 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Zoning question to go to county
By BILL COATS, Times Staff Writer
LUTZ -- A 26-acre development proposal on U.S. 41 provoked two hours of debate this week, leading to a vote by the Hillsborough County Commission on Feb. 25. Even some of the 11 opponents of the project praised its village style of small office buildings facing the highway, with estate homes on Lake Kell. But nearly all the neighbors who spoke feared the proposal would lead to an unstylish precedent of office strips along northern U.S. 41. "Time and time again," warned Carolyn Meeker, a longtime growth-control activist, "we've seen it stated in zoning hearings that this will not be a precedent, only to find that it is." Attorney Biff Craine, representing the developers, said the project would, instead, eliminate a bad precedent. The land currently is zoned for half-acre lots, which is crowded given Lutz's current development standards. "You don't see that any place else up and down U.S. 41," Craine said. The developers' appraiser argued that the property is unsuitable for homes since U.S. 41 was widened to six lanes in 1999. But county planners disagreed. They said the plan should be denied because land-use laws designate that stretch of U.S. 41 as purely residential. The hearing Tuesday night was before Zoning Hearing Master Martin Smith, who must issue a recommendation by early February.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times |
