By Matt Wiley
In a dramatic turn of events, the barricades that block Wesley Chapel drivers from using Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe to travel south into Hillsborough County could soon come down if negotiations between the City of Tampa and Pasco County continue to move forward.
The issue of connecting Kinnan St. in the Cross Creek/K-Bar Ranch area to Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe has been at a standstill since the 2,000-ft.-long roadway was paved north to the county line in 2007 by the developer of Live Oak Preserve in New Tampa. Earlier in 2012, it didn’t appear that there was any hope of a connection being made in the near future. However, Pasco County officials recently have reached out to the City of Tampa about making that connection.
On November 26, David Goldstein, the chief assistant attorney for Pasco County, sent a document to the City of Tampa attorney’s office and an attorney for the K-Bar Ranch development, located east of Live Oak Preserve in the city portion of New Tampa, that detailed Pasco’s requirements for making the Kinnan/Mansfield connection.
“I am prepared to draft an agreement with the City and K-Bar Ranch as soon they confirm these conceptual terms are acceptable,” says Goldstein.
However, at our press time, Goldstein noted that he had not yet received any response from the city or K-Bar since he sent the letter.
Senior assistant City of Tampa attorney Julia Mandell says that city officials have not yet had a chance to go over Pasco’s proposal.
“We’re waiting until we can get everyone involved on our end into a room at the same time to go over the proposal from Pasco and carefully analyze it from the City’s perspective,” Mandell explains. “We weren’t given a deadline (by Pasco County).”
Goldstein agrees that there is no time requirement for an agreement to be made, but the roads will remain barricaded until an agreement is reached.
Among the requirements, Pasco wants a commitment from the City and/or K-Bar to pay for traffic calming improvements, or traffic signals, at the intersection of Mansfield Blvd. and Beardsley Dr., which runs along the southern border of Meadow Pointe, as well as at Mansfield Blvd. and Wrencrest Dr. The county would cap the funding commitment at $500,000.
Another requirement is a commitment from the City and/or K-Bar to provide four lanes of right of way, or land on which to construct, the “Beardsley Extension,” which would link Beardsley Dr. east to Morris Bridge Rd. The City would not be required to give up the right of way until Pasco completes a planned route study on the extension and soon would have access to the study once it is completed.
Goldstein’s memo also says that Pasco requires the right to construct any portion of the K-Bar East-West road between Kinnan St. and the planned Meadow Pointe Blvd. extension if the roadway hasn’t been constructed by K-Bar within four years of the Kinnan/Mansfield connection being made. Pasco officials also want right of way lanes from the city and/or from K-Bar for a connection further east, at the intersection of Wyndfield Blvd. and the Beardsley Extension, once it is constructed.
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