TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. (WFLA) — The City of Tarpon Springs Board of Commissioners on Tuesday will meet to discuss a proposal for a controversial apartment complex on the Anclote River.
The proposed luxury living complex would have 404 apartments and be located on 42501 North U.S. 19.
City commissioners voted to move forward with the proposal after two feedback sessions in October, which went into the early morning.
“Pinellas County is full. We don’t need anymore people. What we need is to save the spot for nature,” said Theresa Rubalcava, one resident who voiced her concerns.
The plan has neighbors worried about additional traffic on U.S. 19 as well as the preservation of wetlands and two bird nesting sites located on the 74-acre property.
Planners with developers, the Morgan Group, said they’re addressing all these issues.
“The number one priority when they designed this project was to be sensitive to all of these environmental features and work with the environment instead of just plopping down a project and throwing as much density as they could,” Cyndi Tarapani told the commissioners.
Some Pinellas County residents, including Rubalcava, want to see something else on the site.
“Native lands and the open spaces that we have are being taken away for something that’s not going to be safe for us—that road is so horrendous,” she said.
The next public meeting will take place at Tarpon Springs City Hall at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
