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KCA Prepares For Land Battle

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By STEPHEN HAMMILL | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 11, 2008

KEYSTONE About 80 people attended an impromptu meeting of the Keystone Civic Association on Thursday night to discuss upcoming amendments to its community plan.

The proposed changes will be heard by the county's Planning Commission at a public hearing Monday evening.

There are four Keystone-related amendments on the docket.

One proposal concerns land owned by developer Stephen Dibbs on the north side of Lutz-Lake Fern Road, just west of the Suncoast Parkway. He wants a change in the zoning regulations to allow for the construction of up to 596 homes and 175,000 square feet of commercial retail space.

Planning and Growth Management authorities have already chimed in that the proposed change is not in accordance with the Keystone-Odessa Community Plan, adopted in 2001 to ensure "a rural community, embracing its agricultural past, its continuing desire is to be an open area that values nature above commercialism."

Concurrently, Dibbs wants to carve out a borrow pit from 269 acres just north of Lutz-Lake Fern Road and is seeking permission to have that land removed entirely from the community plan.

"It's a novel approach," said KCA President Tom Aderhold, "creative, if you want to give him that much credit. I don't know if we've ever heard of anybody wanting to do that before."

In another amendment, developer Tommy Shannon wants zoning changes that would allow him to build up to 174 homes and 110,000 square feet of retail space on his 58-acre property on Van Dyke Road, west of Gunn Highway.

In a companion amendment, he is seeking permission to bring water and sewer service into rural areas, something not currently allowed in Keystone.

The KCA met with Shannon and his representatives earlier in the week to discuss the proposals. "I can tell you we did not agree with anything they wanted to do," said Aderhold.

At Thursday's meeting Aderhold presented brightly-colored T-shirts featuring the civic association's name for residents to wear to the upcoming hearing.

The unusually high turnout at the meeting underscored a palpable concern among residents.

"We've shown up in mass many times and we've won the day. We've also lost the day," Aderhold said.

"Emotions do not rule the day," he warned the residents. "We must present a clear case that this is not in our best interest."

Following the Planning Commission hearing, the plan amendments go before the Board of County Commissioners in a public hearing Feb. 7. The KCA is entreating residents to attend both meetings in force.

"We've got to go down there twice," said Barbara Dowling of the KCA.

The Planning Commission hearing begins at 5:30 p.m. Monday. The Keystone amendments will be heard last. If time runs out, Jan. 28 has been pre-selected as a back-up date.

The Planning Commission meets on the 18th floor of the County Center Building, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd.

Reporter Stephen Hammill can be reached at (813) 865-1523 or at shammill@tampatrib.com.

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