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DRC Approves Grove Plan With 2 Conditions

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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 12, 2007

WESLEY CHAPEL - County officials on Thursday cast a skeptical eye on a traffic plan proposed by the group developing the southern part of The Grove at Wesley Chapel, a major shopping complex rising near the junction of County Road 54 and Oakley Boulevard.

Although the heart of the complex is scheduled to open next month, the developers are just beginning work on a smaller shopping complex that will front C.R. 54 and contain several strip centers and a Chili's restaurant.

That small shopping center was the subject of scrutiny by the county's Development Review Committee, which raised concerns that getting in and out of the plaza could pose unnecessary risks to drivers.

The developers propose to have entrances to the plaza off C.R. 54, Oakley Boulevard and Dayflower Road East, which is being redeveloped as The Grove's main entrance.

The DRC, composed of County Administrator John Gallagher and his chief lieutenants, worried that the C.R. 54 entrance would cause risky lane-changing as drivers exiting Interstate 75 blend with drivers trying to get into the plaza.

DRC members also worried that the Oakley Boulevard entry could lead to traffic backups on crowded C.R. 54.

The developers argued that their plans were better than the previous situation, which included four driveways entering C.R. 54 close together. DRC members seemed unconvinced.

Ultimately, the DRC let the plans go with two conditions: The developers have to create a right-turn lane to funnel traffic into their Oakley Boulevard entrance, and the county will shut down the C.R. 54 entrance if it becomes too accident-prone.

Also Thursday, DRC members let the developers of a Lowe's store in Land O' Lakes use a previously submitted traffic plan to guide improvements they will have to make to State Road 54 to accommodate their store.

Last month, the developers sought an exemption to new state development rules that would have forced them to pay $160 million to improve the traffic-plagued intersection. That money likely would have financed an overpass lifting U.S. 41 over S.R. 54.

The state Department of Transportation has drafted tentative plans for such an overpass, but neither the state nor the county has the money set aside to build it.

Lowe's submitted its traffic-management plans last fall about a month before state law changed regarding how developers pay for needed traffic improvements. Given that the plans were in place before the change, DRC members decided to let Lowe's spend just more than $3 million on roadwork instead.

Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at (813) 948-4201 or kwiatrowski@tampatrib.com.

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