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Some landowners object to the change, which the commission must approve.
By JOSH ZIMMER
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 10, 2000
INVERNESS -- It's a developer's version of the shell game.
By shuffling around small lots of property off the Tsala Apopka Chain of Lakes, the Inverness Land Co. wants to create larger, more marketable residential lots in two sections of the Lake Estates subdivision.
The proposed development agreement comes before the Citrus County Commission today. The county's community development division is recommending approval.
The proposed decrease in the number of lots will lessen the impact on the area, senior planner Jenette Collins said, "so from a planning standpoint that's good."
The proposal involves two steps. The developer would cluster some smaller lots in order to create larger parcels ranging from 0.44 acre to 11 acres, Collins said. The change would reduce the housing density in an area already set aside for low-intensity coastal and lakes development.
In step two, the lower densitywould be applied to 170 acres of unplatted land in the northwest corner of Lake Estates off Sandpiper Drive and South Canal Road. Instead of 173 lots, Inverness Land would divide the acreage into 68 lots.
In letters to the community development office, some landowners say they are concerned the proposed development agreement would threaten property values, worsen drainage in an area prone to flooding and diminish their wooded surroundings.
One landowner, David Shapiro of Woodmere, N.Y., said his smaller lots will be more difficult to sell with larger tracts nearby. He is asking for compensation for the "reduced potential value" if the measure is approved.
A couple of landowners from Germany have requested information as well.
Lake Estates, a largely undeveloped subdivision of sandy roads and a smattering of houses north of Tussock Lake, consists of two phases recorded in 1961. Collins said Inverness Land's application for a density change arrived in April and was reviewed the next month by the plat review team, an in-house group consisting of county employees from various agencies.
Documents show that, if approved, the developer will have to submit a wetlands boundary survey approved by either the Southwest Florida Water Management District or the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The county has approved density transfers before, including one at the Westwood Acres subdivision in the early 1990s, Collins said.