A Town Without Pity
Dear Editor,
It’s becoming more and more apparent these days that Sun City Center is in need of a zoning board. We have a dedicated Long-Range Planning Committee and a terrific Beautification Committee to oversee the buildings and landscaping projects of our community.
But what we don’t have is a zoning board to protect community homeowners from both irresponsible commercial and residential property owners, such as the commercial properties that downgrade both the ascetic [sic] and monetary value of Sun City Center homeowners with large, glaring electronic billboards and signage. Sun City Center’s State Road 674 is beginning to resemble U.S. Hwy. 301 in Riverview.
Commercial owners are not the only ones responsible for the downgrade. There are the residential owners — or more likely renters — who park their commercial trucks, boats and storage trailers in their driveway or at the side of the house, instead of designated areas provided by the community.
Is this the vision that Del Webb had for our community? This is the difference between Sun City Center today and 30 years ago. Written into the 1984 Agreement were the words: “Protect and maintain the now existing character and high quality of life in the Sun City Center Retirement Community.”
We can’t always rely on going to Hillsborough County for help to alleviate these blemishes on our community image. Many of these blemishes are not county violations in surrounding towns like Wimauma or Ruskin. We are Sun City Center, a retirement community. Like the words from Gene Pitney’s song, “It isn’t very pretty what a town without pity can do.” Or, in our case, can become.
Bob Kelly
Sun City Center
