Road to new city a short, bumpy one

Residents who want Wesley Chapel to be its own city face soon-coming deadlines and a troublesome tax issue.

By JAMES THORNER, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published July 27, 2003

WESLEY CHAPEL - Pasco County's newest city could encompass 11 percent of the county's land area, 28,000 residents, more than 10,000 homes and some of the fastest-selling real estate in the Tampa Bay area.

But making a self-governing city out of 83 square miles of housing developments, strip malls, cattle pasture and swamp won't come easy.

For starters, there's the aggressive schedule sought by incorporation advocates: A referendum in 15 months that presupposes state legislative approval of the city's preliminary charter.

The community's biggest landowners have yet to be consulted. Yet most intend to sell thousands of homes in Wesley Chapel, touting in part the county's low taxes compared to neighboring Hillsborough County.

And if past referendums are any indication, Pasco residents, many tax-o-phobic after living in bigger-spending northern states, are loath to load themselves with new costs. Incorporation could mean property tax increases of a few hundred dollars a year.

All those concerns are valid, said Jim Williams, one of the Wesley Chapel residents on a self-appointed committee studying incorporation.

A part-time law enforcement instructor at Pasco-Hernando Community College, Williams said the time is ripe for considering self-government as developers fill the community with thousands of new homes.

"People have to weigh how much of a say they want to have in their own community, how much service-level increases they're willing to pay for and how much they're willing to control their own destiny," Williams said.

Details are still fuzzy, but they'll have to become much clearer by December, when a feasibility study describing the new city is due the state Legislature.

The committee, which meets weekly, consists mostly of Wesley Chapel residents and business owners. It includes Williams, Meadow Pointe Community Development District Board member and Pasco Planning Commissioner Dennis Smith, Zephyrhills resident Larry McLaughlin and Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce member Russ Miller.

The group suggests a city running east from Cypress Creek Road 9 miles to Morris Bridge Road. The north-south boundaries run roughly from County Line Road 8 miles north to near Elam Road.

All the major neighborhoods of Wesley Chapel sit within those borders, including Lexington Oaks, New River, Meadow Pointe, Quail Hollow, Saddlebrook, Seven Oaks and Northwood.

Committee says county overlooks their needs

"Sometimes we feel when Pasco officials are dealing with the entire county they have a lot on their plate, and our specific concerns are lost," said Williams, former city manager of Decatur, Ill., and a finalist for the Dade City manager's job.

Examples are many. Residents complained about the lack of a community library, sports fields and a traffic light at Curley Road and State Road 54.

They sought a new fire station in Meadow Pointe and a reduction in the size of business signs at new shopping centers appearing on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. They said County Line Road was too narrow to handle traffic near Sand Pine Elementary School.

But in most cases, the county has either fixed the problem or has committed millions of dollars to its correction.

"The things we have done will change the face of this place forever," County Administrator John Gallagher said.

Regardless, the path to becoming the 409th city in Florida - the seventh in Pasco - hides many hurdles.

First comes the feasibility study. Wesley Chapel incorporation supporters need to finish such a study by December and meet a series of conditions.

With an estimated population of 28,000, Wesley Chapel surpasses the minimum 5,000 population required by law. Its boundaries, though large, meet the requirement that they be "compact and contiguous."

But it fails the population density test. Within its proposed borders is 83 square miles, or 53,120 acres. Communities are supposed to have 1.5 people per acre. Wesley Chapel's population is more diluted.

But Williams and his colleagues insist it won't be long, with more than 10,000 new homes on the horizon, when the area is densely populated enough.

And the requirements are not necessarily binding, said Lynn Tipton with the Florida League of Cities.

"They do sound like requirements, but the Legislature may waive them if it so chooses," Tipton said.

Producing the feasibility study is a different matter. A study written for the new city of Palm Coast in Flagler County, which the House cites as a model for such documents, ran 200 pages.

Wesley Chapel needs to compile something similar, including a city charter and a description of proposed city services, in a three months.

Williams said the group has lined up a consultant who has agreed to help for free.

"Initially we would probably rely on the county and have some contract with it to provide, at least transitionally, some services," Williams said. "It's hard to build a $40-million water plant the first year."

Next comes submitting the study to the state House Local Government and Veterans Affairs Committee with the backing of the local legislative delegation.

State Rep. Ken Littlefield, a Republican who lives in Wesley Chapel, agreed the feasibility study was the right first step, but he otherwise sounded noncommittal.

Assuming the study passes muster, and Gov. Jeb Bush signs the bill, the state would set a referendum date for the November 2004 general election. If a simple majority favors incorporation, Wesley Chapel becomes a city.

Potential zoning changes might ruffle developers

Building political support among the populace at large is another story.

One big reason for incorporation is to allow locals to shape the course of Wesley Chapel development. That's done mostly through land-use regulations and zoning.

Although most of the thousands of homes slated for construction have been preapproved through the county zoning process, Williams hopes to have some leverage with developers when they try to change their plans.

That could put incorporation supporters at odds with the community's largest landowners and developers. Two of the biggest, Don Porter, owner of the 5,000-acre Wiregrass Ranch, and Don Buck, developer of Meadow Pointe, couldn't be reached for comment.

But Porter's family is about to submit plans to develop the ranch, which dominates the heart of Wesley Chapel. The family has indicated the future includes thousands of homes and a full-scale indoor shopping mall.

"Our goal is to talk to all the affected parties, especially the land owners, over the next few weeks," Williams said.

"I would hope they would be encouraged," he added. "We're not anti-development, but we would like to see it done in such a way as it helps everyone in our area."

One further fact could mar the incorporation effort: Pasco plans to put its request for a 1-cent increase in the county sales tax on the November 2004 ballot. It's called Penny for Pasco.

Some in the community have already reacted to what could be a double tax increase. And for some residents, like those in Meadow Pointe who pay hundreds as part of a Community Development District, the burden would be even larger.

"Are they really serious about putting the proposition for the incorporation of Wesley Chapel on the ballot at the same time as "Penny for Pasco?" Meadow Pointe resident Seymour Weinberg wrote the Times.

"The citizens will have the opportunity to vote "NO' twice."

- James Thorner covers growth and development in Pasco County. He can be reached at 813 909-4613 or toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 4613. His e-mail is thorner@sptimes.com