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Community Tired Of Taking County’s Cast-Offs
By Melody Jameson
Jun 21, 2007, 22:39

BALM – There’s a new battle cry sounding in this small community with a long rural history: “Enough is Enough!”

It’s being heard more frequently as local residents and members of the Balm Civic Association wage war at hearings and in meetings on what some consider a continuing “plague” of projects that the rest of the county does not want in the backyard. 

Marcella O’Steen, current BCA president, ticked off a list of the “public works” that have been “foisted” on this settlement founded on sawmilling and agriculture which dates back to the 19th century.

About 30 years ago, Balm became the site of a high security prison, now known as the Hillsborough Correctional Institute, from which dozens of convicted criminals escaped.  Then, before the 20th century closed, she noted, the Southeast Landfill was built, serving as the dumping ground for growing Hillsborough County’s garbage, sometimes raw, sometimes incinerated, often with a strong odor.

Subsequently, a private company, Sun Country Materials,  established a second dump; this time for construction debris.  The result is what locals call without affection  “Balm Mountain”.  O’Steen calls it “huge, homely and feared as a possible groundwater contaminent.”  Over community objections, the county approved an expansion in recent years.

Add to this, she says, the nine dirt pits now permitted by county authorities to sell for the profit of their owners more than 56 million cubic yards of Balm’s soil, soil that once grew potatoes and tomatoes and pasture for grazing cattle. A 10th pit – the fourth expansion of the Shelley Lakes Mine -  could be approved by the county any day now to extract and sell off another six million cubic yards.

Then, there’s the paint ball field which has been operating illegally on Balm’s eastern side as its owner tried to get a change of zoning to accommodate the use.  When planners opposed this effort, the owner began pushing an amendment to the land use code that not only would legitimize the use but also allow miniature golf, batting cages and putting greens on the 119 acres.  
To top it off, county personnel responsible for wastewater treatment are considering an open area east of Balm for a 10 million-gallon-per-day treatment plant to serve the sewage disposal needs of residential development sweeping south from Riverview along U.S. 301. 

The situation has reached critical mass, O’Steen asserts. “Why,” she asks rhetorically, “is everything that no one else wants - some of those projects a lot of people think should be avoided like the plague - foisted on little Balm?”
O’Steen, now in her second year at the helm of the BCA, thinks she knows the answer. “It’s a small community of gentle people who want to live in the country. Maybe it’s considered easier to overpower than Sun City Center, for example,” she asserts.  “But that doesn’t make it fair or right,” she adds.  
O’Steen’s points are largely substantiated by county personnel.

The paintball operation has been cited for non-compliance because that land use is not permitted under the existing agricultural zoning,  said Bill Langford, code enforcement manager for the South County area.  Langford said he has met with “community leaders” in Balm and did not know that anyone opposed the paint ball operation.  

The case file is “pending” as the owner endeavors to amend the land use code in order to legalize the existing functions, Langford added.  No fines are being levied, he said.
     
George Cassidy, operations manager in Hillsborough’s Water Resource Services, initially told The Observer early this week that the Picnic area east of Balm was being eyed by planners as a possible site for a 10 million-gallon-per day sewage treatment plant to serve the growing subdivision populations along south U.S. 301.

Such a site, further from populated areas, would help buffer residents from the odor of a treatment plant, he indicated.   After talking with department planners, though, Cassidy then advised The Observer such talk is “purely speculative.”

The operations manager did acknowledge that the current treatment plant on the east side of I-75, north of S.R. 674, is nearing capacity.  The facility, which serves Apollo Beach, Ruskin and Sun City Center, can treat 4.5 million gallons a day and is functioning at about the 3.5 million gallons/day level. The plant could be at or beyond capacity in about year, he added, but the site is large enough to accommodate an expansion of the facility to handle increased demand.

Asked by The Observer if there are any limits on the number of objectionable projects to be concentrated in a single community such as Balm, Commissioner Al Higginbotham, whose district four seat represents the community, responded “there’re always limits.”  However, he also questioned whether Balm residents were making their objections known and found mitigating factors related to some of the opposed projects.

Regarding the possibility of 10 dirt pits permitted to take more than 62 million cubic yards of dirt out of Balm,  the commissioner and Plant City resident agreed “that’s a lot of dirt”  but suggested that market forces brought to bear by declining home sales in the area could reduce the figure.  

As for the paint ball operation, Higginbotham said that in his view appropriate enforcement pertinent to code  violations should be undertaken.  He added that he would not allow his children, now in their 20s, to engage in paint ball activities when they were growing up but that his personal views could not necessarily be imposed as public policy.

Higginbotham also said he was not aware of any possibility of siting a sewage treatment plant east of Balm.

O’Steen noted that Balm citizens “certainly have tried to make their objections known in unmistakable terms.”  Civic association members have articulated repeatedly their opposition to the dirt pits before planners and hearing officers because of such issues as the heavy truck traffic on narrow country roads, the air laden with dust particles, impacts on private water wells and threatened wildlife.  “This is a matter of human and animal safety,” she said.

Similarly, the association has called attention to such factors as the increased traffic to be generated by a paintball and sports complex, to the noise of competitive events and to the high, bright lights used to illuminate playing fields at night.   “We don’t object to a paintball field or sporting complex in the appropriate location,” she added, “but the present location in Balm is incompatible with the rural services area and inconsistent with Hillsborough’s Comprehensive Plan.”   
 
As for the potential sewage treatment plant, O’Steen suggested that expansion of the existing facility near the interstate might be much more feasible, all things considered.  “Using land already at hand and adding to  plant capacity surely must be a better use of tax dollars than starting fresh in a new site,” she said.

Higginbotham pointed out he will conduct a community meeting in Balm on Monday, July 9, adding “I expect to hear about these issues from the residents.”   

O’Steen said she has the same expectation.  “Rural Balm now is past the crossroads and is in danger of losing its identity along with its attractiveness as a good place to live,” O’Steen added.   “Enough certainly is enough!”

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