Advertisement

Hillsborough to preserve 449 acres in south county

The $32.5 million purchase will expand existing environmental land and end litigation over a disputed rezoning.
 
Hillsborough County is considering an offer to spend $32.5 million to acquire 449 acres that owners had tried to rezone in order to build an 899-home development. The property in Balm is adjacent to the county's existing 1,602-acre Balm Scrub Preserve.
Hillsborough County is considering an offer to spend $32.5 million to acquire 449 acres that owners had tried to rezone in order to build an 899-home development. The property in Balm is adjacent to the county's existing 1,602-acre Balm Scrub Preserve. [ Hillsborough County ]
Published April 18, 2023|Updated April 19, 2023

Hillsborough County commissioners agreed Wednesday to buy 449 acres of agricultural land in the rural hamlet of Balm that will end a legal claim against the county, save the property from development and expand the existing nature preserve next door.

The owners, Cassidy Holdings LLC and four other entities, recently offered to sell the land to the county for $32.5 million.

That’s significantly higher than two appraisals obtained by the county, which put the value at a maximum of $20.29 million. The owners’ appraisal report valued the property at nearly $49.5 million.

“It’s a piece of property we really need. The whole issue is the price. Right?” said Hillsborough Commissioner Michael Owen. “I tell people appraised values are appraised values. The property is worth what someone is willing to pay for it.”

The proposed sale price is below the midpoint between the county and private appraisals and the owners also have a competing offer to sell the land for $35 million, according to county documents.

Under a proposal approved unanimously by commissioners Wednesday, the county will use its Jan K. Platt Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program, known commonly by the acronym ELAPP, to buy the property near Balm and McGrady roads. The land sits adjacent to the county’s 1,602-acre Balm Scrub Preserve and will strengthen a wildlife corridor to the nearby Stacy R. White/Balm-Boyette Scrub Preserves.

The county added most of the property to its desired environmental lands acquisition list in 2005, but a county attempt to buy 367 acres from a prior owner was unsuccessful in 2013.

Cassidy Holdings LLC and four other property owners sought to rezone 17 parcels totaling 449 acres in August 2019 to allow for an 899-home development. Commissioners rejected the request on a 5-2 vote with then-Commissioner Mariella Smith noting the proposal did not fit the rural character of the surrounding area, would lead to urban sprawl and strain a substandard road network and other services.

The owners sued to overturn the decision, but Hillsborough Circuit Judge Carl Hinson ruled in the county’s favor, saying “the record contains competent, substantial evidence that there are legitimate public interests in maintaining the current zoning.”

The owners also lost an appeal, but later notified the county they intended to file a $22.48 million claim under the state’s Bert J. Harris, Jr., Private Property Rights Protection Act. That law allows landowners to seek relief when their property is unfairly affected by government action. The purchase offer came after a mediation session in February.

Related: Hillsborough to pay $38 million to buy land in zoning dispute

The purchase is scheduled to close June 27. The final sales contract also must be approved by commissioners.

“Having development there someday would be a disaster,” Owen said Tuesday. “It makes a lot of sense to make sure that we preserve that particular area because we own everything around it.”