public comment on rezoning road vacation and connectivity
What the county recorded
This item is not from the published agenda
It is a stretch of the recording that this archive identified as a separate matter — a call to order, a recess, or something taken up that the agenda does not list. There is no official title, no staff recommendation and no disposition, because the county never recorded one. Everything below is inferred.
The source document
The county’s agenda for Board of County Commissioners, Jan 10, 2023
The published PDF, as served by the county. This item is one entry in it.
The county’s minutes for Board of County Commissioners, Jan 10, 2023
The published PDF, as served by the county. This item is one entry in it.
What was said
Machine transcription of 12m of recording, with speaker names inferred from voice matching. 39% of 46 lines carry a name. It shows what was said, not what was decided, and both the words and the names can be wrong.
Here. Now is the time for public comment. Citizens are given an opportunity to comment on any current or future agenda item coming before the board and on other business under the board's purview. Today's public comment will be handled as follows. First, we will take the public comment from those who are here in person. Then we will take public comment from those who are pre-registered for a WebEx link and currently on queue. We request that when you address the board, comments are not directed personally at against a commissioner or a team member, but rather directed
at the issuers. This provides mutual respect between the board members and the public. After stating your name and address for the clerk, a three minute timer will be activated. After two minutes a single beep will indicate you have one minute left. When your time is up, two beeps will sound and you should close your comments. WebEx participants will be disconnected automatically when their time is up. Madam Clerk, do we have anyone signed up for public comment?
Yes, I have one person who signed up in person and I also have someone on WebEx. So we'll go ahead and do the citizen who's in person. Uh John Tomsu.
Hello Commissioner. John Tomsu, [address removed]. Before I begin, I'd like to submit this into the record.
Have a motion and a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you.
Thank you so
much.
Oh sorry, one of those is what I have.
So I just wanted to uh celebrate today. Um, because we can't I won't be here tomorrow. Uh, but tomorrow is the anniversary of the um
The rezoning resolution, uh 2225, Romeo Zulu. So on that uh resolution, the commissioners decided and voted against the rezoning of uh land in what's known as S-19 in the Seven Oaks community. Um unfortunately that was reversed after a process was done where it got to come back before the board, not through normal channels where they had to wait a year, but instead got to go through special mediation.
Um that mediation program resulted in some minor changes that the board at that time felt was significant enough to warrant the change in voting to allow the rezoning effort. We continuously see around the community, especially in the upcoming Saddlebrook area, um, opportunities where developers come in and they want to rezone air areas of land. Um rezoning is a very special process um that I would hope that the board continues to check all the facts on before they
allow that you know that type of rezoning. Specifically rezoning should be something that is necessary only for special circumstances. And I'm not talking about property owners who have a valid right to develop and do whatever is originally entitled for that land. What I'm talking about is the rezoning amendments that are required so that they can change that valid land use. Especially for areas like Seven Oaks that have been around since you know originally 2001, development starting in 2004, people moving in, a lot of those residents still
live there, and they bought into a community that you know was developed with a specific form and function. And that was supported through the rezoning efforts. However, one excuse, sorry, through the existing zoning efforts. However, whenever a developer comes in, purchases two plots of land. Inside S 19, uh knowing what that zoning is, and then request to have it rezoned, there has to be a special a special reason, a special purpose behind it. Uh in the past we've had a lot of residents come out and um support not
uh sorry, against the rezoning. Um and you know, I would just hope that uh in the future, um whenever we look at places like Saddlebrook and these communities that are currently in existence, um, that we always remember that the rezoning is something that's special. There has to be some you know urgent, dire need, uh an example of why it doesn't work to begin with before we allow that. So I really look forward to uh working with you guys in the future. Congratulations, happy New Year. And also you know if there is any type of possibility, I
would ask for resolution 2309 Romeo Zulu to be rescinded immediately so that it could be before the uh before the board. for uh a regular vote instead of going through the previous uh process. So
the time for reconsideration of that item has long since passed. Yes, sir. So you you there is no bringing it back up and and rescinding the resolution at this point unless it unless the court in the current challenge
decides that it was done improperly. That's the only way that the unless the property owner um seeks to downplan down rezone it that it's gonna come back to back to the board. Yes sir, I appreciate that. Okay.
And I just wanted to say that uh
you
know it never hurts to ask. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
I do have um an additional uh person that had um come in and signed. Um I think the name is Marlene Mann. Um Is that correct?
Pinking.
Hello, Marlene Mann, [address removed]. Uh I just want to go on record. to say that I oppose the vacating of the uh Pl platted, petition to vacate portion of three platted rights a away. By Blue Triton. I know it won't do any good, but I just speak on behalf of the neighborhood that used to be a nice quiet neighborhood of 16
homes, Dead End Street. We're in the county, but right next door to us is used to be Nestle's Ever Hills Bottled Water, now owned by Blue Triton. Blue Tr we our neighborhood was there before Blue Triton or Zephyrhills Bottled Water was ever built. We tried back then all the neighbors to Yeah. this to occur outside the city limits
because we are county. A dead end street and and the bottled water plant is city. And we had always tried to get them to go outside of the city but As it would be, uh They won and the city wanted them. Now in the eighties when the housing depression came and people couldn't sell their homes. Uh Blue Nestle at that time wanted to expand. They tried
to buy the ball fields from the city of Zephyrhills. That didn't work out. That was on the north. So instead they decided they would buy up all the homes they could on the other s south end And as they bought up eight of sixteen homes with the intent, I'm sure, to get rid of our neighborhood so they could expand. So that Okay. Bulldoze these homes down, so now we have them wanting to expand again. They're
going to get rid of a lot of big oaks, over 200 trees. They're going to bring this retention pond within 75 feet of our backyards. And and and also which was our roadway. is now what they're wanting to take over is the side streets, the uh roadways So it will be part of their property and I'm sure the next step they will try is to bring it
into the city limits. None of the neighbors want this. We don't want our peaceful neighborhood destroyed. uh with mosquitoes close by, all the trees, big oats disappearing, plus the big noise factor of the trucks, which are twenty four hours a day, which will be right close to our backyards and the big lights. That's all I have to say. I know uh Um
there's probably not much hope because big city and big companies always win. But thank you for hearing me out. That's my objection.
Mr. Chairman M this item is a public hearing item this afternoon.
Please come back to the public.
This item is number sixty-four on the agenda. It's a public hearing this afternoon.
This afternoon?
One thirty or soon thereafter, yes.
Well no but All I saw was the ten o'clock meeting. But thank you. What time is it? One thirty. One thirty. Thank you.
Okay. And we have a WebEx?
Um I do. I have um an individual on WebEx, um, Mr. Rob Park. Will you uh um it looks like you have been elevated, Mr. Park. You can go ahead and proceed. Please state your name and address for the record first.
Good morning. Rob Hart. [address removed]. Good morning, Commissioners. I oppose the suggestion made by this board. that neighborhoods should have interconnecting roads for citizens to bypass the arterial roads. It is irresponsible for the leadership of this county to purposely create scenarios that would jeopardize citizens' safety adding congestion
and tragedies that are happening on major roads to our neighborhoods. I am not alone in my opposition. For example, all of these have been in the news. In Rusty Chapel there was a dispute about through traffic between Meadow Point two and Metal Point three. Landers in Lutz is a neighborhood room. The new developments are part of the increased traffic. The real conflict. Is that it connects U S forty
one to Sunlight Boulevard? Away the pipe at us and state road fifty four. Yeah, you're gonna pay it. a neighborhood road in Newport Richmond. Has a traffic problem because it connects US nineteen and
little room.
Aaron Powell The neighborhood road and Lango Lake. has a traffic column because it connects State Road 52 and US 41.
Neighborhood road. has a through traffic problem. Because citizens and wilderness lakes use a platform out of their neighborhoods to bypass US forty one. Other people are turning on the redesigned Bell Lake Road using Carlier Parkway. State Road fifty four and US forty one intersection. No doubt there are many other examples. What do you think is gonna happen with traffic? When
the dozen of those apartment complexes nearing completion, the Wesley Chapel to Trinity opened. County leadership needs to come up with another plan. Answer. needs to be on keeping arterial traffic on arterial roads. Thank you for having me.
Okay. I
agree.