Heritage board to take another look at house

The board has ruled that the proposed house would not fit in the historic Spring Bayou neighborhood.

By KATHERINE GAZELLA

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 12, 2000

TARPON SPRINGS -- A controversial house proposal will be sent back to a historic oversight board because the board did not follow procedure when it denied the application, the city attorney said.

The proposal by Crystal Beach residents Wayne and Susan King to build a house along Spring Bayou will go before the city's Heritage Preservation Board in November. A date has not been set.

The board voted in July to deny the proposal because the scale and appearance were not in keeping with the historic neighborhood. But board members did not explain their denial in writing and did not specifically state what the Kings needed to do in order for the proposal to be approved, City Attorney John Hubbard said.

City commissioners were scheduled to hear the Kings' appeal of the decision Tuesday night, but Hubbard and J.M. Crowder, the Kings' attorney, have agreed to a continuance of that hearing.

Under an agreement signed Wednesday by Hubbard and Crowder, the Kings will have an architect speak at a November meeting, something they did not do at previous meetings even though board members requested that they do so. Hubbard will sit in on the meetings.

The Kings want to build a two-story home atop an elevated level, which is required by federal flood standards. The house design presented at previous meetings has no specific architectural style, though Wayne King said it is similar to the French colonial style.

At previous meetings, dozens of residents from the area spoke in opposition to the proposal, arguing that the newer-looking home did not fit with the historic homes along the bayou.

William Vinson, an attorney acting on behalf of many neighbors, wrote a letter to Hubbard opposing the decision to continue the scheduled appeal and send the matter back to the Heritage Preservation Board.

"It is hard to imagine that the Kings now believe they need additional time to present a witness after several months of hearings," he wrote.

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