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Waterchase Awarded $60,000 For Barrier

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By ANGELA DELGADO, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 12, 2007

WATERCHASE - The battle is finally over.

After almost two years of meetings and county commission hearings, the county commission awarded residents of Waterchase $60,000 to put up a landscape barrier to shield their homes from the newly expanded Race Track Road.

With complaints of early morning traffic serving as alarm clocks and headlights flashing into rooms, neighbors joined forces to bring peace to their once rural surroundings.

The Race Track Road expansion involves the widening of the road from Hillsborough Avenue to South Mobley Road in four phases.

Initially, residents were looking for more than $100,000 to put up the vegetation, but they also hoped the county would pay to increase the height of the community's barrier wall.

Still, Waterchase received $60,000 and to that resident John Holland said, "something is better than nothing."

"The trees will help, but it's certainly not a complete solution," he said. "I'm just afraid we'll never get a good solution."

The county plans to hand over the money to the community - which must provide receipts of the work - and residents will do all the landscaping and maintenance.

"It's the most reasonable approach to the situation," resident Mark Messersmith said. "It keeps us in complete control of the relief."

Residents plan on buying southern red cedar, since they grow tall and wide quickly.

"They're a good-looking tree and they provide a function, too," Holland said.

Craig Chamberlin, a resident at Waterchase for the past 2 1/2 years, couldn't be more thrilled about the landscaping.

His house directly borders Race Track Road, and the only thing between his home and the road is a chain-link fence.

"To have some trees so we don't have to look at the road will be absolutely amazing," Chamberlin said. "Some of us weren't fortunate enough to have a wall. We constantly listen to the noise, see the noise. I think it'll help quiet it a bit."

Reporter Angela Delgado can be reached at (813) 865-1501 or adelgado@tampatrib.com.

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