By ED BALDRIDGE
ed.baldridge@newssun.com
SEBRING -- County commissioners decided to move forward with the Eagle National Security Training Center facility near Venus on Tuesday despite zoning concerns raised by residents living near the project.
The state's Department of Community Affairs (DCA) raised several issues about the proposed training facility in August of 2008, and County Project Manager Mark Hill was in the process of explaining the Stipulated Settlement Agreement that county staff had reached with DCA when adjacent property owners complained that they had not been properly notified concerning the rezoning of the area.
Highlands County resident Daniel Preston has property within 300 feet of the new development area, and informed the commission that he was never notified of the rezoning.
Property owners within 500 feet of are required to be notified.
"I never received any notice concerning this issue," Preston said. "This is the first that I have heard about the rezoning. I was not notified about this before hand."
Leslie Landers, another adjacent property owner, echoed that concern.
"We did not get proper notification either," Landers said.
"There are going to be a helicopter pad, a runway, live ammunition, and we were not informed," Preston said.
Hill assured the commission that everything was done properly at first, but after a break in the meeting, Hill stated that the certified notifications were not found.
"It appears that the 2008 rezoning may not have been done properly," Hill said.
But Hill recommended that the county continue with the agreement with DCA, and that the rezoning process could be redone at a later date.
"If the zoning was not done properly, we have 60 days to after we sign the agreement to get it done properly," Hill said.
Preston disagreed that the project should continue, especially if the zoning was not done as per statute.
"Since this was not done properly, I recommend that you not approve this today. I am concerned about the aircraft and the bombing that is going to go on at this facility.
"You are approving something that should not have gotten this far," Preston said.
Despite the possible lack of notices, the commission approved the agreement recommend by staff unanimously.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009 - www.newssun.com/0707-eb-county-eagle-develeopment-problems