Page 9 - 4-17-15 Friday's Edition

Local
First In Series Of Meetings Held For West Tampa CRA
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
On Tuesday night, more than 100 people packed the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center in West Tampa for a commu- nity meeting on the West Tampa CRA.
West Tampa CRA Develop- ment Manager, Jeanette Fenton, conducted the meet- ing and along with other city officials, answered questions from residents on the CRA and the impact it would have on the community.
Concerns about eminent domain to acquire property for redevelopment were raised, and Fenton said no eminent domain issues are even being considered.
One resident, Vanessa Williams, was concerned about regentrification of the West Tampa Community, and being priced out of their homes.
“Some people are con- cerned about how they will be able to stay in West Tampa after the CRA is in place, and being forced to move into the
county.
“It is not the intention of
the CRA to cost anyone their residency or a rise in their property taxes. What will come to West Tampa is more mixed- income housing.”
Fenton said they are studying the suggestion of set- ting up a web page exclusively for West Tampa, so all ques- tions can be address, and the residents can stay updated on what’s going on.
Joe Robinson, Vice-Chair of the West Tampa CDC, said the area of West Tampa be- tween Rome Avenue and Ar- menia has been blighted for more than three decades.
“I think that before any- thing is done with a plan on how and on what to spend the CRA dollars on, West Tampa needs to be cleaned up before any new developments come in.
“I also feel the money from the CRA will need to be lever- aged toward priorities more than trying to be a part of the city’s redevelopment plans for the area.”
A request for more green spaces in West Tampa was re- quested, and the need for the city to maintain them for the children as a safe zone.
Those in attendance ex- pressed concern about the crime in West Tampa and how it impact future plans for rede- velopment.
“Most of the people were concerned about how the com- munity will change and people who have called West Tampa home for generations will find themselves being pushed out,” said Fenton.
“The reason for the com- munity meetings is to give the residents more information about the process to alleviate those fears. We want to make sure everyone is prepared for
the CRA once it’s underway.” County Commissioners an- nounced last week they would not be making a decision on the request to extend the southern CRA boundary to Kennedy Boulevard at their first meeting
in April.
“We’d like to see that
process done before July 1st,” said Fenton.
“As far as the Citizens Advi- sory Committee (CAC) is con- cerned, that process won’t begin until the CRA is officially created. Right now, our focus is on creating the CRA, and we’re creating the plan. On May 7th, the City Council will have to ap- prove the necessity report and send it to the Planning Com- mission for review..”
Fenton said from that point, the Planning Commis- sion will have 30 days to review the CRA plan.
“The goal is to have all of this done by July 1st.
Fenton said the West Tampa CRA Plan will be sub- mitted in draft form to the City Council on April 30th.
City Council Chair Frank Reddick was in attendance.
This is a view of the crowd that attending the West Tampa CRA meeting. On the front row is Joe Robinson, James Ransom, Joe Red- ner, and Mrs. Ruth McNair.
FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 9-A