
Several members of Balm Civic Association oppose the proposed dirt pits, the topic of a public hearing Sept.15. Left to right are Jamie Frankland, Buddy Harwell, Jennifer Stone, Glen Fiske and Barbara Fiske, seated, in front of the site, a former orange grove near the intersection of CR 672 and the Balm/Wimauma Road.
Goliath vs. David battle continues over Balm development
BOCC to make decision after Feb. 15 hearing
By STEPHEN FLANAGAN JACKSON
A Goliath-like developer out of Tampa continues its aggressive and expensive effort to build residential and commercial developments in the rapidly disappearing open spaces in rural Balm.
The Balm Civic Association “vehemently” opposes this suburban sprawl. The BCA and other residents of the rural Balm area are expressing opposition to the Eisenhower Group developer’s request for a modification of a previous approval to move forward with its project they euphemistically deem a “planned village.”
Supposedly settled in favor of the developers back in October 2018, the Balm Civic Association unexpectedly has one more shot at stopping or slowing down plans for the residential and commercial development of this erstwhile rural area in southeast Hillsborough County.
The public hearing Monday, Feb. 15, at 6 p.m. can be accessed in a variety of ways in this COVID-19 era.
This Feb. 15 Zoning Hearing Master (ZHM) public hearing is a hybrid public hearing, so interested parties can participate virtually by means of communications media technology and in person. The App. No.: MM 21-0033 should be used when calling about the hearing at 813-307-4739, or email hearings@HCFLGov.net for more information.
The County encourages virtual participation, but in-person participation is also available at the time and location found below. For more information on the hybrid format and to learn how to access the hearing virtually, go online to the Hillsborough County Hybrid ZHM meeting page. From this page, anyone will also be able to sign up for public comment.
The public can access the hearing in the following ways:
- Live at Hillsborough County’s YouTube Channel. Hillsborough County’s HTV channels on cable television are at Spectrum 637 and Frontier 22.
- Recorded at Hillsborough County’s Playback YouTube Channel.
- The hearing will be captioned on the screen as well. The Feb.15 hearing will be held at Robert Saunders Library, 1505 N Nebraska Ave. in Tampa.
The Hillsborough BOCC will not attend in person but will receive the Hearing Master’s report within 10 days. The BOCC is expected to make a final decision at its April meeting.
The Balm Civic Association’s prior attempt to stop or reduce development of nearly 400 housing units on 178 acres of an abandoned orange grove fell short of its goal, leaving the developers in the driver’s seat. Acting on the recommendation of the zoning hearing master, the Hillsborough County Commission, at an October 2018 meeting, voted 5-2 to approve the application of the Eisenhower Group for C.R. 672 and Shelley Lakes Lane in Balm. County commissioners voting Yes for the developers were Stacy White of District 4, Victor Crist, Al Higginbotham, Sandra Murman and Ken Hagan. Voting No were Pat Kemp and Les Miller. Since that time, newly-elected commissioners are Harry Cohen, Gwen Myers, Mariella Smith and Kim Overman. They have replaced Crist, Higginbotham, Murman and Miller.
Near the Balm area presently in question several miles east of Hwy. 301, a new high school, a new supermarket, and new homes sparsely dot the landscape on C.R. 672, along with ranchettes, berry and tomato farms, cattle grazing and small, unkempt homesteads.
Having received County approval in 2018. the developers are now seeking a major modification of that approval. The modification would include extensive excavation in order to construct three large dirt pits in The Grove, an abandoned orange grove in Balm, tucked away between Wimauma and Riverview. The open pits would eventually be filled with water and touted as higher priced houses with “lakefront views” for the proposed housing and commercial development.
Siding with the Balm Civic Association are a Wimauma water refining company and a geotechnical engineer. The owner of Aquarius Water Refining states that additional or expansion of pits in the area could result in serious damage and contamination to existing resident’s water wells. Also, a geotech engineer who has lived in the Balm area for some 45 years, warns against the proposed excavation and its short-term and long-term effects on water quantity and quality, in addition to possible stress damage to homes in the vicinity.
With the Balm developers, Eisenhower Property Group of Tampa, prevailing in that first round at the County level, another gigantic development proposal, which could create more suburban sprawl, is moving through the process. That proposed mega-development for southeast Hillsborough County could affect over 4,000 acres of pasture and farmland in the once-wide-open spaces of this pastoral niche of the County.
Once again, it is the Eisenhower Group, and two other large developers, licking their chops to get their hands and their bulldozers on undeveloped Hillsborough County land, which is outside the present urban service area. In a detailed, expensive and extensive 144-page report prepared by consultants and lawyers for Eisenhower et al, the developers point out their rationale. They maintain prospective homeowners and renters who want to live near their work sites have nowhere to go in Hillsborough County.
The two developers joining forces with Eisenhower are Ag-Mart Produce, Inc. of Naples and McGrady Road Investment of Winter Haven. In a report entitled “Balm-Riverview Application for Comprehensive Plan Text Amendment,” the three developers target 4,413 acres, south of Lithia area, which are now in the rural land-use category. Developers maintain that the proposed change they desire “would aid in creating a workforce housing supply while also providing community amenities and capitalizing on the existing commercial uses in the area.”
As for Balm, one longtime Balm resident commented that if in April the BOCC approves the Eisenhower modification request, “the developers get their dirt pits, and we (in Balm) get the construction traffic, the noise and the water problems, as well as the on-going and overwhelming development.
“We are in danger of losing our lifestyle — open spaces and a semi-rural environment. We do not want suburban sprawl!” she concluded.