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Coastal land eyed for preservation rezoned for 60 homes

 
Published April 27, 2016

NEW PORT RICHEY — A pair of eagle nests couldn't ground a plan to turn a portion of 80 coastal acres in Holiday into a new 60-home neighborhood.

On Tuesday, county commissioners unanimously approved rezoning the Mickler family property into a master planned development that will allow 60 homes on 25 acres north of Strauber Memorial Highway and east of Bailee's Bluff Road.

The rezoning came amid objections from environmental groups and residents in nearby neighborhoods, who protested potential harm to wildlife, lost habitat, flooding and additional traffic on Strauber, a winding two-lane road that is considered substandard because of its narrow width.

But it was the eagle nests that stirred the most consternation. After the county's Development Review Committee approved the rezoning in November, the nests were discovered, delaying a scheduled Dec. 15 commission hearing for four months. The developers reconfigured their conceptual plans to account for the nests, and they will be required to follow federal and state rules protecting the eagle habitat.

But Barbara Walker of Palm Harbor, representing the Clearwater Audubon Society and Eagle Watch, warned that developers could seek state and federal permits instead of protecting the nests.

"Permits are for disturbing eagles,'' Walker said.

Ellen Maracotta of Holiday suggested their concerns should be given the same consideration as the proposed rural protections championed by residents in northeast Pasco.

"What are we? Chopped liver? We are telling you we don't want it overdeveloped,'' Maracotta said.

That argument, however, failed to sway commissioners, who heard that the four nearby neighborhoods — Sand Bay, Ibis, Key Vista and Vista Lakes — are similarly or even more densely developed than the Mickler proposal.

The Suncoast Sierra Club urged the commission to reject the rezoning and instead resume negotiations to acquire the property through the county's Environmental Land Acquisition and Management Program.

The county twice tried to preserve the land, the northern portion of which reaches into the Gulf of Mexico, but was unable to come to terms with the Mickler family. The land in southwest Pasco is considered part of the gulf marsh ecological unit. It consists of 34 acres of uplands, mangrove swamps, saltwater marshes and 22 acres submerged in the gulf. The neighborhood will be built on 25 acres, leaving about 10 acres of uplands undisturbed.

Last year, the county said the Mickler site received the sixth-highest environmental score of the 27 parcels on the ELAMP list. The acquisition program, however, is voluntary and property owners are under no obligation to sell to the county if they can get a better price elsewhere.

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"In a perfect world,'' said commission Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey, "I think it would have been great to be part of the protected coastline, but we didn't have a willing seller and we have to follow the law up here.''