign. Besides, "there's no signage allowed on the expressway. They shouldn't have a special advantage," Hiltz said.

The electronics and appliance retailer wanted a sign variance that would have allowed a 55-foot-tall, double-faced pole sign at the recently opened store at 6918 Gunn Highway at the Veterans Expressway. County sign requirements allow a 100-square-feet total sign area with poles no higher than 30 feet.

"We're very grateful that the sign appeals board saw it the same way as the land use hearing officer," Hiltz said. "They seemed to be very conscientious. One of the people said they went back and forth on the expressway to see just exactly what the visibility was."

Commission slates town hall meeting

TOWN 'N COUNTRY -- People who live in the Upper Tampa Bay area of Hillsborough County will have a chance to voice their concerns and ask questions about community issues at a Town Hall meeting with county commissioners Oct. 11.

The meeting will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Alonso High School auditorium, 8302 Montague St. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Employees from various county departments will have information booths and exhibits. The meeting will air live on cable Channel 22. During the broadcast, viewers can phone in comments and questions by calling (813) 272-5275.

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