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Residents Fight Development Plan

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By B.C. MANION

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 4, 2008

LUTZ - Residents on Turtle Drive want to keep the quiet nature of their neighborhood, so they're fighting a proposal to knock down a house in the middle of their block.

Larry Falls, of 25352 Wesley Chapel Blvd., wants permission to create an entry to six homes he hopes to build on a 45-acre parcel behind the house at 18505 Turtle Drive.

The property Falls wants to redevelop is occupied by one house and 33-acre Lake Cooper. Falls wants to build a half-dozen eco-friendly homes, including four that would front Lake Cooper.

To provide access, Falls is asking for a variance from Hillsborough County. A public hearing has been scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, on the second floor of Frederick B. Karl County Center, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd.

Turtle Drive neighbors don't plan to sit by idly.

"We'll fight to the last - whatever it takes within legal boundaries," said Steve Richardson, who lives at 18506 Turtle Drive.

"It's a horrible situation," added Richardson, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1993. "When I first heard of this, I thought it was a joke."

Numerous neighbors share Richardson's outrage, according to interviews and written objections contained in the variance case file.

"To tear down a lovely, large brick home on our street to make a cut-through for another community is ludicrous," wrote Ernest and Marilyn Bedke, of 18509 Turtle Drive.

"To intrude through our neighborhood seems to be the ultimate in selfishness, arrogance and greed. Our neighborhood deserves better," add the Bedkes, who have lived on cul-de-sac for 25 years.

Ernest Easom, another longtime resident, also objects.

"If this variance is approved, it would destroy the peace and quiet of this nice neighborhood that my family and I have known for the last 30 years that we have lived here," wrote Easom, of 18501 Turtle Drive.

Even the Hillsborough County Commission has weighed in, filing a letter objecting to the variance.

Access to the existing single-family house has been provided since 1988 by a 15-foot easement off of Cypress Shores Drive, said David Hall, an attorney representing the Turtle Drive residents.

That access point is in the neighboring Casa Del Lago subdivision, Hall said.

Initially, Falls asked for a variance that would widen the existing easement to 30 feet to provide access to five homes.

He later revised the request, moving the entry point to Turtle Drive to gain access to six homes.

Turtle Drive residents don't object to the homes being built, but don't want the quiet nature of their neighborhood disrupted, Hall said.

As a compromise, Falls has proposed reducing the impact on both sides of the development by allowing access to three homes off Turtle Drive and the other three off a widened easement from Cypress Shores Drive.

He said the entrance off Turtle Drive would be "almost like a park setting" with landscaping at the front of the lot and a driveway leading to a recessed entry into the new development.

But those plans won't satisfy Turtle Drive residents, Hall said.

Tony LoCicero, of 18504 Turtle Drive puts it like this: "They can do whatever they want - just leave our Turtle Drive alone."

Sandy Lopez of 18508 Turtle Drive lives across the street from the house that would be removed.

She said she and her husband, Frank, were attracted to the neighborhood by its established, quiet nature.

When they moved in, she said she recalls thinking: "I don't have to worry about anybody building anything because this is all set."

Turtle Drive residents aren't thrilled about the extra traffic the new homes will bring.

First, there will be construction traffic and then, once the new homes are built, there will a new source of daily traffic onto their street.

Traffic from the new homeowners isn't the only issue, Lopez said. "You have pool people. You have lawn people. You have delivery people - not to mention friends and visitors."

She also worries about long-term effects. "Let's say that I needed to sell my home," Lopez said. "That's not going to help me sell my home."

Falls said he hopes he can work something out with the neighbors.

"I plan on having a house back in there myself. I don't want to be creating something where people are going to throw rocks at me," Falls said.

Reporter B.C. Manion can be reached at (813) 865-1507 or bmanion@tampatrib.com.

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