Residents urge county to rein in growth and be rural watchdog

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Tampa Tribune - Tampa, Fla.

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ODESSA - Residents applaud an admonition to start saying "no," and caution against property rights being trampled.

Rampant growth affects everything from the way the laundry comes out of the wash to the time it takes to get to the grocery store.

There are already too many people for Northwest Hillsborough's overburdened public systems, and still the numbers climb, residents complain. The county needs to take control.

That's what many in a crowd of nearly 300 people told county commissioners during a town hall meeting for Lutz and Keystone Thursday night.

One by one, they took their turns at the podium.

"My wash used to be white," said Citrus Park resident Janet Hiltz."When I wash my clothes, it's no longer white; it's a very strange shade of beige."

She blames growth: Water quality suffers when too many people tap into a limited supply.

"It seems to me that there's almost a contest going on to see how fast we can fill up Hillsborough County," said Peter Hoover, who lives in Belle Meade on the outskirts of Odessa.

"We've got to start saying "No' to some things," he said. Roads can't handle the traffic, the sheriff's office is overburdened and water supplies are dwindling.

"You've got to slow this down," Hoover said to rousing applause.

Several speakers asked commissioners to adopt the community plans being fine-tuned for Lutz and Keystone/Odessa. A steering committee, planners and a consultant have worked for months on the plans, which would guide development in those communities.

Adopting the plans will require changing the county's master growth map and revising some policies. County commissioners will have the final word on whether those changes are made.

"Approve the Lutz and Keystone community plans," urged Jeanette Lindstrom, who lives in Odessa. "Swiftly put it into action."

Otherwise, rezonings will erase what's left of country life, she added.

"We know what's going on and you do, too."

Tom Aderhold, who lives in Country Place, asked commissioners to protect rural areas by resisting developer ploys.

When developers buy land in an area designated for urban development, he said, they'll also buy adjacent land designated for rural growth. Then they ask to move the dividing line.

Every time the county agrees, more countryside is lost and commissioners weaken the case against the next such request, Aderhold said.

The board also needs to keep a sharp eye on water demands of new development, said Gaye Townsend of Lutz, a longtime environmental activist.

The situation is already bad, Townsend said.

"The connections between the lakes are dried up. Lutz needs to be protected, folks, because we're supplying the water."

Others urged commissioners not to overlook the rights of individual landowners in their efforts to rein in growth.

Longtime Odessa resident Nadine Mamontoff continues to raise cows and horses, but she's seen her neighbors change over the years. Commissioners should acknowledge the area isn't as rural as it once was, she said.

"Be careful not to take away our property rights."

Developer Dimitri Artzibushev noted Keystone's community plan includes a proposal to shift the urban services boundary line, but the property owners who would be affected haven't been notified.

"That's not the way to change property rights," he said.

Those ideas haven't been formally proposed to the planning commission, said Lorraine Duffy, who works for the advisory agency. When they are, property owners will be notified, she said.

That's too late, Artzibushev responded.

Credit: of The Tampa Tribune

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