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Oldsmar seeks clarification from judge on apartments
By ED QUIOCO
© St. Petersburg Times, OLDSMAR -- Already the source of lawsuits, judicial rulings and intense neighborhood opposition, the proposed Westminster apartment complex now is headed for yet another round of litigation. City Council members have decided to ask a judge whether Oldsmar officials erred when they approved the project's 270 units on a 27-acre site and failed to account for the property's environmentally sensitive land. The council's decision is in response to a letter written by David Healey, executive director of the Pinellas Planning Council. In his Sept. 10 letter, Healey told city officials that the way Oldsmar calculated the project's density, or how many units can go on the property, violated county development rules. "If we have violated county rules over the past years, evidently because we didn't interpret them right, it was of ignorance, and ignorance is not a bad word," Oldsmar Mayor Jerry Beverland said. "We have all been ignorant of things in our life. But once we find out that we are violating a law, the problem arises when we continue to violate that law." Beverland urged the council at a meeting Tuesday to send the issue to a judge. Council members approved doing so with a 4-1 vote, with council member Brian Michaels voting no. In May, council members had approved plans for the 270-unit complex, which would be geared for families with low and moderate incomes. Tim Johnson, an attorney for the developer, the Tampa-based Wilson Co., warned council members Tuesday that their latest move could be viewed as an example of the city's using stall tactics to kill the project. "People are talking about that we are holding this thing up or we are trying to stop it, but every vote this council has taken in regards to this project has been approving this project to move forward," said council member David Tilki. The city was not trying to stall the project or "shut the thing down," Beverland said. Instead, officials were just trying to ensure the city followed county rules on development. Johnson said the city has already approved 270 units on the project. Wilson Co. has applied for financing based on building a 270-unit complex, he said, and any change in that number "is the end of the project." "This is not about density," Johnson said. "This is about the survival of the project." The city's way of calculating how many units can go on the property takes precedence over the county's rules, Johnson said. He also claimed that Healey was using a county rule that was inapplicable in this case. Johnson asked council members to wait and see how the Pinellas Planning Council would respond to Healey's letter. The planning council could make a recommendation to Pinellas County commissioners, who would have the final say on whether the county should take steps to make the city abide by the county's rules. "There is absolutely no risk at all to the city if you wait to see what the planning council does and to wait to see what the county does," Johnson said. "They may make the whole problem go away." Instead, the city decided not to wait for a decision from the county and take the issue directly to a judge. City officials also were handed a written complaint Tuesday signed by 13 neighbors of the proposed complex. The complaint seeks to stop the city from processing plans for the project. City Attorney Tom Trask told council members the city has 30 days to respond to the verified complaint. Neighbors previously formed a nonprofit group in opposition to the proposed complex and went to court seeking a temporary injunction to require the city to stop processing the project's plans. Since then, however, they have learned that they needed to file a verified complaint with the city first. That's why they filed the complaint Tuesday. Wilson Co. already has filed two lawsuits against the city. Two separate judges have ordered the city to continue processing the plans and to accept a parkland dedication fee from the company. The company has threatened to file further lawsuits and complains that the city was violating state and federal fair housing laws. The Wilson Co. has said it could suffer more than $13-million in damages if its plans are denied. Beverland pointed out that Wilson Co. has repeatedly taken the city to court to settle disputes. Now, he said, it's the city's turn to seek guidance from the courts. "Every time we have been told we were violating the law, we were told by the Wilson Co. "Go to a judge,"' Beverland said. "If they felt like we were violating the law, we went to a judge. Now the county says we were violating the county rules. I suggest we go to a judge." -- Staff writer Ed Quioco can be reached at (727) 445-4183.
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