Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies

Bloomingdale: Residents seek plan to keep land treed

The county may be able to cede the land to a non-profit group for a specific purpose.

The wooded acres could become a park, or an apartment complex. A home for birds, or town homes. Or stay on Hillsborough County's property rolls.

Bloomingdale residents: You decide.

For several years, neighbors on Monte Lake Drive have fretted over the fate of a 10-acre parcel in their backyard. Now it could be the community's for the asking.

The property, bounded by River Overlook Drive and Lighter Wood Way, was slated as private parkland in the approved plan for the Bloomingdale subdivision. It should have become property of a homeowner's association, according to the plans.

That never happened.

In time, the developer stopped paying taxes. Neighbors noticed when the land appeared on a list of properties in tax delinquency. Some worried another developer might come in.

"We were told when we bought our homes that this would be an undevelopable forest land forever," said resident Joe Hickle. "We don't want this to change."

But nobody tried to buy it. In December, Hillsborough County acquired the property after the former owner failed to pay taxes.

Since then, Hickle has reviewed possibilities with the county's real estate department.

"It's our goal to work with the community to accomplish what obviously was the original intention with this plat," said Peggy Hamric, a technical services manager in the county's real estate department.

Hamric said a provision in a state statute could allow the county to give the land to a non-profit organization - either at no cost or at fair market value - for a specific purpose like a park. Regardless, the County Commission would have to approve any move.

Hickle is talking to homeowners in the area about potential options to acquire the land. But he needs ideas for how to use the land.

"I don't think anybody wants to see a park with swing sets," he said. "I think people would more enjoy it if we took a few machetes and hacked out a nature trail."

He will mail information to neighbors for a possible meeting later this month. The county has agreed to give the community at least six months to form a plan.

- Letitia Stein can be reached at 661-2443 or lstein@sptimes.com

Owners of the 25 properties adjoining the wooded area and interested residents can bring their thoughts to a meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the offices of the Bloomingdale Homeowners Association, at 3509 Bell Shoals Road, Valrico. For more information, contact Joe Hickle at 654-1920.