NEWS RELEASES
New Tampa Area RV Park Draws Protests From Residents
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through Tampa Bay's Pasco County Community News' website.
ST. LEO, Fla. — The Pasco County Community News, an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Times, reports on a raucous public meeting involving a proposed RV park at the junction of Interstate 75 and Lake Iola Road. Vcare Consultants of Tampa wants to turn 130 acres of former citrus groves into a 675-space RV park next to Moody Lake. The development would include a lodge, convenience store, pool, dock and other recreational amenities.
Area residents at the meeting said that the development would establish a precedent of commercial intrusions into their rural area. The county’s land-use plan includes special protections against sprawl but these aren't applicable in this case, since they govern residential development only and the RV park is aimed at transients, making it legally similar to a motel. Other residents were concerned about water quality in Moody Lake. Developer Sanjay Amin pledged to clean up Moody Lake, which suffered a decline in water quality following the widening of I-75 from four to six lanes.
Read the full press account here.