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Commission to tackle looming growth issues
By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET © St. Petersburg Times, published December 12, 2000 INVERNESS -- Still need proof of the kind of growth that is coming our way? Just take a look at today's County Commission agenda. The board will discuss two zoning changes that would allow major retailers to build on U.S. 19, as well as a proposed set of design standards that would soften the warehouse look of "big box" stores. Commissioners also will mull over a consultant's latest recommendations for raising the decade-old impact fees. And they will vote on a measure to protect the county's water supply from thirsty counties that have outgrown their own resources. "As more people move into the county, there's going to be more of these kinds of issues," Commissioner Gary Bartell said. The public can speak at the podium today, although most of the growth-related proposals will come back in a few weeks for another hearing before the board votes. The meeting starts at 1 p.m. in the Masonic Building in Inverness. The growth topics include: MYSTERY RETAILER: The board will hold a public workshop at 5:01 p.m. to discuss a proposed zoning change that would allow a large retailer to build on the southeast corner of U.S. 19 and W Venable Street, east of the new Home Depot and south of the Crystal River Airport. No retailers are mentioned by name on the plans for the 226,000-square-foot store, but county officials have said Wal-Mart may be eyeing the property. Most of the 32-acre site is already zoned commercial, except for the eastern 12-acre strip, which is zoned residential. Commissioners will take public input today and Jan. 9 before deciding whether to rezone that strip for commercial use. SUGARMILL SHOPPING: Another proposed shopping center -- this one containing known stores -- will be up for discussion at a 5:01 p.m. workshop. A developer wants to build a strip mall, anchored by a Kash n' Karry grocery store, across from the main Sugarmill Woods entrance at U.S. 19 and W Cypress Boulevard. The site is already zoned commercial except for the northernmost 1.4 acres, which the developer wants changed from residential to commercial. In return, the Sugarmill Station developer suggested rezoning the southernmost 1.4 acres from commercial to residential, so there is no overall change in the amount of commercial property. The board will vote on that proposal Jan. 9. BEAUTY FOR BUILDINGS: The board will review a proposed ordinance that would require large retail stores -- anything more than 25,000 square feet -- to soften their big box-look with extra landscaping and architectural features. The suggested features include overhanging eaves, pitched roofs, prominent entrances and textured exterior walls. The Citrus County Builders Association has raised concerns that the extra standards would drive up construction costs and conflict with the building codes. Commissioners will discuss the proposal at a 5:01 p.m. workshop and vote on it Jan. 9. IMPACT FEES: A consultant's revised study proposes raising the impact fees from $1,432 to $3,134 for a single-family home, and increasing impact fees for other kinds of construction, but county staffers recommend a partial increase for now. Director of Development Services Gary Maidhof said the consultant's data provides a solid basis for increasing the impact fees charged for roads, schools, libraries and public buildings. But the impact fees for parks and public safety should remain the same, he said, until additional studies can be done. If the commission raises those select fees, the impact fee for a single-family home would be $2,663. The board will discuss the report and decide whether to schedule a public hearing and a vote on the proposed increase Jan. 23. SAFEGUARDING THE WATER: Commissioners will cast a final vote at a 5:01 p.m. hearing on a Comprehensive Plan amendment that would make it more difficult for other counties to pump Citrus waters elsewhere. Anyone who wanted to transfer Citrus water would first have to show that all other local water sources, such as reuse and desalinization, had been exhausted. They also would have to show that there would be no "negative social, environmental or economic impacts" to Citrus if the water was taken.
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