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City, county go separate ways on development
By DAN DeWITT
© St. Petersburg Times, BROOKSVILLE -- Before Wal-Mart can build a supercenter on U.S. 19, it has to get past a wary County Commission. Shortly after the company began talking about the idea last spring, the commission called a moratorium on construction along the southern portion of U.S. 19 so it could discuss a plan to restrict big retail outlets there. Later in the year, the commission passed an ordinance that would make all large stores avoid the boxy architecture for which Wal-Mart is known. When Wal-Mart proposed a nearly identical store in Brooksville, the city's reaction was summed up by council member Mary Staib. "Oh, we're so happy to have them come in," Staib said in June. "We're not going to turn them away. We're not going to make it unfriendly for business, that's for sure. . . . We can never have too many stores to shop in." Developers and environmentalists have both noticed that the county and city have different attitudes toward development. The city has welcomed every project proposed in the past year, its officials point out, while the county has become more selective and questioning. This is one factor that seems to be changing a longtime trend in growth patterns in Hernando County. For more than three decades, developers have largely bypassed the city in favor of unincorporated parts of the county, mostly the west side. Now, Brooksville is becoming a development hot spot. Besides the Wal-Mart project, in the past month the city has annexed two properties and rezoned them for commercial use, and the City Council is expected to approve another one tonight. Further down the road is an annexation that could increase the city's population by nearly 50 percent: the Grand Hampton subdivision that extends from the city's southern border to Powell Road and may include as many as 3,000 homes. At the council's last meeting, it directed community development director Bill Geiger to approach LandMar Group LLC about providing the project with utility service and annexing it. The potential disadvantage for the developer would be selling homes with higher property taxes than those outside the city. The possible advantage, according to some observers, would be facing a more friendly elected body to decide land use issues. The property, most of which is designated as rural on zoning and future land use maps, needs both rezoning and an amendment to the comprehensive plan before any homes can be built. No representatives of LandMar could be reached Friday to comment on whether those factors will enter into its decision to annex. But Gary Schraut, a Brooksville real estate broker, said such considerations are playing a part in his business. "We are currently working with some developers. But the only way they want the deal is if they can annex into the city," Schraut said. "The city has been very aggressive in trying to get business. . . . The county believes business is coming to them regardless. The county is taking a very protective position." Not everybody is applauding the city's approach. Approving development on the fringes of the city will almost certainly drain life from downtown and older shopping plazas, said Brad Bates, vice chairman of the Sierra Club's Nature Coast Group. "If they think downtown Brooksville is dying now, what is going to happen when this Wal-Mart opens? That's really going to be the nail in the coffin." The county, on the other hand, "is not being antidevelopment. It's just being responsible," Bates said. "This is a quality-of-life issue. Everybody says they don't want U.S. 19 in Hernando County to look like it does in Pasco. The county is doing its part to ensure that it doesn't." Some people involved with the rezonings and annexations said the attitudes of City Council members have had little impact on their projects. They mentioned other reasons the city is growing: the completion of the Suncoast Parkway and the continuing widening of State Road 50 and U.S. 41 on the south side of the city, plus the completion of a sewage treatment plant, nearly two years ago, that allowed the city to offer service to new projects. Jay Pashley, who is a partner in a piece of property on Barnett Road that was annexed earlier this month, said being included in the city was inevitable, considering his location. Both the property to the north of his, Brooksville Square, which is anchored by Publix, and to the south, the proposed Wal-Mart site, are in the city. "We're annexing only because it is surrounded by the city," Pashley said. "The sewer and water is right there. We're just trying to do business the way it's supposed to be done." The county's land use map designated his property for commercial use, he said, so the county probably would have rezoned the land with little discussion, just as the city did last month. Any increases to his property taxes will be partly negated by other charges, Geiger said. Water and sewer customers that are not in the city pay a higher rate, he said. Also, they must pay for fire service that is included in the city's property tax rate. Alan Garman of Civil-Tech Consulting Engineers Inc. in Brooksville said practicality had determined one of his client's decisions to seek annexation and rezoning. Hope Hill LTD's parcel is at the eastern corner of Hale Avenue and the State Road 50 truck bypass. "It's just the location and the availability of city utilities. And it is contiguous (to the city)," he said. But he has also noted that the city is seeking developers, and he thinks that is appropriate, considering its lack of growth in recent years. "The city is doing more to entice businesses to the city, and we do need it," Garman said. County Commissioner Diane Rowden agreed that the county has begun to give closer scrutiny to future projects. But, she said, considering that the county has had plenty of interest from chain retailers and restaurants in recent years, that is also appropriate, she said.. "I think it's important for us, as elected officials, to look at the future of growth and how it's done in Hernando. We're looking for quality of growth in Hernando County rather than quantity," Rowden said. She understands why the city wants more development, she said, "and you can't blame them for that. But you have to be careful of what you wish for. You might get it." -- Staff writer Dan DeWitt covers Brooksville, politics and the environment. He can be reached at 754-6116. Send e-mail to dewitt@sptimes.com.
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