Oct 30, 2004

Residents Want Landfills To Remain Undeveloped

For years, two city-owned landfill sites have remained vacant, despite proposals and rumors to turn them into a golf practice facility or storage for abandoned cars.

The landfills, totaling about 50 acres west of MacDill Air Force Base between Manhattan Avenue and Wall Street, are used by walkers, golfers and dirt bike riders, who tear up the grass and expose the trash underneath.

Residents this week reiterated that they want the landfills to become community recreation space with walking trails, a small dog park and room for neighborhood gatherings.

``This is one of the largest green sites in our community,'' resident Jill Buford said. ``It will be really nice to have a wide open space for community events, to meet and greet people.''

At its meeting this week, the Civic Association of Port Tampa was scheduled to hear a proposal to develop the landfills into a paint ball course. But the speaker, Tom Bryan of Action Aquatics, didn't attend. He later said he was unaware of the meeting after his previous appearances were postponed.

``I want to create a unique park in South Tampa to allow kids to participate in this sport in a controlled environment,'' said Bryan, who sells scuba gear, firearms and paint ball equipment. ``It can also be used by law enforcement and military for training. It will be a joint effort between MacDill and the city to create a very unique park for the city of Tampa.''

Representatives of a golf training facility, who tried more than a year ago to persuade residents to let them build on the landfills, attended this week's civic meeting but didn't speak.

David McCary, the city's solid waste director, said the neighborhood must make a formal request to the city if it wants the landfills to become recreation space.

He said there have been no formal proposals to develop the landfills during his 14 months with the city.