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Golden arches turn into a divider
© St. Petersburg Times, WESTCHASE -- A homeowners' leader here once said there were two kinds of people -- those who have swing sets in their yards and those who have to look at them. Truer words were not uttered until a developer introduced the "M" word into the local lexicon. Not marriage. McDonald's. You would think this were the end of civilization, and in a way it is. Fast food has family friendly Westchase in its cross hairs and, true to the prophecy, there are two kinds of people: Those who frequent McDonald's and those who have to live near it. Aaron Heck, 28, is of the latter variety. A three-year resident of a Westchase home near the fated intersection of Linebaugh Avenue and Countryway Boulevard, he is watching in dismay as his paradise grows more like a city. "You're talking about traffic, about killing trees, about the lights, about the pollution," he said. "We have animals who live here and they are already being hit by cars." Heck and a large number of his neighbors are asking: why in Westchase? If somebody wants a Big Mac that badly, why can't they drive a few miles to the McDonald's in Oldsmar, or the one near Citrus Park Town Center? Then there's that other half who ask: What's the big deal? Or, in Abby Whaley's case: When will it open? Whaley, 29, is eager to take her son to McDonald's, as her father used to take her when she was a child. "Something about McDonald's and a kid -- they just go hand-in-hand," she said. Heck and Whaley are not the only two people with strong opinions about McDonald's, far from it. Seeking to take the community's pulse (or, as cynics say, to create an appearance that they cared), the Giunta Group developers mailed thousands of surveys and opened up an Internet opinion forum. They received more than 500 responses, they say, with a slight majority favoring the project. The Web site responses, which numbered more than 100, were largely predictable. The anti's warned of crime, trash, unruly children, unruly teenagers and a proliferation of Burger Kings, Wal-Marts and other outlets that were decidedly low-rent. While most were civilized in tone, a few took pointed shots at the McDonald's lovers. "Get off your lazy (fill in the blank) and drive to the one at the end of Race Track Road," a man from the Greens wrote in a dispatch titled, "Abby you need to get a life." So much for class. These largely anonymous e-mailers warned that drug dealers would make their way into Westchase after hours, and that fast food was for slow minds. Then there was a middle ground: Build a McDonald's, but make sure the design is harmonious with Westchase's architectural standards. Kind of like the art deco Burger King in Miami's South Beach, which caused a similar stir in its day. Heck, who works in the computer industry, said he was not surprised at the volume or tone of his neighbors' remarks. But Whaley was somewhat put off. "The pretentiousness surprised me a little bit," she said. "Outside, people view Westchase as snobbish, a place where everybody has money and nobody has to work." Her experience has been very different, she said. "This is by far the friendliest place I have lived in. . . . People go out of their way here to speak to you, to wave when they exercise." The McDonald's debate "seems like it's almost divided us straight down the middle," she said. What would you expect?It happened in 1995, when McDonald's made its first run at fashionable Tampa Palms. People fretted about the noise, the smell, the riff-raff who would pull off of Interstate-75 at all hours. They predicted Bruce B. Downs would start to look like Dale Mabry Highway Guess what? Tampa Palms survived, though they were right about Bruce B. Downs. Homes in Tampa Palms still fetch $250,000, $400,000, $1-million. They're considering a tax hike -- though rising property values have made their tax rolls good and fat -- so they can elevate landscaping to something "Disney-esque." With luck, Westchase also will survive the inevitable. Parents with good common sense will limit their forays for Happy Meals. They'll order salad. They'll take up running, as Whaley has. She's not ashamed to admit that some of her happiest childhood memories happened when her father, who now lives in Atlanta, would take her to McDonald's for breakfast. "I would go there with my father every Saturday morning," she says. "Every Saturday morning." She remembers calling the cinnamon rolls "toast and bugs" as a small child, and enjoying the privilege of his undivided attention. "That's just something that you never forget."
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