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Council denies land use change on bypass parcel

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By TONY MARRERO

Published: December 5, 2007

Updated: 12/04/2007 09:46 pm

Hernando Today

BROOKSVILLE - Last month, the city council decided to hold off on a final decision to allow commercial development on a parcel near the truck bypass to give neighbors more opportunity to voice their opinion.

On Monday night, those neighbors showed up at City Hall and implored the council to deny the request because, as one resident said, the commercial project would "adversely affect our quality of life and property values."

The council had the same concerns, voting 4-1 to deny a request by Innovators Investments Group LLC to change the city's comprehensive land use plan. The change would put a commercial designation on two parcels totaling nearly six acres between Hale and Mildred avenues.

An additional two adjacent acres had already been annexed into the city with a commercial designation.

The developer also sought a planned development rezoning for the combined eight acres to allow for a hotel, restaurant, retail space and office buildings.

However, a parcel on Hale Avenue is zoned residential and currently has a house on it. The county's code allows residential land to be considered for commercial use if it is within 1,320 feet of an existing commercial node.

The four council members agreed commercial use was fine for the property closest to the truck route. Council member Lara Bradburn said she would be inclined to support the project if the developer wasn't seeking to build on the Hale Avenue parcel and encroach on neighbors to the north.

"It's a very quaint neighborhood, and I don't want that eradicated by progress," Bradburn said, prompting a round of applause from residents in the audience.

"At some point you're going to have commercial meeting residential," Community Development Director Bill Geiger told the council. "It's where to draw the line."

"We've already drawn that line," Mildred Avenue resident Larry Anhalt said as he stood before the council a few minutes later. "It needs to stay where it is."

Jeff Werner, who also lives on Mildred, said the project would create noise, traffic, light pollution and increased crime.

"There will be no turning back once commercial (use) is allowed in this residential area," Werner said.

Tim Worsley, a commercial realtor in Brooksville, was the only person to speak in support of the project.

"I think it's a great place for a hotel," Worsley said.

Michael Gaylor of Gaylor Engineering, who represents the developer, told the council there are no plans to put an entrance to the project on Mildred Avenue and that the cost to improve the road to handle the extra traffic would be prohibitive even if that was the goal.

Gaylor pointed out that a large tract of property east of Hale is already zoned to allow for a "big box" store such as a Wal-Mart and extends "considerably" farther north than his project.

Gaylor's client does not have tenants for the project yet so he did not have answers for residents about what kind of hotel, restaurant and businesses would move into the space.

Council member Richard Lewis said he thought the project would be a good way to transition from the commercial land on the bypass to a residential neighborhood to the north.

The council can exert control on such issues as buffering and lighting during the rezoning process, Lewis said. He then made a motion to approve the request that died for lack of a second.

Council member Joe Bernardini said he was reluctant to approve the project because that process could come years later to a different council. He also said it's likely that people trying to get to the businesses would use the neighborhood as a shortcut.

Lewis dissented in the vote to deny the request.

It was a reversal from a decision last month when the council gave initial approval to the project. The council continued the issue until Monday after learning that signs posted on the property had been knocked down for an unknown period of time. Only one resident showed up at that meeting.

City manager up for raise

City manager Jennene Norman-Vacha, who has been on the job for six months, could soon get a hike in her salary.

Bradburn, during the time designated at the end of the meeting for council members to speak on any item they choose, asked that the issue be put on the agenda for the council's Dec. 17 agenda.

She reminded the council that Norman-Vacha's contract has a provision that calls for the council to consider a $5,000, merit-based pay increase after six months.

Mayor David Pugh said he would look into the best way to bring the issue before the council.

Bradburn said she would be fine if the raise is placed on the consent agenda. The consent agenda is comprised of items grouped together for approval without discussion unless a council member asks specifically to talk about an issue.

"She's more than earned it," Bradburn said after the meeting, "and we want to make sure she's with us for a very long time."

Norman-Vacha makes $80,000. During negotiations last May, Pugh had offered her $75,000. Norman-Vacha presented him with data showing that is on the low end of the salary range for city managers in comparably sized cities. She had asked then to be paid $83,150.

"I'm certainly appreciative," Norman-Vacha said of Bradburn's request after Monday night's meeting.

Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or lmarrero@hernandotoday.com.

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