County Commission Backs Residents' Stance Against Project

[FINAL Edition]

Tampa Tribune - Tampa, Fla.

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DEVELOPER'S PROPOSAL OF 52 HOUSES DENIED

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KEYSTONE - Residents on Lake LeClare say a proposal for 52 houses would be out of character in their community.

And the Hillsborough County Commission agreed. On Tuesday, the board denied, 5-2, a request to rezone the 18.6-acre property for single-family houses. Commissioners Ken Hagan and Thomas Scott cast the dissenting votes.

Joseph Militello wanted to build the Reserve at Lake LeClare on the northeast corner of Lakeshore and Wilcox roads.

The subdivision would have had 8,540-square-foot lots in the interior and 10,125- square-foot lots on the western and northern perimeter, said Militello's attorney, Keith Bricklemyer.

Resident Tom Aderhold said planners should consider the larger lots in the Lake LeClare community when evaluating whether the project fits in and not the higher-density developments in Northdale.

Bricklemyer said his client is proposing a density lower than what's allowed and would not agree to fewer houses.

"Opponents ignore that this property is in the urban service area," he said.

The parcel is unique because it lies both within the urban service area where sewer is available and in the Keystone-Odessa Community Plan, where a rural lifestyle is protected.

Lorraine Duffy, a senior planning manager with the county's city- county planning commission, said there are clearly two distinct development patterns in that community.

In 1999, the commission considered taking the parcel out of the community plan boundary but decided to keep it in, Duffy said.

Commissioner Jim Norman wanted to see fewer houses. "There seems to me an argument there could be a little less density on this project," he said.

Reporter Elizabeth Lee Brown can be reached at (813) 885-7892.

Credit: ebrown@tampatrib.com

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