State to review Quarry Preserve

Local engineer Don Lacey said Tuesday the proposed Quarry Preserve would be so large that people who live there will conceivably never have to leave the community to shop, work or seek recreation.

Lacey, with Coastal Engineering Associates, said he's lived here 30 years and has never worked on such an ambitious plan, and this "raises the bar" for development in Hernando County.

Three of five county commissioners agreed with the engineer's outlook.

They voted 3-2 to transmit a request to amend the county's comprehensive plan to the state which would allow the development of the Quarry Preserve, a 5,800-home residential development on the north side of U.S. 98 and Lake Lindsey Road.

The Florida Department of Community Affairs (DCA) will review the proposal, issue a report and send it back to county commissioners who will then schedule a public hearing to again debate it and reach a decision.

The quarry is located in a rural, undeveloped site north of Brooksville, on almost 4,300 acres of former mining land owned by Florida Rock Industries.

Plans call for up to 5,800 houses, 200 lodges, 850,000 square feet of industrial and office uses, a community park, golf courses, a future school and other amenities.

Lacey said this will transform played-out mining property into a viable use.

And because the Preserve will be a sustainable community, people do not have to take their cars into the county and add to congestion on other roads, Lacey said.

Lacey said there would be 3,000 jobs created within the Quarry Preserve but did not identify the types of jobs.

The majority of commissioners see the Quarry Preserve as being a well-planned project that sets the stage for responsible future growth.

However, Commissioners Dave Russell and Rose Rocco voted against transmitting the project to the state because they did not believe the developer sufficiently answered questions about water and sewer needs, the impact on schools, transportation and other infrastructure concerns.

"There are too many loose ends," said Russell, who didn't think the developer did a good enough job convincing the board that the project is economically feasible.

Rocco said any jobs to be created from the project are too far into the future.

Attorney Jake Varn, representing the developer, Brooksville Quarry LLC, said once he obtains the necessary local and state clearances, the first stages of building could begin as early as 2015 - as soon as the developer installs the necessary infrastructure improvements.

Varn called the development a "sustainable community," which means people who live there conceivably will not have to leave the site to shop, work or go to school because all those amenities will be on the property. There will be retail and other jobs on site that people can walk to, he said.

There will also be a community park.

"It will be a community unto itself," Varn said.

Varn stressed that the developer will foot the bill for infrastructure improvements.

"This project will pay for itself," said Varn.

Much of the criticism of the project centered on the possibility of congested roads from the influx of new residents. Several residents also said the project would be an example of urban sprawl.

Much of the meeting was a back-and-forth among staff, developers' representatives and commissioners as they tried to hash out numerous concerns ranging from urban sprawl to congested highways.

Coastal Engineering Associates President Cliff Manuel said the developer plans to build and pay for an onsite wastewater treatment plant - owned and operated by the county - that will service not only the Quarry Preserve but other areas of the county.

Manuel said the developer is planning to spend $50 million in roadway improvements, which would include U.S. 98 north to the Suncoast Parkway.

"We are not proposing any county dollars to offset our transportation impacts," Manuel said. "They are developer-funded and we will be working with the Florida Department of Transportation."

Linda Shelley, a land use attorney representing the developer, said there is no legal definition of urban sprawl. However, the Quarry Preserve does not fall into what experts generally consider urban sprawl to be, which is poorly planned, low-density housing without a mix of land uses that would sustain it.

"If you live in a sprawl community, you have to get in your car to go anywhere," Shelley said,

The Quarry Preserve not only takes unused mining land but transforms it into a mixed use area to enhance the county, she said.

There were some 30 people in attendance at Tuesday's debate, and they were evenly divided on the project.

McKenzie Smith said this project, along with other mega-developments proposed for Hernando County, will lead to a crisis in water resources in Hernando County.

Smith also objected to amending the county's comprehensive plan, which sets growth parameters,

"If we can amend this anytime we want, why have a comprehensive plan?" Smith asked.

Leauna Morton said the county needs private sector jobs and in proximity to where people live, along with well-planned residential communities.

She believes the Quarry Preserve fits the bill.

"We the taxpayers do not need to subsidize projects or developers," she said. "We need developments that pay for themselves."

Susan Wysong said she would like more concrete information on the 3,000 jobs the developer is promising will be created so that the workforce can start training efforts.

Civic activist Janey Baldwin said she has heard the developer's presentation three times and after each listening, the project becomes more grandiose.

"It's so big now ... where's the airport?" Baldwin asked.

Also, Baldwin said she hears a lot about a "sustainable community" but questions who in this area has the money to sustain it.

Unless the developer is mining gold in that area, there is no money to afford this, she said.

Realtor Gary Schraut said the county needs subdivisions such as the Quarry Preserve that meet the standards to make this area grow.

Also at Tuesday's meeting:

John Druzbick will steer the helm of the county commission during 2010, a year that board members have already said will be a choppy one due to declining revenue streams.

The board unanimously accepted a motion from County Commissioner Jim Adkins to elect Druzbick.

The only other nomination was from Commissioner Rose Rocco, who asked that Commissioner Dave Russell continue to chair the board to provide continuity as the board wrestles with issues of policy and budget.

Rocco, the sole Democrat on the board, was elected vice chairwoman for the third consecutive year.

Rocco had told Hernando Today last week she believed it was time for her to be chairwoman, which would be the natural progression from vice chairwoman.

But after seeing which way the votes were going Tuesday, she said she decided not to throw her own name into nomination.

She called Tuesday's vote "political," with the four Republicans on the board wishing to keep the chairmanship.

Rocco said she is comfortable with the move, as long as there is harmony on the board.

Russell said while politics may have played a small part, he believes Druzbick was selected because of his institutional budget experience from his long tenure on the school board.

Adkins said he picked Druzbick "because he's a good man."

Sunday's death of Hernando County Fire Rescue District Medical Director Robert Blackburn forced commissioners to move quickly in finding an interim replacement.

Dr. Michael LoGuidice Sr., who serves as the director of the emergency room at Brooksville Regional Hospital, has agreed to take the position until a formal appointment can be made at a later date.

LoGuidice agreed to do the job for $3,500 per month.