Subject: State slams Pasco County's ideas for Sunwest Harbourtowne project Date: Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:23:46 -0400

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Greetings All,

Here is the article regarding the Sunwest project.

Unfortunately we don't have a link to the complan amendment up on our web site and the outlines for comment are not yet complete and posted, hopefully by Monday.

This article and recent events do however provide some insight into what the DCA reviewers are looking at: NEED, DENSITIES, DISASTER PRONE AREAS, COMMON SENSE!

All these things you can count on Pasco to NOT properly address. Hammer NEED as Pasco has already approved enough dwellings to house 6,000,000, that's 6 MILLION people! Never mind they can't provide proper services to existing residents, keep open our "luxury" libraries, balance the budget or provide water to 6 MILLION more people, all points to raise with the DCA on ALL the amendments that you comment to.

Here is the reality, our county leaders, for many years, have tied our future to continuous, endless development as the mechanism to pay for existing services to existing residents ... they rob Peter (new development: impact, permitting, review, building, inspection fees, etc. and property taxes of new homes for the the 1st 2-3 yrs. before they impact services) to pay Paul (services to existing residents) so when there is NO new development they have NO $$$$$!

This is growth for growths sake ... the ideology of a cancer cell. Most importantly it is NOT sustainable.

So make sure to comment to the DCA on these misguided, unwarranted and needless projects in their present form and VOTE in 2010 for Florida's Hometown Democracy so that we the people can decide what is in the public's best interest and overcome the undue influences of the development community on our elected leaders.

Thanks, peace and be well,

Clay

Mud of the Earth!

P.S. Remember Bell Fruit!

“He who dares not offend cannot be honest.” Thomas Paine

State slams Pasco County's ideas for Sunwest Harbourtowne project

By Jodie Tillman, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Tuesday, September 15, 2009

ARIPEKA — State regulators have slammed a controversial county proposal to allow more intense development along Pasco's northern coastline, saying the move would hurt an environmentally sensitive area and put people and property at risk during a natural disaster.

The state's objections center on the 562-acre coastal area — more than half of the proposed Sunwest Harbourtowne site, where developers pla n a mixed-use community that would have 2,500 homes, a golf course and a marina.

"The intrusion of dense residential and mixed land uses … is incompatible with the protection, conservation and enhancement of (environmental) resources," the Department of Community Affairs wrote in a newly released report.

The state's objection does not kill the project, but could force Sunwest developers to revamp their plans.

After negotiating with Sunwest, Pasco County commissioners have proposed changes to the county's land use plan that would help pave the way for the project. Those changes require the blessing of state regulators.

The new state report also raises two other objections to the county's proposed changes. One is that the county did not show specifically how the Sunwest project would protect wildlife habitats, primarily for the Chassahowitzka bear. The other is that Pasco's analysis failed to show whether there is enough school capacity to accommodate students generated by the project.

But the state's most strongly worded objection is to the proposal to change what would be allowed in the 562-acre coastal area — from a very low density designation (one unit per 40 acres) to a "planned development" designation that allows for a variety of uses to occur anywhere on the site.

That coastal area consists of mostly wetlands, lakes and about 215 acres of uplands.

Much of it lies in the "velocity zone," an area know n to be more prone to natural disasters, namely hurricanes.

The report says the proposed land use change runs counter to state law in two ways: It fails to limit development that could damage coastal resources, and it allows development in an area prone to natural disaster, thus failing to "protect human life and limit public expenditures in areas that are subject to destruction by natural disaster."

With the proposed land use changes, the state report says, "The county is shifting more intense development to the most vulnerable portion of the subject site which is inconsistent with state law."

Pasco officials have talked publicly about limiting what Sunwest can do within the velocity zone, saying they want the residential development in that coastal area to be aimed at seasonal residents or vacationers who would not be at risk of losing their primary homes.

But at issue is what potential the proposed designation would give the developer, said Chris Wiglesworth, a senior planner with the Department of Community Affairs.

Honey Rand, a Sunwest spokeswoman, said the owners did not get a copy of the report until late Monday and wanted a chance to review it before commenting. Richard Gehring, Pasco's top planner, did not return a phone call Monday.

In the recommendations, state regulators said the county should back off the plans to change the land use designation in the coastal area and revise its proposal "to disallow the i ntensification of residential and mixed uses" on the coastal portion of the property.

The next step in the process is for the county to respond to the state's objections.

Jodie Tillman can be reached at jtillman@sptimes.com or (727) 869-6247.