Train Hits Bus in Lutz

According to the Tribune, today at 4:04 P.M., a freight train clipped the rear bumper of a magnet school bus at the corner of 41 and Chapman Road. No injuries.

So exactly how did this occur?

Happy To Be Moving To Lutz

I'm the wife of this blogger. This move has seemed to take forever, but we are so happy to be coming here. It started last June when we found a home we liked in the Barrington subdivisison. We were ready to relocate and knew Lutz was where we wanted to be. The house we found motivated us to do the last bit of repairwork to our current house, so we could put it on the market. A book could be written about why it took four months to accomplish that. Finally, November 7 we stuck that "For Sale" sign out front. We were told to not expect much traffic until the holidays were over, especially given the slump in the housing market. Boy, were we surprised when the first week we had eight showings and three offers on the house. All three deals fell through, then we sat on our hands until two weeks ago when a couple made us a reasonable offer and we accepted.

Of course, while we were dealing with handymen who didn't show up, and repairwork that snowballed, the house we wanted in Barrington was taken off the market. We watched two more houses that we liked be sold, before we found one we fell in love with. That house, is in the Windemere subdivision and if all goes well, it will be ours the first week in March.

Now, we are preparing for the final step in this journey, the actual move. We are coming to Lutz from the historic neighborhood of Seminole Heights in Tampa. We live in an old 1920's bungalow with a wide front porch and two grandfather oaks out front. We've been here almost seven years and it has been a great experience. Our neighbors are hard to leave. People in this community form lasting bonds and are always eager to lend a helping hand. Folks out walking often stop at the fence or come up on the porch for a visit. There are porch parties once a month and events throughout the year. We hope to find some of this community spirit in Lutz.

We've already been to a dogpark meeting at the Lutz Community Center. We were very interested in that endeavor, having two dogs ourselves. We have a dogpark in Seminole Heights and it's a very popular hangout for canine types. We were impressed with the Lutz Elementary school teacher and her class who promoted this idea to the County Commissioners. We're looking forward to getting involved in more Lutz activities and getting to know our new neighbors.

Finding Your Homeowners/Neighborhood Association

So, you live in an subdivision or neighborhood and want to connect with the homeowners or neighborhood or civic association. Where can you get contact information?

Two options:
Go to the Hillsborough County Neighborhood Relations website and search their listings by using the map.

Or try the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, Corporation Inquiry website. http://ccfcorp.dos.state.fl.us/corpweb/inquiry/corinam.html
Type in part of the name, in case you have it wrong. Ie Windemere for Windemere Neighborhood Association. Which in this case, I did have it wrong, as is listed as Windemere Homeowners Association of Lutz. Click on the name and you will find information about the organizations address and info about its board of directors. In this case I found out it was inactive.

Unfortunantely, Pasco County does not seem to have a listing for its associations so you are stuck with having to use the Division of Corporations.

Dog Park In Lutz

According to the Tribune, the Hillsborough County's parks department "is holding a meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday (1/16/07) to discuss the dog park planned on the west side of U.S. 41, just south of Lutz-Lake Fern Road.

The idea for a dog park came from students at Lutz Elementary School. The children presented the proposal to county commissioners, who set aside $150,000 for the park."

The meeting is being held at the Lutz Community Center next to the Lutz Library.

This is a great idea. The dog park we have in Seminole Heights is small but very well used. It is nice to have a place to let your dog off the leash and meet other dogs.

According to the BOCC summary of minutes from the 5/17/06 BOCC meeting: "Ms. Kelsey Leggett and Mr. Zachary Bess-Lima, members of Earth Force, Lutz Elementary School, explained the group had initiated a community project to create a dog park . . . Vice Chairman Hagan offered comments in support, confirmed staff was providing assistance, and referred the issue to the County Administrator."

In the 8/16/06 meeting it was noted that the unofficial dog park at Lake Park is being closed due to concerns about the effect on the underground water supply. The Lutz Park will be one of the two dogs parks created to replace it. The other is at Logan Gate Village Park.

Starbucks coming to Lutz?

Well, the rumors going around is that Starbucks is coming to Lutz. If so where?

I would venture one of three places. In the new Target shopping center. Else on the west side of Dale Mabry or US 41 to capture the morning commute crowd. I can guarantee you it will be a drive-thru Starbucks. I'll bet the only reason it is getting built in Lutz is the large volume of traffic it will get because of the drive-thru. The Seminole Heights Starbucks drive through is always busy.

If this is true, that Starbucks is coming, then the next store we need is a Panera's!

City of Tampa Real Estate Division

Poking around TampaGov.Net, I discovered the City of Tampa Real Estate Division.

"The Real Estate Division also sells properties which are considered surplus and are not needed by the City. These properties are available for sale to the general public. The City Land For Sale Report is available at the Division's office or can be downloaded under Available Property Report. "

When I click on that link, what do I find?

"The City of Tampa Real Estate Division has no available properties at this time. Please check back periodically for updates."

Oh. I forget. They have not been able to foreclose on anything.

Tims Christmas Card

Christmas Display at Tims Presbyerian Church -Sunset east of 41

Silver Forest

Today, we had a contract accepted for a house in Silver Forest. This is a 120 house subdivision in Lutz, on Livingston, north of Bearss/Skipper. Its a nice neighborhood with lots of oak trees. I believe there is a homeowners association, but don't know more. Don't know what the issues are there yet. We will see how things develop.

Lutz Loud Noise

From an email:

"I've been searching and searching and reading the news paper/watching local news and have not been able to find anything...were you around Lutz on Friday evening (Nov. 3)? It sounded as if there was thunder outside, yet there was
not a cloud in the sky. I thought maybe it was another sonic boom (we had one last year) but the house didn't rattle the way it did last year. My neighbors and I were all standing outside looking into the sky, but we couldn't see anything. We turned on the TV thinking maybe MacDill had been bombed...seriously. Nothing. I thought about maybe calling the non emergency police number, but didn't.Did you hear it? Do you know what it was?? Thanks for any response."

I will crosspost this on Seminole Heights blog to see if they know anything, as I have a larger pool of readers.

So where is Lutz?

Go to US Post Office and type in Lutz and you get 33548, 33549, 33558, 33559. I have been trying to find zipcode maps to illustrate the different areas but have not found them. Basically there are 3 areas. Core or Classic Lutz, radiating from the Lutz Depot, Pasco Lutz (just across the County Line) and Outer or Western Lutz (extending up to Odessa).

Where to eat?

I received an email from Matt of FloridaFoodHound telling me about his blog, which is a review of Tampa Bay restaurants. This started me thinking. Where are the best places to eat in Lutz? Which place should warrant a review by Matt?

Blog background

For more background on how this blog came about read the article in the St. Pete Times.

Lutz Neighborhood Associations

Lutz has a lot of neighborhood and other associations. However, I have only been able to find one association that has a website. If your association has a website, email me and I will add it to the Lutz Links.

Here are the associations I am aware of (from the Hillsborough County Neighborhood Relations website)

Barrington Neighborhood Assn.
Citizens for the Old Lutz Sch. Bldg. Inc.
County Line Coalition Inc.
Crystal Cove HOA
Crystal Lake Manors Homeowners Assn.
Cypress Cove
Deer Lake Assn.
Deer Park Homeowners Assn.
Fern Glen Homeowners Assn.
Fiddler's Cove Condo Assn.
Fox Run Homeowners Assn.
Hounds Hollow Homeowners Assn.
Hounds Run Owners Assn.
Kambridge Subdivision HOA
Keene Lake Manors Homeowners Assn.
Kensington Estates Homeowners Assn.
Lake Allen Neighborhood Group
Lake Brant STD
Lake Burrell/Lake Sinclair Assn.
Lake Fern Villas, Inc. Homeowners Assn.
Lake Forest Homeowners Assn.
Lake Forest Neighborhood Watch
Lake Wilson Civic Assn.
Lake Sapphire Estates / Lake Thomas Estates
( The ) Lakes of Wellington Home Owners Assn.
Lakeshore Estates of Hillsborough HOA, Inc.
Lutz Civic Assn.
Lutz Community Council
Lutz Lake Fern Road Neighborhood Groups
North Rhea See Drive Homeowners Assn.
Oak Ledge Homeowners Assn.
Round Lake Assn.
Round Lake Association
Sico Subdivision
Stewart Homeowners Assn.
Sutton-Victarra-Estates
Tiffany Lake Manors Homeowners Assn.
Tiffany Oaks Homeowners Assn., Inc.
Villa Rosa Master Assocation
Warrington Green HOA
Wilson Lakes Neighborhood Association

Hmm. I don't see Cheval on the list. I wonder if they have an association.

There are also Pasco Lutz neighborhood associations. However I have not found a list yet.
From personal experience:
Turtle Lakes Neighborhood Association

How to Suggest Topics

Email me. Look on the sidebar for the email link.

Sources of articles for my Seminole Heights Blog often times came from emails I received or from email lists I belonged to.

Verizon Plugs Up

Friends of mine live off of Angel Lane and Lutz Lake Fern. Verizon paid Angel Lane a visit to put in its fiber optic cable. As part of it they used a ditch witch to run the cable across the street.

They left behind a recurring collapsing pothole running the width of the street and plugged up drainage ditches because the cable pipe ran across through the ditch pipes.

Still not fixed.

First Taste of Neighborhood Civic Activism

When we lived in Pasco Lutz, Susan and I had our first taste of neighborhood civic activism. We lived in a nice subdivision, Turtle Lakes. Behind our house was a pine tree famr that had served as a buffer between our subdivision and State Road 54. Then the developers came in an wanted to turn it into a another subdivision. We were told the zoning was going to be changed to a denser area than what our neighborhood. Our neighborhood and the neighborhood next to us were worried about it. We rallied and then fought it. We won the first round when the Pasco Planning Commission voted against it. However we lost in the County Commission and eventually the homes were built. Basically the developers literally threatened the County Commissioners and they gave in.

At the time the Turtle Lakes Neighborhood Association was almost dead, and this helped revive it.

It was an interesting, except for the poor gopher turtles who were just buried in their holes by the developers.

Call for Action

Friends of ours live off of Lutz Lake Fern Rd and Angel Lane, west of Cheval. There is a huge piece of land next to that area that some developer wants to turn into a borrow pit over many years. Big trucks will drive up and down the quiet streets for years. There is apparently going to be some meeting about it on Friday. As I get more details I will post them.

Hello There Lutz

This will be my blog about Lutz, attempting to replicate what I have done in Seminole Heights. It will be interesting to see where this blog goes, as issues are certainly different in Lutz than they are in Seminole Heights. Lutz is a larger area than Seminole Heights and so would not have the same cohesiveness. Lutz does have a history of activism though. The posts in this blog will not be as frequent as on the Seminole Heights blog, until we move there.

We have long standing ties to Lutz. Susan lived and worked in Odessa for years. The first house we wanted to buy, in 1990, was in downtown Lutz. However that contract fell through when the wooden house was found not to be worth the $40,000 the seller wanted. Six years ago we previously lived in Pasco Lutz, in Turtle Lakes. This time we intend to move closer to downtown Lutz so I will not has as far to drive. Susan's art work has been framed for last 15 years or so by Tana at The Beck Gallery. Our dog obedience trainer, Courteous Canine, is off County Line Road between Turle Lakes and Carpenters Run.

While living in Turtle Lakes, we got our first taste of civic activism. More on that in a later post.