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Residents Crafting South Hillsborough Land-Use Plan

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By YVETTE C. HAMMETT | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 24, 2008

RUSKIN - Environmentalists and longtime homeowners continued their call Tuesday for a community plan for south of the Little Manatee River that would keep the area rural and protect natural areas from dense development.

And big land owners and their representatives continued to voice concerns over changes that would result in a loss of private property rights.

South Side Community Plan committee members met at SouthShore Regional Library on Tuesday and plan to meet again on Aug. 24 to develop a plan for what they think their area should look like.

Thirty to forty people have been working on the plan for several months. It addresses uses for land south of the Little Manatee River to Manatee County, including large tracts of undeveloped and agricultural lands, Sun City and Sundance, an equestrian community.

For some, South Side's vision includes protecting the wildlife, native plants and waterways of southern Hillsborough County.

"White ibis have a great foothold here and nest on the shoreline here," said environmental activist Mariella Smith, who called for a closer look at what is designated "significant wildlife habitat" in Hillsborough County.

"A big chunk of Florida's white ibis nest here and feed their young from freshwater ponds within 15 miles of the coast." Protecting every freshwater wetland in the area should be a priority, she said.

Gus Muench, a longtime blue-crabber and Ruskin community activist, called on the planning committee to endorse his plan for a volunteer steering committee to oversee the Cockroach Bay area. With so many different agencies overseeing the Bay and surrounding properties, he said, there is no cohesiveness.

Some fear all this could create another layer of government that could interfere with private property rights.

Land-use lawyer Mike Peterson said the county's Comprehensive Land-Use Plan identifies the Cockroach Bay area as a special place. Anyway, he said, a volunteer oversight committee would have no teeth.

"Any time you put something on a map, it could change the value of the land or what can be done there," said James Payne, who is involved with a group of property owners who call themselves the South Side Land Owners Coalition.

The coalition comprises about a dozen members who own 5,000 acres in the area. Citing poor economic conditions in agriculture, coalition members are considering their options, including asking the county to rezone the property so they can sell it for development.

Right now, the zoning on the property allows for one house on every 5 acres. Coalition members are floating the idea of asking for two houses per acre, a tenfold increase in density in an area outside the urban service area.

So far, no formal proposal has been introduced, said Pedro Parra, principal planner with the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission.

A community plan typically takes about a year to complete, Parra said. The Hillsborough County Commission must approve the final document.

Reporter Yvette C. Hammett can be reached at (813) 865-1566 or yhammett@tampatrib.com.

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