Fire Station - E-mail sent to Largo Mayor and CommissionersI read with great interest the article "Largo sets sights on school property." I live on Wilcox Rd. and understand I must endure the fire and ambulance vehicles racing west on Wilcox as it is a short cut from Ulmerton to Indian Rocks Rd. It has been my experience that a Fire House in a residential area is a bad idea. The proposed locations are surrounded by apartments, condos, and single-family residences all of which would suffer from late night emergency runs where fire equipment must, by law, blare their sirens and air horns. Also, I'm sure the residents of Belleair Bluffs will be thrilled to know fire and rescue services will be moved another 5 minutes away. These facts notwithstanding, the real issue I am writing you about are the zoning issues of that parcel. It is now zoned institutional which, I assume, includes Fire Houses. The issue is that in order to get the zoning changed by the school board from R1 to institutional in 1994 there was an amendment added by then Mayor Thom Feaster. This stipulation was that if the school board did not build schools on that property the parcel would revert back to "residential low." This motion as amended was moved by Vice-Mayor Miles and seconded by Commissioner Jackson. Commissioners Dean, Ford, Jackson, Miles, and Mayor Feaster voted Aye and the motion was carried unanimously. This action is a matter of record in the minutes of the August 16, 1994 city commission meeting, of which I have a copy. It is also documented in several articles and an editorial. I have referred to this stipulation to the city commission several times since, such as when the school board violated zoning restrictions by dumping sludge from McKay creek on the property and my request then to refer this parcel back to Residential low was conveniently ignored. I feel if this situation is again ignored it would severely detract from the authority of this, and all previous city commissions and undermine any rulings from this point forward. It would also open the floodgates for property to be used for whatever, regardless of zoning constraints making our city wide open to wide spread zoning variances. If the city wishes to continue with this project they must proceed along proper channels to zone this property properly. - Stanley E. Gams
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