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Neighbors rally against mining plan
By ALISA ULFERTS © St. Petersburg Times, published October 11, 2000 NEW PORT RICHEY -- Pennie Bongiorno had to shout to be heard above the din of bouncing basketballs. "The numbers are what's going to count. We need as many of you to show up at the Planning Commission and County Commission as possible," she yelled. Bongiorno was one of about 300 Hudson residents who turned out Monday evening at Veterans Memorial Park to protest a mine proposed for the middle of their neighborhood. Community leaders had reserved two smaller rooms at the park's recreation center but had to move into the gymnasium to accommodate the hundreds of people who attended. The residents are incensed over Sunfield Homes' application to open a 161-acre sand mineabout 4 miles east of U.S. 19 near Denton Avenue. Maps of the proposed mine show it is boxed in on all four sides by homes. Last month the mine was tentatively approved, with conditions, by the Pasco County Development Review Committee. The Planning Commission will consider the proposal at 1:30 p.m. today. Final approval could come later this month, when county commissioners will hear the matter. Residents who can get off work said they plan to attend today's Planning Commission meeting. They were coached Monday on how to address commissioners. "You have to stay calm and professional," community leader Joe Mitchell told residents. "If we all work together, we can get the project stopped." Sunfield has requested permission to excavate 2.3-million cubic yards of dirt from the mine, an operation requiring an average of 82 truck trips a day. The company wants to run the mine for five years up to 24 hours a day. However, the county Development Review Committee has imposed a number of conditions on the mine, which the County Commission must approve. Those conditions include a 500-foot buffer, using Denton Avenue as the sole truck route and limiting mining mostly to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays. After mining ceases, the landowners propose using the property for home sites or a construction debris dump, Sunfield representative Patricia Orsi has said. Orsi could not be reached Tuesday. But those who attended Monday evening's meeting say they are afraid of how the fugitive dust will affect their health and the health of their families. They also cringe at the idea of large dumps trucks operating nearby. "It's just not compatible with the surrounding land uses," Mitchell said.
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