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Summer Lakes residents will discuss the retirement complex proposed near their homes.
By JAMES THORNER
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 5, 2001
NEW PORT RICHEY -- Sunset Bay Club promises a whole new lease on life for lonely widows and widowers.
But residents in the nearby Summer Lakes subdivision said the proposed 780-bed retirement complex promises a whole new set of problems for them.
About 15 of those residents arrived at Thursday's meeting of the Pasco County Development Review Committee expecting to complain about the assisted living facility proposed for Rowan Road and Sharpsburg Boulevard.
Instead, neighbors compromised by arranging a meeting next week with their attorney, Sunset Bay representatives and county officials.
County administrator John Gallaher, who leads the development review committee, vowed to "make some peace" over resident's complaints about potential noise, traffic congestion and eyesores.
Orlando-based developer Tropical Village Inc. seeks approval for 13 three-story buildings on 14 acres at the entrance to Summer Lakes, a 5-year-old subdivision of 181 homes and 650 residents.
Sunset Bay's fully furnished units would consist of five bedrooms with a common living room and kitchen. Marketed to lonely widowers and widows, the retirement complex will rent each bed for $675 per month.
George Paugh, who recently moved to Summer Lakes from Pennsylvania, spoke for many when he complained about the retirement homes' proposed 400 parking spaces and the traffic that could clog his neighborhood's Sharpsburg Boulevard entrance.
"They're going to have 400 cars a day there and on the weekend it will double," said Paugh, among the 82 percent of homeowners who signed an anti-development petition. "I didn't move down here for that stuff. I could have stayed in Pittsburgh."