Commission rejects appeal to cut trees

The homeowners at Philippe Pointe say mangroves block their view and wouldn't be hurt if trimmed by half.

By LISA GREENE

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 10, 2001

The mangrove forest on Philippe Pointe shelters fish and birds and sucks up fertilizer before it runs into Tampa Bay.

The trees also block the waterfront views of a handful of wealthy Safety Harbor homeowners, who want to trim the trees to half their present height.

The five homeowners took their request to Pinellas County commissioners Tuesday after county staff members refused to allow further trimming, the first appeal of a mangrove permit in Pinellas County since the state passed a 1996 law regulating the trees.

But commissioners turned down the homeowners after a two-hour hearing. Commissioner Barbara Sheen Todd said her husband once planted mangroves that then couldn't be trimmed, so she understood the homeowners' feelings.

"But I think we have a responsibility to look at the long-term impact," she said.

Tuesday's 5-2 vote may not be the end of an 18-month conflict. Homeowners and their attorney, Pat Maguire, would not comment after the decision. But Maguire told commissioners he would "tell a court" the group's request met trimming rules, and before the vote, he leaned back in his chair and told his clients that they would have "a great appeal."

Staff members said cutting the trees further back would make them more vulnerable to winter cold and provide less wildlife habitat. Tampa Bay already has lost 44 percent of its original mangroves, so it's important to protect the rest, said Jake Stowers, assistant county administrator.

Stowers said they had tried to work with homeowners by allowing them to cut the mangroves, originally 22 feet tall, to 15 feet in most places, with some 8-foot-high "windows" for views to lagoons bordering the bay.

"The state's intent was to not have people hate mangroves," Stowers said. "We want people to learn to live with them."

Stowers also said the state now interprets the 1996 law more strictly. If the homeowners applied for a permit today, they wouldn't be allowed to trim at all because the trees are in a conservation area.

But homeowners say the county staff is misinterpreting the law, and cutting the trees to 8 feet wouldn't hurt them.

"The only thing Jake didn't present was an apple pie with mangroves growing out of it," Maguire said.

The homes are on stilts, 16 feet in the air. Photos show that homeowners could still see the bay from their main floor, although they also show the mangroves block some of the view.

Homeowner Claire Raudman built her home, now valued at $377,000, in 1995. She told commissioners that staff members had a "very subjective" idea of how much water they should see from her home.

"We built our house so we could see the water from every room," she said.

Chairman Calvin Harris and Commissioner Karen Seel voted against denying the permit. They said they thought the county could have reached a compromise.

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