Outspoken Commissioner Draws Praise, Concern

Safety Harbor City Commissioner Nancy Besore's decision to protest a 246-unit apartment development that the commission approved is drawing praise and questions, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners turned down the project last week, after the Safety Harbor Commission approved it in Feburary on a 3-2 vote.  Mayor Joe Ayoub and Commissioners Nina Bandoni and Richard Blake had voted in favor of the proposal, with Besore and Vice Mayor Cliff Merz against it.

Since the vote, Besore has consistently spoken out against the project as a resident to avoid any legel problems with the developer, the Richman Group of West Palm Beach.

The Tampa Bay Times reported that:

Besore and other residents insisted the complex would cause unbearable traffic, decreased property values and be out of place in quaint Safety Harbor. They said they'd rather keep the industrial designation, so county commissioners obliged.

Besore wrote to Safety Harbor Patch on Wednesday, May 15, to dispute part of that description in the Times: "I never argued property values. I stuck with density, building height, traffic, character, isolation, then industrial preservation."

An updated version of the May 10, 2013, Times article does not include the paragraph that Besore disputed. Here is a link to that updated article, posted on May 13.

The Tampa Bay Times article also quoted Besore as telling fellow Commissioners:

"I am the one who has consistently been telephoned, consistently approached at church, and they say 'Commissioner, help us.' "

Yet the proposed apartment complex did not just split the commission but also residents, as some business owners say the highly publicized protest has hurt development and the local economy.

[Updated: May 15, 2013, 10:56 a.m.]

More coverage:

• Firmenich Proposal Rejected by Board of County Commissioners (UPDATED)
• Firmenich Proposal Protest Scheduled for May 6
• Commissioners Split On Firmenich Property Proposal
• Commission Approves Firmenich Proposal By 3-2 Vote

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