Feedback from fellow board members about my post below alerted me to a need to make clear whose voice this blog represents. While I created it for the benefit of our community, I did so on my own.
Over time, as people looking for news and information about our community found this site, it grew into the de facto web site for the community. I'm glad it became a useful resource for people, and I've taken time to upgrade its functionality to make it a better tool for us.
But this blog has never been officially approved, sanctioned or controlled by the St. Charles Place HOA board of directors. I have written every word of this blog, and I am solely responsible for its content. I have always had the disclaimer on the site that says it includes opinions independent of the board's, and I have moved it up higher on the right-hand column of the page to make it more prominent.
I usually avoid mentioning my name, not for the sake of anonymity, but only because I want Google searches for me to take people to my professional web site instead of here. But come to any HOA board meeting (I've never missed one) and you'll find me, happy to discuss anything you read here, or any issue confronting our community.
John
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
They Want a Gas Station
They want a gas station in the commercial plot next to our community. That's the takeaway from a presentation representatives from Barclay made to the HOA last night. That's why they want us not to contest their request for a waiver from the guidelines in Hillsborough County's Riverview Uptown Overlay District.
Boiled down to it simplest terms, the Uptown Overlay District plan calls for buildings to sit up against US-301 road with parking behind them. This would virtually eliminate the possibility of a gas station going in that parcel. There are a tiny number of gas stations in the entire country where the pumps are behind the building, not visible from the road. While the developer could still put one in while conforming to the Overlay District plans, it is highly unlikely.
The reps from Barclay didn't explicitly say they intend to put a gas station there, but they want the option, since that maximizes their profit from the property, not to have the buildings up against the road, and have the parking between them and US-301, like every other strip mall.
The very thing the Uptown Overlay District plan hoped to prevent. (Read the plan's details here.)
Among residents at the meeting, the opinion not to support the waiver request was unanimous. The board did not seem to like the idea, either. But the board did not decide. It wants feedback on whether we can mount enough protest — either in person, or by email and letter — to persuade the Hillsborough County Commissioners to stick with their plans and reject the waiver request.
Some board members fear that the commissioners will side with the developer and want to explore negotiating with Barclay. Their thought is that it's better to get a gas station with nice landscaping as a buffer between it and us, than getting one with only a fence or a wall separating us.
Your humble blog author believes that a gas station going in that space is our worst-case scenario. Whether it has nice landscaping or not matters little, and thinks we should rally residents and unit owners to urge the commissioners to refuse the waiver request.
Let your board members know your thoughts. Do you want a gas station in that plot, or not? Are you willing to fight to keep it out? Your effort could be as simple as writing a letter of protest, but you also need to write to your board members at board@stcharlesplace.us.
Boiled down to it simplest terms, the Uptown Overlay District plan calls for buildings to sit up against US-301 road with parking behind them. This would virtually eliminate the possibility of a gas station going in that parcel. There are a tiny number of gas stations in the entire country where the pumps are behind the building, not visible from the road. While the developer could still put one in while conforming to the Overlay District plans, it is highly unlikely.
The reps from Barclay didn't explicitly say they intend to put a gas station there, but they want the option, since that maximizes their profit from the property, not to have the buildings up against the road, and have the parking between them and US-301, like every other strip mall.
The very thing the Uptown Overlay District plan hoped to prevent. (Read the plan's details here.)
Among residents at the meeting, the opinion not to support the waiver request was unanimous. The board did not seem to like the idea, either. But the board did not decide. It wants feedback on whether we can mount enough protest — either in person, or by email and letter — to persuade the Hillsborough County Commissioners to stick with their plans and reject the waiver request.
Some board members fear that the commissioners will side with the developer and want to explore negotiating with Barclay. Their thought is that it's better to get a gas station with nice landscaping as a buffer between it and us, than getting one with only a fence or a wall separating us.
Your humble blog author believes that a gas station going in that space is our worst-case scenario. Whether it has nice landscaping or not matters little, and thinks we should rally residents and unit owners to urge the commissioners to refuse the waiver request.
Let your board members know your thoughts. Do you want a gas station in that plot, or not? Are you willing to fight to keep it out? Your effort could be as simple as writing a letter of protest, but you also need to write to your board members at board@stcharlesplace.us.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Developments in Development
Our next HOA meeting is next Tuesday, September 25. A representative from the developer that wants the county to waive its planning rules for the parcel next to us (between US-301 and Dartmouth Hill Road) wants to speak to the board.
It is not set in stone that he will attend, but if he does, you might want to hear it, with the understanding that nothing he tells us is legally binding, and that any plans he might share with us will likely bear little resemblance to what actually gets built there.
A board member has unearthed a signed agreement between our home builder, KB Home, and the owner of the parcel that appears to grant easement rights to our roads. This would grant the developer the right to build entrances into the commercial development from Lake St. Charles Blvd. and Johanna Ave.
This adds urgency to our campaign to press Hillsborough County commissioners not to grant a waiver to its planning rules for the Riverview Uptown Overlay District.
You can help. As I wrote back in June, you can write a letter to the Board of County Commissioners asking it to reject the application. Send it to the planner with Hillsborough County Development Services that is leading the review of this application. Her name is Isabelle Albert. And her email is AlbertI@hillsboroughcounty.org. The application number is PRS 12-0600.
You can also send comments or testimony to either Hearings@HillsboroughCounty.org or by regular mail to:
Here is the letter I'm going to send. You're welcome to use that as a template for what you write. It will mean more if you use your own words, rather than simply copying and pasting this.
It is not set in stone that he will attend, but if he does, you might want to hear it, with the understanding that nothing he tells us is legally binding, and that any plans he might share with us will likely bear little resemblance to what actually gets built there.
A board member has unearthed a signed agreement between our home builder, KB Home, and the owner of the parcel that appears to grant easement rights to our roads. This would grant the developer the right to build entrances into the commercial development from Lake St. Charles Blvd. and Johanna Ave.
This adds urgency to our campaign to press Hillsborough County commissioners not to grant a waiver to its planning rules for the Riverview Uptown Overlay District.
You can help. As I wrote back in June, you can write a letter to the Board of County Commissioners asking it to reject the application. Send it to the planner with Hillsborough County Development Services that is leading the review of this application. Her name is Isabelle Albert. And her email is AlbertI@hillsboroughcounty.org. The application number is PRS 12-0600.
You can also send comments or testimony to either Hearings@HillsboroughCounty.org or by regular mail to:
PGM - ZONING HEARING SECTIONYou do not need to be a homeowner to do this. If you live here, this is your community, too.
PO BOX 1110
TAMPA, FL 33601
Here is the letter I'm going to send. You're welcome to use that as a template for what you write. It will mean more if you use your own words, rather than simply copying and pasting this.
Board of County CommissionersAt the last HOA meeting, someone mentioned that one of the e-mail addresses above did not work. I sent my letter to both of them and neither of them bounced. If I can verify that either one does not work, I'll update this page to include only the one that does.
c/o Ms. Isabelle Albert
Hillsborough County
Development Services Department
20th Floor
601 East Kennedy Blvd
Tampa, FL 33601
RE: PRS 12-0600
Dear Commissioners:
I own a home in the St. Charles Place townhome community in Riverview, and I ask that you reject the application PRS 12-0600 to waive the development standards within Section 03.20.00 (the Riverview Downtown - Uptown Overlay District) of the Land Development Code. Our tightly-packed community of 268 homes sits next to the planned development site and I fear that approving the developer's request will damage the quality of life and community, as well as home values, of my neighbors and me.
When I bought my home, it was explained that development would happen in that spot, so I understand that. But I also understand that county planners worked with citizens for more than a year to create a long-term development plan to help distinguish the Riverview Community from the miles of suburban development that line US-301 to its north and south. County Commissioners approved the rules. If we couldn't keep the green space in that parcel, being part of a downtown offered the next best thing.
Now someone, probably for the sake of another gas station, wants to erase not only the hard work of county planners and Riverview residents, but the unspoken agreement all of us in St. Charles Place made when we bought our homes. If you approve this waiver, we could lose the chance to make Riverview a distinctive community, built with thoughtful plans and original charm, that will bring higher quality development, and ultimately more tax revenue for the county.
I urge you to stand for the county's long-term plan for the Overlay District, and reject PRS 12-0600.
Sincerely,
John McQuiston
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