BEACONS

BROOKSVILLE — Brookridge residents have had enough.

A long line of them turned out at the April 14 County Commission meeting to demand the county rein in Alliance at the Grove, the commercial development that has overtaken what was once grassy open space between their homes and Cortez Boulevard.

Residents complained of construction noise, late-night dumpster pickups, glaring lights and traffic from patrons weaving through the shopping center and turning onto Brookridge Central Boulevard to reach Cortez. They pressed commissioners to explain how the project was approved and to push the developer for a sturdier barrier between their neighborhood and the businesses that have gone up so far.

Gladys Moore told commissioners the 20-foot buffer is not adequate.

“The noise, the traffic and the lights is becoming unbearable,” she said. “The only thing separating these homes is a chain-link fence, which is like nothing, some trees and bushes — all of it ineffective.”

Moore said the homes deserve a block or vinyl fence like those in other communities. She added that school buses are using the reverse frontage road as a shortcut.

“It’s not going to get better; it’s going to get worse,” she said.

Olive Garden, Mission BBQ and Dutch Bros. Coffee are open at the site. A Rooms To Go and an Outback Steakhouse are under construction, and a hotel is planned. For residents along the edge of Brookridge, only a fence, trees and landscaping separate their homes from the reverse frontage road.

Other residents echoed Moore’s complaints and pleaded with commissioners to act.

But Development Director Omar DePablo and County Attorney Jon Jouben said the commission cannot impose retroactive requirements on the project.

DePablo said the development was approved in 2022 with a standard 35-foot buffer along the Brookridge fence line. Although a fence was discussed, he said, it was never codified in the performance conditions. “It was thought that the 35-foot would suffice with existing vegetation or supplemented with landscape,” he said.

In 2023, because of conditions on Cortez Boulevard, the developer sought to push the buildings deeper into the property, and the 35-foot buffer shrank to 20 feet. Today, the distance from the chain-link fence to the reverse frontage road is 20 feet.

DePablo acknowledged the buffer has “weak” opacity and said newly planted trees could take 18 months to fill in. Some were spaced too far apart, he said, and the county is trying to negotiate improvements with the developer outside the performance conditions. Requiring costly additions now, he said, would be considered an undue burden.

Commissioner John Allocco noted that Brookridge was approved long ago and a community of its size today would be required to have more than one access point. Even residents whose homes abut Ken Austin Parkway must drive roughly three miles through winding internal roads to reach the gate-guarded entrance.

The extra traffic spilling from the commercial development onto Brookridge Central Boulevard has raised fears of crashes.

Commissioners discussed at length what, if anything, they could get the developer to do.

Allocco said there is a reverse frontage road behind Register Chevrolet, where the trees are thicker, and the business does not operate late at night.

Commissioner Steve Champion said the commission has to do something. “There are a lot of upset people out there,” he said.

DePablo said he would work with the zoning inspector and code enforcement to push for daytime trash pickups.

Commissioner Ryan Amsler said residents have been coming to him for months about sand, ground movement and noise, and are unhappy with how the commission has allowed such developments to proceed.

In other action

The commission voted 4-0 to approve resolutions congratulating Community Legal Services on its 60th anniversary and proclaiming April as Child Abuse Prevention Month and Fair Housing Month.

Several residents were recognized for completing the county’s first citizens’ academy.

Commissioners approved a $1.214 million contract for new air-conditioning units at the detention center, among other items, but rejected a $101,000 contract for gutter and soffit replacement at the Eastside Library.

Commissioners also discussed future road funding and an issue involving Community Redevelopment Agencies. While the county can have multiple Community Redevelopment Areas, it can have only one Community Redevelopment Agency, Jouben said, adding that he and others are working on the matter.

Chairman Jerry Campbell said he wants to return proclamations to the top of the agenda.