Lutz Fire Department

The Lutz Volunteer Fire Department is conducting its annual membership drive.   The Dept. is in its 59th year and is one of only 6 Volunteer Fire Departments in Hillsborough Fire Rescue.  The Station (#24) is located at 129 W. Lutz Lake Fern Road.  The annual July 4th celebration, parade and chicken BBQ is held at the station.

The Dept is managed by the Lutz Volunteer Fire association and it is estimated it saves Hillsborough County $500,000 a year. It only costs $30 for Residential Membership and $50 for Business Membership.  Please join.

Lutz Fire Dept

Lutzian Apparently still in the running in So You Think You Can Dance.

Danielle Dominguez of Tampa did not make it past tonight's rounds in Las Vegas of So You Think You Can Dance.   She had some bad luck in getting kicked in the head by her partner.  She had to go to the hospital and that delayed her time to fully practice with a group.

Although it was not clear to me, per WTVT Fox News apparently Courtney Kirby of Lutz was not eliminated tonight.

Lutz Outdoor Concert Venue Seeks Zoning Modification

The Staregrounds, is an outdoor concert venue in Lutz located in the 20 acre wooded area at the NE Corner of Sunset and Livingston. The site opened up in March 2012 and is run by Lutz resident Timothy Shanks of the band 16 Second Stare   He is now seeking a minor zoning modification to apparently formalize the venue.  A review of a concert at the site can be found on the tbt*.  The Staregrounds also has a Facebook site.

Stage

Support Building

The application lists an address at 2518 Lane which is the home on the property facing Sunset.  The  website lists the address of venue as 18515 N. Livingston, likely the address of the parking area below.

View Larger Map

Parking

Events that are coming up are:

War of Thrones  June 23, 2012 @ 6:00 PM (EST)
Thunderstruck will be playing there July 1.

The Zoning # is 12-0601.  The hearing is scheduled for July 24, 2012 at 9:00AM in front of the Board of Hillsborough County Commissioners.

Details from the request:

Within the already defined commercially designated area on the site plan, the applicant requests the ability to conduct music performances in an open air concert setting. An open air concert stage and accessory building to support the concert stage will be placed internal to the site as depicted on the proposed alternative plan. All conditions associated with the current approved General Site Plan shall remain in effect to maintain the development rights and design currently provided. The concert venue is not designed to include structured or permanent seating. It is intended to offer the community a place to stage and promote occasional musical events, to conduct community fund raisers, support music lessons, and generally support company and family functions that promote musical arts for recreation.

It is the intent to offer this venue until such time as the site develops with the "neighborhood commercial" uses as conditioned and permitted by the General Site Plan. The site plan is amended to include two buildings (as depicted on the proposed alternative site plan) that will be utilized as the concert stage and accessory building to support concert activities.

For purposes of developing the site for the proposed open air concert venue, the following conditions are proposed:

• All open air concert activities will occur within the area defined as "Neighborhood Commercial" on the current site plan and illustrated on the proposed alternative plan.
• There will be no permanent seating areas constructed.
• Access to the site and areas designated for parking shall be located as illustrated on the proposed alternative plan.
• If necessary, additional landscaping may be added as needed to attenuate sound.
• Events will be limited to Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, between the hours of 3:00 PM and 11:00 PM, with functional operations (sound and shows) ending at 10:00 PM.

For full zoning details see below.  Note that the original zoning for the Planned Development occurred in 1988.

Lutz Civic Association Position on the Gates High School

On their website The Lutz Civic Association has posted their position regarding the Gates High School

Here are some excerpts:

The proposed “Gates” middle and high school development was first brought to our attention over two years ago by Patti Girard, the owner of Learning Gate Community School. The LCA has a ten year history with the school, and know them to be good community members. Their current elementary school, located off Hanna Road went through a similar review process when it was initially approved. They have been good custodians of the property and honored their environmental and other plan conditions as they have built out their facility. They have done what they have said they would do, and have constantly strived to minimize impacts to surrounding neighbors.


After working with Ms Girard and through numerous changes to their original middle school/high school plan, we believe The Gates will be an asset to the community. Through this planning process we have been successful in moving the primary entrance to the U.S. 41 driveway. (Note that the requirements of high schools being located on 4 lane roadways are an outcome of prior initiatives of the LCA from over a decade ago). However, development and site plan approvals need to be structured to insure that U.S. 41 remains the primary entrance and that traffic is sufficiently limited on Sunset Lane so as not to substantially degrade its operation. Additionally, environmental issues continue to need attention as planning proceeds. . . . .

 . . . . 1. The level of service numbers (LOS) are created during “peak” traffic hours, ie. 6-8:30 am and 4:30-6:30 pm. The school has agreed to stagger their start and finish times with the kids so they do NOT combine with the local peak hour traffic. Therefore, there will be no deterioration in LOS. However, there are no conditions specifically mandating start and end times to the school. There must be a condition that specifically addresses the start and end time of the school.
2. There needs to be a maximum allowed cars to enter the school off of Sunset Lane. There should be a definite number of “parking passes” allowed the high schoolers, ie. 100. With the 60-70 administrative staff there would total less than 200 trips on Sunset staggered from say 9 – 10 am. It will not interfere with the Lutz Learning Center or with the elementary school traffic on 41. There must be a condition limiting this number.
3. Parking passes or some electronic gate must be placed on Sunset or there is no controlling the traffic. There must be a condition requiring this electronic gate, or there is no way to control this traffic. . . . .


 . . . . Therefore, we offer “conditional support” for this project provided the above concerns are properly addressed. We would hope the LCA would continue to be part of the permitting process to ensure the safeguards are in place for the community.

Where in Lutz - Hanger 18

The last edition of Where in Lutz featured the Preaching Goose.  The Goose is located in the east side yard of the house at the SW corner of Sunset and Cypress Cove - across from Tims Memorial Presbyterian Church.  As with all of the Where In Lutz items I'm curious as to the rest of the story. Did the Goose had something to do with the Church?

This edition of Where in Lutz features "Hanger 18"

If you have an item for Where in Lutz, send a me a photo and tell me where it is.  If you don't have a photo, tell me where it is and I will take the photos.  If you know the history behind something, please share.

Lutzian Dances on "So You Think You Can Dance"

Courtney Kirby of Lutz was on "So You Think You Can Dance" Wednesday night (6/6/12). Her grandmother taught her dance and was with her on the show, sitting with the Judges. She is going to Las Vegas. (See updates below)

 You can find videos of her dancing at her YouTube site. Here is a video of her from two years ago

It appears she dances with the All American Dance Factory at Dale Mabry and Fletcher.

Update 6/7/12

Here is a recap of Courtney's dance from SYTYCD.net

Courtney brought her sassy former-dancer Grandma. This old lady was hysterical. Nigel brought her up to watch from his chair and Grandma gets a bit fresh with him then cries her way through Courtney’s very beautiful routine. Courtney is someone I think the audience would vote for. She is cute and talented, in a very Lauren Froderman sort of way. Where the first time a choreographer makes her sexy we are all a bit shocked but she pulls it off and we love her even more. Mary and Debbie say Vegas, but Nigel said choreo. Grandma tells him to change his mind so he doesn’t look ridiculous. Hey Courtney – bring Grams to Vegas, will ya?




Tampa was also represented, by Danielle Dominguez.

Here is the recap of Danielle's performance from SYTYCD.net

Oh how I love a name with alliteration. And she loves bacon. Like, a lot. My arteries clogged just watching the video. But then Nigel said suggested that Mary and Debbie would like to try this diet… yikes. Danielle also said her mom used to cheer – so Mom did a routine in the aisle. Good on ya, Momma! Her routine was bizarre in a great way. I could imagine Sonya Tayeh sitting at home just aching to get her hands on her, which Mary brought up as well. I love the “weird” dancers (like Mark Kanemura) and was happy she was sent to Vegas.

You can find her videos on her YouTube site.  She is apparently affiliated with the Centerstage Dance Academy, located on Dale Mabry, not too far from All american Dance Factory.

Update 6/9/12  

There is an article in the Tampa Bay Times about Courtney's  86 year old grandmother - Eva Dean Booth and her appearance with Courtney at SYTYCD..  She lives in Carrollwood (part of northern Tampa area - south of Lutz)  "taught and studied dance as a young hoofer in Utah 70 years ago".

As relatives gathered at Winners Grill in Tampa to watch the episode, they got a surprise; Eva Dean showed up in the segment as much as her granddaughter, earning her 15 minutes of fame with a playful, sassy spirit that clearly delighted Lythgoe.

Further Internet research reveals that Eva was not the only dancer in her family.  Her late sister Louise Waite Lauriski "touched many lives by inspiring, promoting, and teaching dance. In 1991 she was awarded a Life-Time Achievement Award by Daniel J. Hoctor's Dance Caravan Professional Dance Teacher's Association in recognition of exemplary devotion and dedication to the training, guidance and inspiration of aspiring young dancers. Her legacy lives on through Tueller School of Dance, Logan; Coggins Dance Company, Ogden; Tracy's Dance Academy, Salt Lake City; Dana Smith Dance Studio, Pocatello, Idaho, and her many granddaughters and great-granddaughters who love dance. An article that appeared in a newspaper summed it up best, "The ballet number was nothing short of an extravaganza. I marvel at Mrs. Lauriski's ability to make every child a featured performer, if but for a little while. When better things are done, she will do them."

Gates High School Special Use Permit Approved

The Hearing Master has approved the Special Use Permit 12-0429 for the Learning Gate / Gates High School. Full details are below.

Conclusions of Law
Based upon the testimony received, the evidence submitted, a review of the Development Services Department case file, the staff report of the Development Services Department, and a review of the Land Development Code, it is concluded that the Special Use is supportable and that the charter school expansion is appropriate for the subject location.

It is concluded that the applicant has satisfied the requirements of the Land Development Code for approval of the Special Use Permit.

Decision
Approved with conditions as recommended by Development Services Department staff as amended at the hearing. and as conditioned below:

The Sunset Lane driveway shall be limited to right-in, right-out and left-out turning movements only. The access connection shall be designed and constructed by the developer to physically prohibit eastbound to northbound left turn movements into the school site. The developer shall design and construct a westbound right turn lane on Sunset Lane into the site.

If available, the site shall be served by public wastewater service. Hillsborough County shall determine the availability of waste water service in accordance with existing availability determination procedures. If waste water service is not available and septic tanks are to be used, septic tanks shall only be located outside the WRPA Zone 2 boundaries.


Gates High School Hearing Decision

Post Memorial Day Flags

I missed this on Memorial Day.  While walking this week we came across these flags on Hanna Avenue  honoring Memorial Day