Travel south along Race Track Road in the southeast section of Oldsmar and, shortly after turning off Lafayette Boulevard, it feels like you’ve pulled on Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak: The noisy city backdrop quickly fades away, replaced by natural sights and serene sounds that recall the ‘Old Florida’ way of life.
But thanks to the proposed development of two gated communities on the Hills-borough County side of the road, residents fear the encroachment of sub-urban sprawl will upset the balance, not to mention the beauty and tranquility, of the area long known as R.E. Olds Farm.
So instead of sitting tight while Ryland Homes, one of the nation’s largest homebuilders, begins construction on the Oldsmar Trace subdivision, the locals decided to unite and put up a fight, hoping to stop, or at least put a dent in, the developer’s plans.
“We all got together in March or April, when we found out they were building the subdivision,” Rose Ann Parsons, who has lived in the area since 1976, told Oldsmar Connect.
“We got together and formed an association so we can be active and do something about the issues affecting our community,” she added.
“This has been going on for years, developers trying to build on that property, so we decided to try and do something about it.”
UPSETTING THE BALANCE OF NATURE
Parsons and fellow members of the R.E. Olds Farm Civic Association said their main concern regarding the new development, which will feature roughly two-dozen homes, is flooding.
They said the area is already prone to seeing high water levels, thanks to its low-lying lots and proximity to Old Tampa Bay, and they believe the amount of backfill that would have to be brought in to fortify the new homes will only exacerbate the problem.
“The biggest thing, our main concern, is flooding,” Mary Weiss, who has lived at the intersection of Race Track Road and State Street for 16 years, said.
“Also, we’re concerned about a long established eagles nest, and the half a dozen properties with horses in the area on the Tampa side.”
Weiss, who recently took her concerns to the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners, said the addition of Oldsmar Trace would negatively impact the community.
“It changes the whole character of the neighborhood,” she said. “It’s not compatible with our neighborhood.”
SIGNS, SIGNS…
Judging by the volume of anti-development signs dotting the lawns and fences in the area, there’s quite a lot of support for the group’s cause.
Take a quick drive around the neighborhoods, either by car, golf cart or horse, of which there are many, and you can’t go more than a few yards before seeing the ubiquitous white signs with red lettering proclaiming “Developers Stay Out,” Save Old Florida,” and “Ryland Homes Not Welcome Here!”
By Jared Vernon’s estimation, there are 200 such signs sprinkled around the area. And he would know, because he’s the one who printed them.
Vernon, who recently moved from Carrollwood to a secluded lane off State Street, said he didn’t make the decision to relocate to a more peaceful place only to have city congestion come to him.
“The thing I love about this area is, two turns and you’re in the middle of nowhere, two turns and you’re back in Tampa,” he said. “I had no idea this was even here.”
“The crazy thing to me is, if I wanted to live in Westchase, I would’ve moved there,” he added. “To put 26 homes in here is crazy. You hear peacocks and coyotes and all kinds of animals in here, and no one cares.”
CHANGE NOT ALWAYS GOOD
The question of whether Ryland Homes, or any developer, should be allowed to build on the land in the R.E. Old Farm area has never been in doubt; most of the property was rezoned by the Hillsborough County Commission years ago to accommodate residential development.
But the economic downturn, along with other factors, had prevented any progress from being made on the projects until recently, when work started up again on the Marsh Pointe community.
According to Oldsmar Mayor Doug Bevis, that development has been long in the works.
“I remember going back there five, six, seven years ago and the infrastructure was already there,” Bevis told Oldsmar Connect. “But then the economy went in the tank and everything just stopped.”
But despite the fact that it appears the Ryland projects are back on track now that the housing market has shown signs of recovery, these concerned residents aren’t giving up.
They still hope to convince the developer to make changes to the number of homes being built and the style they will adopt, and they want reassurances that the flooding situation won’t be worse than it already is.
“We’ve asked for changes, such a lower density and more insurance against flooding, but their idea of changes are different from ours,” Vernon said. “But until they break ground, there’s a chance it won’t go through.”
Babe Wright, a longtime Oldsmar resident and former City official who has seen plenty of change in the area over the past 40 years, said enough is enough.
“I’ve seen a lot of change in the area — some for good, some not so good,” Wright said. “What they want to do here is nowhere near what we have here. Don’t try to shove it in our face.”
“It’s chipping away at our lifestyle down here. After these two developments, there isn’t going to be any land left.”
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