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Manor Oaks Loses Bid For Masonry Wall

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 17, 2008

LUTZ - Efforts to force Kiddie Campus University, Inc. to put up a wall to separate its playground from the neighboring Manor Oaks subdivision have failed.

Representatives for the Manor Oaks Homeowners Association, the Lutz Civic Association and Kiddie Campus University appeared before the Hillsborough County Land Use Appeals Board on Sept. 5 to debate the issue.

The neighborhood and civic association were challenging a special-use permit granted to the child care center for a playground on land it acquired next to its day care center. The property is on the south side of Myrtle Ridge Road, 400 feet east of North U.S. 41.

"They did not have a special-use permit and were cited by code enforcement," Tom Hiznay, a county planner told the appeals board. "To rectify the problem, they sought a special-use permit."

The original plan showed the playground extending much farther east onto the property, Hiznay said. The applicant later "drastically revised their plans to request only what they encroached into," Hiznay said.

The county also required the day care to put up a solid 8-foot PVC fence to buffer the day care from its neighbors, Hiznay said, noting that exceeds the county's code requirements.

Hiznay also noted there's a buffer of about 100 feet between the playground and the adjacent neighbors.

Mark Williams, who lives in Manor Oaks, said the day care should be forced to face consequences because it put in the playground and only sought the special-use permit after it was cited by the county.

He thinks there should be consequences for violating county regulations.

He also complained that the neighborhood had a wall on the property, now owned by the day care facility, which was destroyed.

"There was an issue involving the destruction of a wall. The destruction of the wall is a private matter between the residents and the applicant," Hiznay said.

Williams said neighbors "don't believe there is any valid reason for them to expand the playground."

He urged the appeals board to determine a masonry wall should be built to buffer the neighborhood from the day care.

The 8-foot solid PVC fence the county required - while exceeding minimum requirements - doesn't adequately muffle the noise coming from the playground, Williams said.

"I think a masonry wall is appropriate in this case," Williams said.

Denise Layne, land-use liaison for the Lutz Civic Association, said the day care put in the playground and then asked permission.

"This is a forgiveness special-use permit. They did it. They got caught," she said.

She asked the appeals board to protect the neighborhood. "A masonry wall is a much better sound barrier."

Tyler Samsing, an attorney representing Kiddie Campus University, said the applicant drastically scaled back the initial request.

"From the get-go, we really have been stuck on the masonry wall thing." Samsing said.

Appeals board members Biff Craine and Richard Harrison were not persuaded by the neighborhood or civic association arguments.

"You've got a 100-foot buffer," Craine said. The lot is almost entirely vacant and has trees on it, he added.

Richardson said it's not an issue of whether the children make noise on the playground. The issue, he said, is "What did the land-use hearing officer do wrong?"

The board found no evidence of an error by the hearing officer and rejected the appeal.

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

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