Tahiti Park residents could pay for park expansion

Two years ago, the City Commission agreed to explore the possibility of buying two pieces of property on Hampton Road at U.S. 41, a move that would have satisfied the Tahiti Park neighborhood’s desire to block commercial development on the land.

Although the property owner rebuffed the city’s inquiries at the time, the land is now for sale. As a result, the city is once again considering purchasing the North Trail parcels and incorporating the land into nearby Whitaker Gateway Park.

After a discussion at Monday’s meeting, the board took no action on acquiring the land, instead deciding to revisit the topic at a February meeting. But already, one complication has arisen: the question of who would pay for the property.

In a memo, City Attorney Robert Fournier said staff has identified two mechanisms for potentially funding the acquisition of 0.55 acres at 1186 and 1174 Hampton Road. Both options would generate the necessary revenue from property owners near the land in question.

The first is the creation of a special taxing district for properties in the area. The second is the establishment of a non-ad valorem special assessment district where property owners in the area “would be fairly assessed in proportion to the benefit received” by the purchase of new parkland, Fournier wrote. Staff said the taxing district was its recommended funding mechanism, should the commission wish to move forward with a purchase.

According to the city’s estimates based on the list price for the land, the ad valorem property tax could require individual Tahiti Park landowners to pay anywhere between $169 and $25,111 annually, depending on the terms of a bond. The property is listed for $950,000.

Although the Tahiti Park Neighborhood Association has not yet met to discuss the proposal, association President Melinda Delpech said she believed the city should bear the cost of buying the land. She said residents might be willing to consider some financial contribution toward the acquisition, but she said the city should be responsible for covering the majority of the expenses.

“We don’t want to be the 100%,” Delpech said. “We don’t even want to be the 50%. We would like to maybe be 20%.”

The Hampton Road properties have been the subject of contention since 2012, when owner Steven Bedi applied to rezone the land to facilitate the construction of a medical resort. Although the land was designated for commercial use, Tahiti Park residents argued the proposal did not fit with the nearby residential neighborhood. Furthermore, they said, the city did not properly notify residents when changing the land classification of the properties in 2008.

Fournier said the city had met the necessary legal requirements for changing the land classification, though he acknowledged the city’s failure to notify residents via mail. Staff also did not list the land use change on some maps presented at community meetings regarding broader revisions to the city’s comprehensive plan.

Fournier said he thought the purchase merited some discussion considering the issues associated with the land use change. Delpech said those issues are why the city should pay to acquire the land — and suggested if a third party purchased the property and sought to build a commercial development, a lawsuit could follow from the owner or residents.

“We think since the city created this problem, the city should fix this problem,” Delpech said.

Commissioners said they were reluctant to take any action until they heard an official position from the neighborhood association, which plans to discuss the topic at a meeting this month. The board also sought additional information about the land itself, with Fournier suggesting $950,000 was a high price for the property.

Even before the discussion continues, a majority of the commission indicated hesitance about the prospect of committing city resources toward buying additional parkland adjacent to Whitaker Gateway Park.

“There are other parts of the city that don’t have a park,” Commissioner Liz Alpert said.