Opposition fails to halt cell tower

By EVE LEBERSON

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 12, 2000

LAKE MAGDALENE -- Despite fervent opposition, land use hearing officer Margaret C. Tusing granted APT VoiceStream Wireless a special use permit last week to build a 150-foot cellular telecommunication tower in the Indian Mound community.

The tower is planned for 20 acres on the west side of Indian Mound Round, north of Teepee Drive and just south of Avila. It will serve VoiceStream and three other wireless carriers.

Property owners at an Oct. 20 hearing complained that the tower will lower property values and is inconsistent with the rural neighborhood. Only one resident spoke in favor of the petition.

VoiceStream countered that the tower will be buffered by existing orange trees and wooded areas and that industry studies showed these towers had no adverse impact on property values.

Indian Mound residents are expected to appeal the decision. (Petition 00-1182)

LAKE MAGDALENE: The CVS drugstore chain plans to set up shop on nearly 2 acres at the northeast corner of Bearss Avenue and North Boulevard.

Gustine Properties Inc. filed a rezoning petition with the county on behalf of the company proposing a nearly 11,000-square-foot retail and drive-through pharmacy store. Access is planned for both Bearss Avenue and North Boulevard.

The property is now zoned for homes and neighborhood commercial uses. A zoning hearing master will hear the petition Jan. 29. (Petition 01-0130)

CITRUS PARK: The property owner of the Shoppes of Citrus Park, at the northeast corner of Gunn Highway and Ehrlich Road, seeks permission to raise the height of the parking lot lighting posts.

According to the petition, Monroe's Prestige Group wants to "alter the restrictions of lighting on the site to produce a safer environment." They are asking the county to increase the height restriction of 18 feet to 30 feet.

County commissioners are scheduled to hear the petition Jan. 9. (Petition 01-0075)

LUTZ: William P. Bisset wants permission to set up a landscape materials and supply shop on 2.5 acres at Dale Mabry Highway, between Van Dyke Road and Geraci Lane.

The site had been approved for a lawn mower service and repair shop in 1980, and then for miniwarehouses in 1995. The property is vacant and zoned for planned development.

A zoning hearing master will hear the petition Jan. 29. (Petition 01-0134)

A zoning hearing master will hear the following requests this week:

CARROLLWOOD: Mobley Housing Group wants a rezoning to allow for a 150-home subdivision on nearly 41 acres at the southern corners of Rawls Road and the planned northern extension of Lynn Turner Road.

The three-parcel site plan calls for 60- by 110-foot and 40- by 110-foot lots on two parcels on either side of the future Lynn Turner Road. The third parcel, west of the Veterans Expressway, will provide fill for the other parcels and later be used as a retention pond. Access is planned from both Hutchison and Rawls roads.

County staff and the Planning Commission endorsed the project. (Petition 00-1238)

LUTZ: Burcaw & Associates seeks a rezoning of almost 40 acres on the south side of Van Dyke Road, between Marsh Road and Darby Lane, allowing for construction of an office park and two homes.

According to the petition, 27 acres cannot be developed because of extensive wetlands. So the developer proposes to build a 30,000-square-foot office park on 3 acres at the northern end of the parcel fronting on Van Dyke and up to six homes on the southern portion. The proposal also asks that the homes be allowed "agricultural accessory uses."

County staff and the Planning Commission endorsed the plan. (Petition 00-1239)

UPPER TAMPA BAY: The owner of 13 acres at Hillsborough Avenue and Race Track Road seeks a rezoning for an open storage business behind County Line Plaza that would ultimately change to offices and warehouse space.

Med-Sam Inc. wants to develop the property, south of the existing shopping center, as a facility for the short- and long-term parking of boats, boat trailers, motor homes and other vehicles until the construction of a 30,800-square-foot office and warehouse complex by 2005.

County staff and the Planning Commission recommended approval. (Petition 00-1230)

LUTZ: Alberto and Gilda de Alejo, owners of 11 acres at the southeast corner of Lutz-Lake Fern Road and Sunlake Boulevard, want a rezoning to allow for a shopping plaza.

The petition asks for a 95,570-square-foot shopping center with a grocery store. Access points are proposed for N Dale Mabry Highway and Sunlake Boulevard. No entrances are proposed for Lutz-Lake Fern Road.

County staff and the Planning Commission endorsed the petition. (Petition 00-1345)

CARROLLWOOD: Buckley Shuler Properties wants to rezone 26 acres west of Henderson Road, about 800 feet south of Gunn Highway to develop three-story, 440-unit apartment complex.

The property is vacant and zoned for intensive commercial development. The petition seeks a designation of planned development.

County staffers and the Planning Commission recommended approval of the project. (Petition 00-1284)

CITRUS PARK: The property owners of two separate parcels at Gunn Highway and Olive Jones Road say noise, traffic and other side effects of Citrus Park Town Center are prompting them to move from their homes and rezone the land for the construction of office buildings.

According to the petition, the owners of the 2-acre property just east of the Veterans Expressway are "requesting only office uses to allow for a reasonable and effective transition from the more intensive uses to the east and limit the impact and influence of other parcels further west along Gunn Highway."

Because Olive Jones Road is a dead-end street, the owners are seeking a waiver for the consideration of non-residential uses on the property.

County staff and the Planning Commission recommended approval of the plan. (Petition 00-1190)

LUTZ: Howard Albritton wants permission to build a 25,000-square-foot professional center on 8.7 acres at U.S. 41 and Crystal Grove Boulevard that the county originally approved for a supermarket. McDonald's and Discount Auto Parts currently occupy a portion of the property. County staff and the Planning Commission recommended approval. (Petition 00-0942)

CARROLLWOOD: Waterford Construction and Development Inc. wants to rezone almost 2 acres of vacant property on Moran Road, east of N Dale Mabry Highway, for 15,000 square feet of floor space for office buildings. The company originally asked for six buildings but revised its development plans to include only five after a zoning hearing master recommended denial last September. County staff and the Planning Commission are endorsing the project. (Petition 00-0730)

CARROLLWOOD: Buckley Shuler Properties seeks to rezone 5.62 acres south of Gunn Highway and west of Normandie Road.

The company plans to build 53,000 square feet of offices, a veterinary clinic and a bank with a drive-through. This property is now undeveloped.

County staff and the Planning Commission endorsed the plan. (Petition 00-1240)

Where and when

Hearings of county zoning hearing masters and land-use hearing officers and land use meetings of the County Commission are held on the second floor of the County Center, 601 E Kennedy Blvd. The zoning hearings begin at 6 p.m., and the commission meetings begin at 9 a.m. Both are televised on government access channels. The land use hearing officer hearings, which are not televised, begin at 9 a.m. For information, call 272-5920.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright