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Condo plan to face fight
By MATTHEW WAITE © St. Petersburg Times, published October 3, 2000 PORT RICHEY -- From an out-of-the-way deck at the Energy and Marine Center, Gary Perkins can look out over Salt Springs Run, a place so quiet it's felt more than heard. Perkins, who runs the center and the school district's environmental classroom, can look to the west and see the gulf, to the north and east, and see the coastal marsh that is now a new state park. But south of the center, on the far side of the estuary near the corner of Old Post Road and Koons Road, sits a narrow stretch of marsh that a developer wants to turn into townhomes and condominiums. Perkins worries that development might hurt the natural environment left untouched for thousands of years. "This is real Florida, not Clearwater," Perkins said. "Everybody wants a beach, but real Florida doesn't have beaches; it has salt marshes. I think real Florida needs to be maintained. "We want to make sure it's here to show to kids for years to come." On Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m., the city's Planning and Zoning Board will hear the rezoning request of Walter and Lester Mallett, who own the land along Koons Road. They, through a developer, have submitted an application to the city to rezone the area as a Planned Use Development area, much like the nearby Sand Pebble Point development. In the application is the preliminary plan for the development, called Salt Marsh Landings. In all, 13 buildings -- five four-story condominium buildings holding 96 units and eight three-story townhomes holding 121 units -- are planned, along with 349 parking spaces. Neither Walter Mallett, nor developer Richard Wiles, could be reached Monday for comment. This is the second time in a year that the property has come up for rezoning. Last June, Sun South Corp., the developer pushing a condo project on the land, pulled its application before a zoning board hearing. Janet Schrecongost, who lives near the planned development, headed an effort to derail that project, and has dusted off her resources to fight this one, she said. "We're going to have to march and fight this," Schrecongost said. "We're going to hopefully hang in there until we defeat it." Schrecongost said she has circulated a petition, recruited environmental activists from the Sierra Club and the Audubon Society, called government officials and readied for the hearing. Perkins and Schrecongost worry about the effect of stormwater runoff on Salt Springs Run and about the increase of traffic along Old Post Road. City officials have said they, too, have questions. In the application, the developers say that they will need permits from the state regarding wetlands and stormwater runoff if the project is to go forward. Perkins said he has an interest in stopping the development. "Who wants to ruin paradise?" he said, looking over the estuary. "We enjoy paradise, but we also enjoy sharing paradise with people."
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