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Rezoning corner lot perturbs residents
By JACKIE RIPLEY © St. Petersburg Times, published October 22, 2000 ODESSA -- Just how much convenience does one neighborhood need? Some folks around Van Dyke Farms and Tobacco Road say not any more than they already have.
Tracy and about 20 like-minded neighbors met recently to plan their fight against a proposed commercial rezoning at the corner of Tobacco and Van Dyke roads, where they fear a convenience store and gas pumps will appear. "There's already a Circle K on Van Dyke across from Carlton Arms apartments and one planned for Lake Shore all within half a mile of each other," Tracy said. "They're all getting geared up to take advantage of the on-and-off traffic from the Suncoast (Parkway)." The toll road's first 32-mile phase, from the Veterans Expressway to State Road 50 in Hernando County, is scheduled to open in January. Local developer Thomas Shannon Jr. has not said specifically what he wants to build on his 14 acres. "They were forced to do a site plan, but it does not have a lot of detail; it's more conceptual," said Dave Borisendo, a planner for the county. The property is currently zoned for large-lot homes. Shannon seeks a zoning that would allow a 20,000-square-foot shopping center. His application states that the tract "has become isolated as a result of the road construction in the area and is not suitable for single-family use." County planners, planning commission staff and a zoning hearing master have endorsed the petition. The County Commission is scheduled to vote on the rezoning Tuesday. Neither Shannon nor his attorney, Judith James, returned calls seeking comment for this story. But Tracy said James told her a convenience store is planned for the tract. "There are 491 people in Van Dyke Farms who don't want it. We don't want it, and they're presenting it under the guise that the neighborhood supports it," Tracy said. "We don't." Shannon, a former University of Florida quarterback, led a group of investors that included Outback Steakhouse executives in an unsuccessful bid to buy the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1995. Shannon also is president and director of Van Dyke Farms Inc., which owns the parcel just west of his land. That was rezoned in 1986 to allow a 110,000-square-foot shopping center. Tobacco Road resident Carl French says the 1986 rezoning shows Shannon has known for years that the Suncoast Parkway was coming. "He knew back then that Tobacco Road would be moved," French said. The Suncoast Parkway cut the old Tobacco Road in half, and residents lobbied to keep two dead-end roads that resulted. Neighbors feared commercial development where Tobacco meets Van Dyke and cut-through traffic between Keystone to Carrollwood. Instead, officials opted to move the north end of Tobacco west of the parkway and reconnect it to Van Dyke. "Our road is 16-feet wide. We have no sidewalks," said Corrine French, Carl French's wife. "I'm worried about my grandchildren. I stand out there while they wait for the school bus, and the traffic flies by." Tracy said her group will try again to persuade the county to downgrade Tobacco Road, making it eligible for traffic calming devices such as speed humps or a traffic circle at Lake LeClare. Tobacco Road-area residents, who have been fighting approaching suburban development and road expansions for at least a decade, are now getting some help from Van Dyke Farms, a 400-plus house subdivision just west of the Suncoast Parkway. Nearly 500 homeowners there have signed a petition opposing Shannon's rezoning request, said resident Kim Russell. The petition outlines numerous concerns, including the planned removal of cypress trees which now partially block the Suncoast from the view of Van Dyke Farms. "It's ironic that Tom Shannon would build such a lovely development (as Van Dyke Farms) and then stick us with this horrible (commercial) development," said Marilyn Green. Residents also contend that commercial development will increase traffic on Van Dyke and make it harder to get in and out of their neighborhood. "Van Dyke Road is not equipped to handle the traffic on it now," said resident Nancy Kann. "You cannot get out during rush hour." And there's concern that gasoline pumps could lead to pollution of drinking water and Rocky Creek, a water recharge area that runs through Shannon's property. While the Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission has given conditional approval to the project, a more stringent examination will follow if the rezoning is approved, said Tom LaFountain, an environmental scientist with the commission. Meanwhile, Tracy said she hopes the tract will fall under the Well Head Protection Act, a law that prohibits activities such as construction of underground gasoline storage tanks within a certain radius of water production wells. Tracy said the residents would "support something agricultural, such as a plant nursery." They also said they would not object to offices because they would generate less traffic. Some property owners, however, say they favor the proposed development. Chris O'Brien and Michael Day, who are building a home on 1.3 acres on Tobacco Road, say they want to build a beauty salon into their residence. "It's what the county has planned for the area," O'Brien said. "The property values will triple. It's called growth." - Contact Jackie Ripley at (813) 226-3468 or ripley@sptimes.com.
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From the Times |
"We have enough convenience stores on Van Dyke (road)," said Nancy Tracy, who lives on Lake LeClare Road.
