Suncoast Pasco News
Residents, Builder Clash Over Panel's Mission
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Published: July 22, 2008
NEW PORT RICHEY -- A tug of war developed today over a group Pasco County is forming to help overhaul land development regulations.
Residents pleaded with Pasco County commissioners to name more environmentally minded members to the panel, while Alex Deeb said he and other developers and builders need as much help as the county can give.
A big table will be needed to seat all 17 members of the group after commissioners today added a "citizen at large" spot.
The group, a "stakeholder committee," is part of a "land development code rewrite action plan" Chief Assistant County Administrator Michele L. Baker has co-written. Commissioners not long ago gave top priority to rewriting the development code because of a mish-mash of amendments and additions over the years.
Two East Pasco residents, Richard Riley and Nancy Hazelwood, complained the stakeholder committee has too many builders on it.
It's like a "fox guarding a hen house," Riley said during the public comments portion of today's County Commission meeting.
The builders on the committee appear to be in a "blind rush" to develop every nook and cranny of the county, Riley declared.
The stakeholder group needs more members concerned with Pasco's quality of life, Riley argued. It should not be just a "team of mechanics" intent on slanting land use rules in favor of builders, he said.
"Almost all of them have ties to the building industry," Hazelwood said, referring to committee members. The list looks like a building trade group, she said.
Deeb offered a far different perspective. A troubled building industry is wrestling with an economy the "worst I've ever seen in 30-plus years," he said.
Many construction workers are without jobs, said Deeb, co-owner with brothers Richard and Thomas of Deeb Construction & Development Co. The 76-year-old firm is the oldest home builder in the state, yet it is not constructing any houses, he said.
Pasco impact fees, approaching a total of $22,000 per new house, don't help, Deeb said.
"And it's going to get worse," Deeb predicted about economic conditions. He is concerned the commercial building industry is about ready to slump as badly as the housing market has done the past few years.
An unusually high 30 bidders competed for a recent Pasco County utility project, Deeb said.
Deeb suggested the county check into state assistance for first-time home buyers. The county could qualify for the program by lowering impact fees somewhat for 18 months, he advised.
"We need to look at the big picture to jump start this economy," Commission Chairman Ted Schrader said in response to the debate.
The construction industry has driven Pasco County progress decades, Commissioner Michael Cox observed.
But now "things are getting pretty desperate," Deeb said. He cited a news report about thieves stealing guard rails along a highway for the aluminum that could be sold.
Carl Orth can be reached at 727-815-1068 or corth@suncoastnews.com.
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