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Homeowners Wonder About Bottler's Plans

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By NICOLA M. WHITE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 9, 2007

ZEPHYRHILLS - Marlene and Lewis Mann took one look at the giant oaks in the Woodland Acres subdivision and knew this was where they'd raise their family and eventually retire.

But 32 years later, this community of Spanish moss and cul de sacs is no longer their dream neighborhood.

For the past year, their northern neighbor has been encroaching, quietly buying out longtime homeowners.

Their neighbor isn't a real estate developer. It's the Zephyrhills Spring Water Co., which has helped put this small town on the map. Now, with sales of bottled water soaring, the company wants to expand.

Just how Woodland Acres fits into the bottling plant's plans, the company has yet to divulge. However, as homeowners move out and the water company moves in, residents feel as though their sense of security has been shattered.

"The water plant says they aren't making anybody leave, but what is the quality of life going to be like here when they bulldoze the homes they bought?" said Marlene Mann, 64, as she sat in the house she described as her dream home, with its high ceilings, stone fireplace and picture windows.

At least six of her sixteen neighbors have sold to the company. The houses sit empty.

"What's the value of your home going to be like?" she said.

Woodland Acres, which is east of 20th Street and south of the water plant, is unlike most subdivisions in Florida. First, it's tiny, with only 16 houses on three small streets. Second, the lots are large and each house, most built about 30 years ago, is a different architectural style.

"When you pull in here, anybody could say, 'Man, I'd love to live here'," said Vincent Stokes, who moved into his five-bedroom house in July.

He felt at home from the get-go. But then reality set in.

"I moved up here and, all of a sudden, people are moving out," he said.

The bottler, owned by Nestle, long has had a policy of purchasing vacant land near the plant as it comes available, said company spokesman Jim McLellan.

In the past year, some of that land has included lots in Woodland Acres.

"Our biggest priority is for us to be a good neighbor to the folks who are there," McLellan said. "To the extent that that means we can put more distance between our operations and the neighbors, that's something we've always wanted to do."

When the company purchased the first house last December, rumors flew it would become executive housing or even a shooting range. One former homeowner was told to strip the interior of his house of all fixtures and appliances, because the house eventually would be bulldozed, neighbors said.

These rumors make residents uneasy, said Nikki Ellison, who's lived in Woodland Acres for two years. They want the company to tell them what it plans to do with the houses and property it's buying, she said.

Company Willing To Talk

McLellan, the spokesman, said the company is willing to talk to Woodland Acres neighbors, though there are no concrete plans now to buy the entire neighborhood.

"If I was a property owner there, I would at least take some comfort that there's a company like Nestle Waters, that there is somebody there that is committed to offering fair prices and has committed to at least exploring the possibility of buying that property," he said.

That's cold comfort to Marlene Mann, who retired from her husband's dentistry business this year.

"It's pretty unsettling and stressful to me," she said. "I've loved this neighborhood."

As the Tampa Bay real estate market continues to lag, residents also worry about being forced to sell to a company that could face virtually no competition. In addition to putting a home for sale in a slow market, the neighborhood has become less desirable because of the vacant houses and unkempt lots, they say.

"If you were to put your house on the market, with all the rumors, who's going to buy it?" said resident Kim Harvey.

"At this point, we don't have any choice but to sell to the bottled water plant," Ellison said.

History Of Battling Water Plant Woodland Acres residents long have had a love-hate relationship with the bottled water plant, which was built in the early 1990s and has slowly grown. Residents fought the plant's expansion in 1998 and decried the truck traffic they said would clog 20th Street.

In 2001, the company suffered a public relations hit when it inquired about purchasing Krusen Field, Zephyrhills' largest public park on the south end of the city and the home of several youth sports leagues. The company wanted to build warehouses, but public backlash put an end to the plan.

Last year, the company started buying vacant lots and pastures on the southern end of town, fueling speculation it would seek to expand once more. The company filed plans with city hall this year to expand its storage facilities, relocate some employee parking and move a retention pond.

That, too, has met with resistance from residents.

At the same time, the company has been a source of pride to many Zephyrhills residents, who until the company slapped labels with their city's name on bottles of spring water, had to tell people they lived near Tampa.

The company often donates cases of water to local civic groups and, last year, donated $50,000 for the city to build an interactive water fountain in Zephyr Park.

Reporter Nicola M. White can be reached at (813) 779-4613 or nwhite1@tampatrib.com.

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