Driveway Paves Way For Traffic Concerns
By GREG PARLIER / NEWS CHIEF
Posted May 26, 2013 at 12:43 AM
LAKE HAMILTON — The Town Council heard comments from residents Tuesday night who have been upset for months over what they say is a commercial driveway that was paved to connect a business on U.S. 27 to a residential neighborhood.
The driveway was paved April 5 to connect Eric Jurin’s roofing business, Jurin Roofing Services at 29716 U.S. 27, to a 2-acre residential lot on Crump Road that he purchased in March 2010.
Town Planner Doug Leonard said Jurin told him that he wanted to connect his now empty residential lot, where he planned to build one and maybe two houses, to his business so he wouldn’t have to drive out to U.S. 27.
Crump Road residents are concerned that Jurin plans to allow tractor-trailers to use the driveway, adding to truck traffic on Crump Road, and claim that commercial access there is illegal.
Their concerns were heightened when contractors put in signs and arm bars with stop signs and right-turn-only arrows.
Leonard said these signs are not required and were added by Jurin’s engineer, Kendall Phillips.
“If I’m putting in a driveway, which I say is for my personal use, why would I put an arrow on it?” Crump Road resident Vanessa O’Neill asked at Tuesday’s meeting. “The only reason I would have an arrow on it is if I never had any intention of it being a residential driveway.“
Jurin was not at the meeting and refused to comment when reached by phone Thursday.
Leonard told the council in a prepared statement that there is no town code that either allows or prohibits the driveway Jurin wanted to build, partly because Crump Road is a county road.
Phillips applied for and received a county driveway permit and a Southwest Florida Water Management District permit, as required, for the property in late 2010, Leonard said.
Leonard and the town’s building inspector, Bill Nolen, agreed that the county permit would supersede the need for a permit from Lake Hamilton.
And Leonard said he granted permission for the driveway with the conditions that it be gated, private and limited in access.
Town Attorney Heather Christman, whose first day on the job was May 1, said she is not sure whether Leonard’s conditions will be legally binding and is looking into the town’s options.
But Leonard said Jurin told him earlier this year that he projects one or two large trucks per week will arrive at his business, and may use the driveway as an outlet for safety reasons, rather than backing out into U.S. 27.
Council Chairman Ralph Harris, who drove 18-wheelers for years, said there was plenty of room on the business’s property to turn a truck around if employees parked on the other side of the building.
Citrus trucks already use Crump Road frequently to access Donley Harvesting, located south of Jurin’s property on Crump Road in Winter Haven. But residents fear that more trucks, even just one or two, will further diminish their quality of life.
“My house is falling apart because when those trucks full of oranges come down that road, my house shakes like a giant stepped on it,” resident Sharon Brooks said at the meeting. “Our peace, our tranquility has been destroyed down that road.“
Barrett O’Neill, who is acting as spokesman for the same group of Crump Road residents who complained about the excessive airboat noise on Big Lake Hamilton, said the town should have some code regarding a landscape buffer between commercial and residential properties.
Leonard said there is no such code.
Several council members suggested they need to revise town codes so that this kind of issue doesn’t arise again.
“It was a big surprise to everybody, because nobody knew it, and there was no permit from this town,” said council member Mike Kehoe.
O’Neill asked town officials to contact Jurin to get him to remove the signs on his driveway, put a fence around a retention pond on his residential lot and not allow tractor-trailers to use the driveway.
“I think we’re at a place where we need to have a specific discussion with Mr. Jurin to see where he is on the issue and whether accommodations can be made to eliminate the traffic,” Leonard said.
Leonard said he plans to speak with Phillips and Christman before the next council meeting on June 4 and will ask Jurin to attend.
Attorney Enter into Lake Hamilton Driveway Dispute
By GREG PARLIER / LEDGER MEDIA GROUP
Posted Jun 12, 2013 at 12:00 AM
LAKE HAMILTON | The town is taking a stand against a business owner’s controversial plans to have trucks use a driveway that connects U.S. 27 to a residential neighborhood.
While the business is on U.S. 27, the driveway opens onto Crump Road, a residential area with houses lining the street.
The Town Council voted last week to have Town Attorney Heather Christman send a letter to inform Eric Jurin, owner of Jurin Roofing Services Inc. at 29716 U.S. 27, that he can’t use the driveway he paved as an exit from his business for commercial vehicles because it is in a residentially-zoned neighborhood.
Jurin has maintained that he always intended the driveway to be used as a safe exit for trucks onto Crump Road, but town staff says he initially presented the driveway as a private connector to residential property he said he planned to build a house on.
“Mr. Jurin, in my mind, doesn’t have the right to use this property as a commercial thoroughfare,” said Council Chair Ralph Harris. “But as I said before, we need to do anything we can to stop the first truck from coming out of there. Because once the first truck comes out of that driveway, it’s going to be hard to stop them.“
Residents on Crump Road have been asking the town to step in for months, ever since it appeared a driveway would be paved from the businesses on U.S. 27, and a special council meeting was held in May to address their concerns.
Jurin refused to comment when reached by phone Friday, and will be at his Pennsylvania home until July.
Jurin purchased both the commercial property for his business on U.S. 27 and the adjoining residential property on Crump Road in May 2010, with the intention of paving a driveway through the residential property to ensure “safe egress for truck and trailer traffic generated by my commercial roofing business,” he wrote in an email to Town Planner Doug Leonard on May 24.
Contractors finished paving the driveway April 5.
However, town code prohibits commercial use of residentially-zoned parcels. The Crump Road property is zoned R-1, the most stringent of single-family use zones, Christman said.
That zone permits single families, private schools, private boat ramps and docks, and utilities, she said.
“Obviously, we’re not dealing with a private school or lakefront property, so that leaves us with single-family use,” she said.
Leonard said he understood the driveway was for personal use only, for Jurin to access his business from a house he planned to build on the residential lot or lots he bought on Crump Road.
In his letter, Jurin wrote that when he considered buying the commercial property in early 2010, he thought there was not enough room for a tractor trailer to turn around on the property, and U.S. 27 was too dangerous to back out onto.
“That lack of traffic safety was a deal breaker for me,” he wrote.
He wrote that his Realtor at Watson and Watson Realty suggested he purchase a lot or lots behind the commercial property, and put a driveway across that lot to access Crump Road.
But Realtor Mary Helms denies making that suggestion. She said she understood he wanted the lots on Crump Road to eventually build a house there with a view of Big Lake Hamilton.
However, Jurin wrote to Leonard: “From the very beginning, the intent of acquiring the Crump Road property and the driveway was to support traffic egress from (the) Jurin Roofing office and warehouse.”
“Development of the residential property was secondary to assuring safe egress,” he wrote in his letter.
And Jurin bought a house off Lake Daisy Road in Winter Haven in April 2011, bringing into question his plans to build a house for himself in Lake Hamilton.
Jurin wrote he still plans to build the house on Crump Road himself, but did not get a Florida residential contractor’s license until the summer of 2012.
In March 2010, Helms, on behalf of Jurin, asked Leonard if a driveway would be permitted through the Crump Road property.
In response, Leonard wrote that such a driveway would be permitted with the condition that it be gated and maintained as a private roadway not for public access.
Upon reception of the letter, Jurin purchased both the commercial property and three adjoining private lots on Crump Road, with confidence that trucks leaving his business could use the driveway to access Crump Road, he wrote.
Jurin then submited plans to get permits from both Polk County and Lake Hamilton, when he learned that commercial traffic would be allowed to exit only, and required to make a right hand turn on Crump Road toward U.S. 27, he wrote.
Plans were finalized with “no restrictions on residential property owners or for the occupants of 29716 U.S. Highway 27 for traffic, in or out. This was a restricted private driveway for the use and benefit of its owner or owners,” he wrote.
But Christman said that would be breaking the town’s ordinance, and there’s no excuse to not know the town’s rules.
“The requirements of the town’s zoning code are not a mystery. They’re public record,” she said.
Both the Southwest Florida Water Management District and Polk County approved the project in fall 2010, and Jurin began work later that year.
Leonard and Lake Hamilton Building Official Bill Nolen reviewed the county permit and jointly decided it would supersede the need for a separate town permit, Leonard said.
But Leonard said he was under the impression the driveway was strictly for Jurin’s personal use, to travel between his business and a home he planned to build on Crump Road.
Leonard said the county projected only two trips on the driveway per day, one in the morning and another in the evening peak hours, leading him to assume it would only be Jurin’s personal vehicle using the driveway between the business and the site where Jurin planned to build his home.
The project stalled several times over the past two years due to a shortage of funds from Jurin, but the driveway was completed in April this year.
Residents on Crump Road fear that allowing more trucks to use the road will further diminish their quality of life there. Numerous citrus trucks already use the county road to access Donley Harvesting, located further south on Crump Road in the City of Winter Haven.
The town has requested Jurin’s attendance at their August Council meeting to further discuss his driveway.
Man in Driveway Dispute to Show at Lake Hamilton Town Meeting
By GREG PARLIER / LEDGER MEDIA GROUP
Posted Aug 6, 2013 at 2:00 AM
LAKE HAMILTON | The man at the center of the driveway dispute in Lake Hamilton is expected to be at tonight’s Town Council meeting to explain his side of the story.
Eric Jurin, owner of Jurin Roofing Services, Inc., at 29716 U.S. 27, is scheduled to appear to explain his decision to have a driveway paved connecting his business to Crump Road for truck and trailer traffic, despite that it violates town code.
In a May letter to Town Planner Doug Leonard, Jurin wrote there was not enough space to turn a tractor trailer around in the parking lot of his business. He purchased the commercial property and adjoining residential property in May 2010 with the intention of paving a driveway to ensure the “safe egress for truck and trailer traffic,” he wrote.
Town code prohibits the commercial use of residentially zoned properties, such as the Crump Road property.
Jurin claimed in his letter that no officials with the town or Polk County, which approved a permit to cut into Crump Road, told him he couldn’t use the driveway for commercial traffic.
Leonard said he thought Jurin intended only to use the driveway for his personal vehicle to travel between his business and the home he said he intended to build on the Crump Road property.
Contractors finished paving the driveway April 5.
Residents on Crump Road complained to the town when construction of the driveway began, concerned that it would lead to an increase of truck traffic in their residential neighborhood.
Town officials were waiting to further address the issue until Jurin returned to Florida from his Pennsylvania home, and tonight’s meeting will be the first time he will address the matter publicly with the Town Council.
In other business, the council will review bids to hire a certified public accountant to conduct an internal audit of the town’s bookkeeping practices.
Staff is recommending the council approve the low bid from Brynjufson, CPA of Lakeland for no more than $4,902.
Clifton Larson Allen, with offices in Winter Haven, Wiggins Smit Burby Reineke of Winter Haven and Averett Warmus Durkee of Orlando also submitted bids.
The accountant would begin immediately and finish work Nov. 29.
The town still has $3,154 budgeted for a bookkeeper, which Town Clerk Sara Irvine said should be enough to pay the firm for the first few months of work, and the remainder of work can be budgeted in the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, she said.
The council will hold a work session at 6 p.m. and the regular meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall.
No Decision Made in Lake Hamilton Driveway Dispute
By GREG PARLIER / LEDGER MEDIA GROUP
Posted Aug 7, 2013 at 2:00 AM
LAKE HAMILTON — The dispute over a commercial driveway infringing on a residential area got an airing but no decision Tuesday night.
Town officials say it is in violation of town code, while the owner says was built in good faith.
The Town Council put off a decision until Town Attorney Heather Christman has a chance to further review the situation.
Eric Jurin, owner of Jurin Roofing Services Inc., at 29716 U.S. 27, appeared at the council meeting with his lawyer, Tim Campbell, to explain why he thinks his driveway was paved in good faith.
“He never hid what he was doing. He got all of those permits and ultimately he constructed what he proposed to do,” Campbell said.
“He spent a lot of money to permit and construct this driveway to reduce the traffic conflicts on U.S. 27 for the benefit of his business.“
Council Chair Ralph Harris said it seemed the driveway was paved with ill intent because Jurin originally claimed he was planning to build a house on the residentially-zoned lot on Crump Road.
“Seems like every piece of information leads (me to believe) he was going to build a home,” he said. “But in the process... He constructed a road that connected to a commercial property. If I was an attorney I might say there’s a little deceit there.“
In a May letter to Town Planner Doug Leonard, Jurin wrote that there was not enough space to turn a tractor trailer around in the parking lot of his business.
He purchased the commercial property and adjoining residential property in May 2010 with the intention of paving a driveway to ensure the “safe egress for truck and trailer traffic,” he wrote.
Christman said at the meeting the driveway seems to present a use issue.
“It does certainly appear that the use of the trucks going through an R-1 zoned property is not consistent with residential zoning,” she said.
She also said she has not thoroughly reviewed the matter and would need more time to give an official legal opinion.
Jurin claimed in his letter that no one in the town or the county, which approved a permit to cut into Crump Road, told him he couldn’t use the driveway for commercial traffic.
Leonard said he thought Jurin intended only to use the driveway for his personal vehicle to travel between his business and the home he said he intended to build on the Crump Road property.
Contractors finished paving the driveway April 5.
Residents on Crump Road complained to the town when construction of the driveway began, concerned that it would lead to an increase of truck traffic in their residential neighborhood.
The council said they would table the matter until a later council meeting, after Christman, who had a baby last month, had time to further review the matter.
Chairman Seeks Change For Lake Hamilton Town Council
By GREG PARLIER / THE LEDGER
Posted Sep 30, 2013 at 11:56 PM
LAKE HAMILTON | The town council’s chairman is calling for sweeping changes among the town’s workers and saying it might be time to switch mayors at the next election, as well.
“It’s time for change in this town,” said council Chairman Ralph Harris. “It’s nothing personal. This is all professional. Over the course of seven years that Marlene Wagner has been mayor, this town has done what it wants to do.
“I think we need another mayor. This town is not run like it should be. No one is taking responsibility for making changes,” he said.
The mayor is an elected official and cannot be fired by the council. Wagner’s three-year term is up in 2014.
During a meeting tonight, the council is scheduled to consider whether to renew town worker contracts. The council can decide to change or eliminate staff positions tonight, and Harris said he wasn’t the only one who was thinking about change.
In a written recommendation to the council, Mayor Marlene Wagner recommended the council rehire all of the town’s employees except a part-time custodian, Lisa Daughtery, who is paid $15 per hour, or about $8,400 annually.
Wagner also recommended the council reconfigure the salary of part-time planner Doug Leonard, whose position was cut significantly by the council at a budget meeting Sept. 11.
The town budgeted $72,000 for Leonard in 2013-14, although he does not have a current contract with the town.
His last contract, a six-month agreement signed in 2005 by then-Mayor Randy Martin, dictated that he be paid $50 per hour and work 40 hours per month.
The council recently capped his pay at $41,000 per year and changed his position to full time at that meeting.
Wagner recommended the council change it back to a part-time position at $45,000 annually to save what would amount to about $14,000 in benefits if they made him full time.
Wagner said if the council members moved forward with what they approved, it would cost the town $55,000, including benefits.
Harris said he doesn’t plan to change his vote and thinks having an everyday planner would be beneficial.
Currently, the town has 13 full-time employees, not including Leonard, and three part-time workers, including Daughtery.
Harris indicated he thought sweeping change would benefit the town.
Town Clerk Sara Irvine “seems like she knows what she’s doing,” he said. “Some of the things need to change around her. People can come out and support the police chief or (secretary Gail Howland) or the mayor or (Deputy Town Clerk Margaret) Freeman. But it just means that those are (their) friends,” he said.
“Sometimes things have to change. It’s about doing what’s right for the people. Everyone is trying to make it personal. This is about being a professional, doing what is right for the town of Lake Hamilton.”
Irvine wrote letters of support to the council for Freeman; Regina Pirtle, the executive assistant for the Police Department; and Howland.
“I do not believe I would be able to conduct my job as town clerk in an efficient manner, if I did not have the support from (Freeman) and (Howland),” she wrote.
There will be a work session at 6 p.m. at Town Hall, 100 Smith Ave. The regular meeting begins at 6:30.