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Prysner Fights For Stable Country Life

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 17, 2007

LITHIA - Four years ago, Pam Prysner and her family moved from busy Westchase in northwest Hillsborough County to a small horse ranch in rural Lithia.

Her home and stables now sit in what someday could be the shadow of a bypass highway.

Prysner and some of her neighbors recently formed Rural Lithia Area Neighborhood Defense, or R-LAND, to raise awareness about the danger of development creeping into rural areas in eastern Hillsborough and to give the community a voice.

She since has also joined United Citizens' Action Network, or U-CAN, an alliance of rural activists.

The alliance recently stood up to the county to get a long-range transportation plan shelved until at least 2008. That plan included the bypass that could cut through Prysner's community.

It's one of many issues she worries about. Another is that the county will succumb to developer pressure to extend the urban service area, where utilities are provided and higher densities are allowed.

"All they need to do is move the urban service line, and it's all over," Prysner said. "As much as the commissioners say they are there for the citizens, they are not.

"All we ask is that they respect the rural lifestyle."

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