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Debate on hospital is postponed
By SUSAN THURSTON
© St. Petersburg Times, LUTZ -- After several months of delays, Gerry Reno was eager to voice his concerns about plans for a medical center near his home in Calusa Trace. Like some of his neighbors, he took off work to attend a county zoning meeting on the issue and fought rush-hour traffic to arrive on time. Then he waited. And waited. County commissioners were supposed to act Tuesday on a request by St. Joseph's Baptist Health Care to expand an approved satellite hospital on Van Dyke Road. Instead, they postponed it to Sept. 11 after the audience objected. The board was scheduled to take up the item at 9 a.m., but didn't get to it until after 11:30 a.m. By then, it was too close to lunch, and commissioners said they would carry it over to 1:30 p.m. They wanted to ensure both sides got ample time. The approximately 30 Calusa Trace homeowners in the audience booed the delay and said they had waited long enough. Some had children to pick up from school and others had to get back to work. They demanded the board postpone it to another day and stick with the time. "This community has never asked for a continuance," said Reno, president of the Calusa Trace Master Association. "We feel it's necessary to maintain the integrity of the opposition." The board agreed to reschedule the meeting to next month, despite opposition from hospital officials who wanted to move forward Wednesday. Commissioners and the staff guaranteed it would be first on the agenda in September. People say they'll believe it when it happens. "It's depleting the opposition every single time we go through this," Reno said afterward. "More people are upset now with the process than they are with the applicant." St. Joseph's is seeking to increase the size of its planned medical center on Van Dyke and Calusa Trace Boulevard from 135,200 square feet to 360,000 square feet. The site plans shows a three-story hospital/medical office building and a future nursing, convalescent or assisted care facility. Neighbors argue the center will create noise and traffic problems and threaten the safety of children walking to nearby Schwarzkopf Elementary School. They want the size reduced and, most importantly, the entrances removed from Calusa Trace Boulevard. "It's not something that the people will compromise on," Reno said. "It has to be none or we will continue to fight." The satellite hospital has been on the books since 1986, when St. Joseph's won approval from the county zoning and state health agencies. Competing hospitals objected, however, and it was never built. St. Joseph's officials say growth in the area has warranted new medical facilities. The nearest hospital, University Community Hospital in Carrollwood, is several miles away on Dale Mabry Highway.
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