SECTION: PLANT CITY, Pg. 1

LENGTH: 923 words

HEADLINE: Diligence may head off problems seen on horizon;


BYLINE: SEAN C. LEDIG, of The Tampa Tribune;

BODY:


PLANT CITY - Business and agricultural leaders look to the future with a sense of cautious  optimism.

Sure, there will be some problems along the way, but local business and agricultural leaders say  their visions of the new millennium are generally less than apocalyptic.

In recent years, Plant City has seen its downtown revitalized, along with the addition of some  major manufacturing such as the International Paper's drink carton plant.

And strawberries are still king in this city known as the "Winter Strawberry Capital of the  World." City commissioner and incoming chairman for the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce, Randy  Larson, said that he doesn't see an immediate end to Plant City's ability to attract business and  development.

"I think we'll have prosperity like we've never seen before," said Larson. "We'll see growth  continue at an exponential rate."

Larson is concerned that residential development may not keep pace with commercial or industrial  development. The result could be that Plant City has a lot of jobs, but no place to house the  workers, he said.

"That's going to be a hiccup in our growth," said Larson. "Not next year, but probably in 2001 when  Walden Lake builds out."

Walden Lake is a collection of subdivisions and housing developments along the western edge of  the city, with new homes ranging from simple ranch houses to sprawling mansions.

Still, Larson believes that the marketplace will respond when developers see that there is a  demand and money can be made in residential real estate.

"I'm hoping we'll see some private investment go into rebuilding older neighborhoods, like  Lincoln Park and Madison Park," said Larson.

One of those who is responding to the need for more housing is David Hawthorne, owner of  Hawthorne Properties and long considered an architect of the downtown revitalization.

"Well, I think to start with, we are going to do some second floor apartments" in downtown  buildings, said Hawthorne. "We'll be restoring the old apartments that used to be there."

Hawthorne said that he will attempt to preserve as much of the old decor and architecture as  possible when restoring these apartments, right down to the claw foot tubs and skylights.

Hawthorne shares Larson's view that a lack of residential construction could be a problem down  the road for the city.

"Right now there is a shortage" of housing, Hawthorne said. "That's fixing to be cured with some  apartment complexes that are under construction now, but I don't know for how long."

Larson said he believes that the commission might consider zoning changes and tax incentives to  attract residential development.

"I think it is something this commission would be willing to look into," said Larson. "My personal  opinion is that this commission is very supportive of that kind of development."

Cheryl Hukle, president of the Hillsborough County Farm Bureau, said she also expects the next  few years will be good ones for farmers from a legislative angle.

"We have a lot of legislators who are for agriculture," said Hukle. "They are all going our way."

Some things that Florida farmers hope to see from lawmakers are reforms in how pesticides are  regulated by the federal Food Quality Protection Act, in estate taxes and in farm labor  regulations.

The Food Quality Protection Act is controversial among farmers and related businesses because it  bans or restricts the uses of certain pesticides.

Hukle said many farmers think the government has judged some pesticides too harshly and too  quickly.

"We just want them to use sound science," when assessing the use of a pesticide, Hukle said. "If  there is anything detrimental to the community, then we won't use it because we eat what we grow  and we don't want to serve anything harmful to our own children."

Estate taxes are another concern of farmers because the taxes often force farm families out of  the business, Hukle said.

"Often when a farmer dies, his family has to sell the land to pay off these taxes," said Hukle.  "That means the land will be turned over to development."

The result is that fewer families remain in farming and farm lands are turned into residential  communities or commercial centers, Hukle said.

Like Hukle, Mike McKinney, public policy educator for the Hillsborough Cooperative Extension  Service, said government regulations can be burdensome to farmers.

"I don't think it is the amount of regulation, but how it is implemented and that is very  detrimental for our family farms," McKinney said.

McKinney said he is also worried about the long-term survival of American family farms. Part of  the reason is that consumers are not educated about farming, he said.

"The problem is the consumer is so far removed from the fields that he has no concept of the  regulations or the amount of work it takes to produce their food," said McKinney. "I think we as  consumers need to think about where we are going to get our food in the future."

For those family farms that remain, McKinney said they will look very different from what we see  today.

"We're always going to have family farms, but they are going to be larger and larger and larger,"  said McKinney. "It will be hard to tell in the year 2020 the difference between a family farm and a  corporate farm, because they could conceivably be one and the same."  Sean C. Ledig covers business and agriculture and can be reached at (813) 754-3765.

GRAPHIC: PHOTO (C),
(C) Randy Larson

LOAD-DATE: January 2, 2000