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To the residents of Safety Harbor:
Re: St. Petersburg Times, Clearwater
section, dated June 22, 2007, “Resident Blocks City’s
Plan.”
I resisted responding to Commissioner
Nadine Nickeson’s comments as long as I could but finally
gave in.
Commissioner Nickeson said: “To have
the CRA rejected because of one person — I am
perplexed.”
Commissioner Nickeson has missed the
point; one person did not cause the CRA to be rejected by the
county commissioners by a vote of five to one. William Turkali did
not cause the CRA to be rejected by the county commissioners. Four
property owners had their property downzoned from ROS-1 to the
lowest zoning of LDR-1 single story, 25 ft. max. height by
Commissioner Nickeson’s vote to downzone. William Turkali was
merely the spokesperson for four property owners. No, Commissioner
Nickeson was not alone, there also were Commissioners Andy
Steingold and Kara Bauer who voted for that LDR-1, 25 ft.
downzone.
Those were the only properties to be
downzoned at that commission meeting of January 2006. All other
properties were upzoned. Can you believe that? The only properties
to be downzoned in Safety Harbor up to the date of that meeting in
the last 14 years, and possibly ever. Commissioner Nickeson cannot
in anyway justify her vote to downzone only these four
properties.
I must repeat a statement that
Commissioner Nickeson said at that January 2006 meeting; for those
of you who have forgotten or did not hear it.
Commissioner Nickeson said: “I will
vote for LDR-1 25 ft. at this time, then when someone buys all the
properties and combines them, we can vote to rezone
them.”
Residents, I ask you, why would
Commissioner Nickeson vote for LDR-1, 25 ft. — a single story
house — devaluing our property by hundreds of thousands of
dollars, forcing us to sell at LDR-1, at the lowest market value
(to a developer), and then Commissioner Nickeson would vote to
rezone the property, (predictably, back to ROS-1) and the developer
would reap our hundreds of thousands of dollars?
In view of Commissioner Nickeson’s
comments, would someone out there explain Commissioner
Nickeson’s illogical vote for the LDR-1, 25 ft. single story
residence? There are many levels of zoning between ROS-1 and LDR-1,
25 ft. max. height. Commissioner Nickeson would have nothing but
the lowest LDR-1 25 ft. By Commissioner Nickeson’s comments,
I believe that she does know it is not feasible to build a single
story house right next door to Harbor Pointe’s two five-story
condos approved for the future. It is not feasible to rebuild a
single story house on this property if my house should be
destroyed. She basically knows this property should be zoned ROS-1
now.
I want to say to Commissioner Nickeson;
perplexed you may be; but by a vote of five to one (5 to 1) the
county commissioners rejected your CRA because they understand that
your vote did devalue our property drastically.
To you residents: Would any of you sit
back and accept this devaluation of your property by the three
commissioners? I think not, you would fight the same as I am
doing.
Commissioner Earle, in 2006, we had a good
discussion. At that time you agreed that the LDR-1 25 ft. was not
an appropriate zoning for our Bayshore properties, right next to
the two Harbor Point condos that will start going up next year or
later. You said you would support the ROS-1 zoning. Commissioner
Earle, is it not time to put this situation behind us and support
the ROS-1 zoning? You are a logical person, can we expect you to
step up at this time and remove the LDR-1 zoning?
We also have to remember Commissioner
Keith Zayac’s comments. He said at that January 2006 meeting:
“I was told that there would be no downzone in the CRA. It is
the wrong action to take when the property owners have had the
ROS-1 zoning for 14 years. I cannot vote for approval.” (And
Commissioner Zayac did not vote for approval).
For your information, residents, I have
been fighting this downzone for over a year and a half and I do not
intend to give up. Would you give up? I have sent several letters
to the city administration and the commissioners and they have
replied to none. They have not had the courtesy of a note, a letter
or anything.
In December 2006 I asked City Manager
Beckett for help in obtaining a response to one of my letters. A
week had passed and Mr. Beckett told me he had been ordered not to
talk to me any more. Mr. Beckett has not talked to me since that
date. No one in city hall has talked to me since that date. Is this
the help that you would expect from the leaders of our fair
city?
There is a FL Statute; 70.001
“private property rights protection.” Also called the
“Bert J. Harris Act.” Basically it says that when a
city government downzones your property and causes a devaluation in
the market value, then you, the property owner are entitled to
compensation.
Has anyone in the administration offered
any compensation to the property owners. A big
“No.”
Did Commissioners Nickeson, Steingold and
Bauer even inquire about the possible repercussions of this drastic
downzone from ROS-1 to LDR-1, 25 ft.? I think not. It is my belief,
from the way that they have treated us four property owners; that
we are merely a fly in their ointment. They believe we can be
summarily dismissed over this rezoning issue. I am sure they wish
we didn’t exist. But we do exist and the way to deal with the
present situation is to remove the LDR-1, 25 ft. zoning.
William M. Turkali
Safety Harbor
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