TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

County Votes To Keep Streamlined Wetlands Division

ADVERTISEMENT

By MIKE SALINERO | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 16, 2007

Updated: 08/16/2007 04:58 pm

Photos From The Meeting

Two months after voting to kill the Hillsborough County wetlands division, county commissioners voted unanimously today to keep the agency but with a streamlined permitting process aimed at satisfying complaints from developers.

The commissioners who changed their votes _ Kevin White, Brian Blair, Jim Norman and Ken Hagan _ said their previous vote to eliminate the agency actually saved it by pushing Rick Garrity, executive director of the Environmental Protection Commission, to come up with new policies aimed at speeding up permitting and giving developers more certainty about what is needed to get approval for permits.

"I believe we would have never gotten here if those four votes had not been cast," Norman said.

Norman praised Commissioner Brian Blair, who started criticizing the wetlands division in April, accusing the agency of providing redundant services in an inefficient manner.

"It was a bold, hard move in his efforts to protect this community," Norman said, referring to Blair.

Environmentalists were outraged at Norman's comments, accusing he and Blair of wanting to kill the agency outright, then reconsidering their votes in the face of withering opposition from the public.

"Now we see it was a clever plan to goad Dr. Garrity into doing what you wanted them to do. How clever," said Marcella Osteen, an activist from Balm. "It was insulting for them to sit up there and lecture us with that B.S."

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT