After the Tarpon Springs City Commission voted unanimously in December to annex 44 acres into the city, which opened the door for Pioneer Developers of America to construct 44 planned homes in the East Lake Tarpon Overlay District, angry residents recently filed suit in an effort to halt the development.
Residents say the commission does not remember why Pinellas County created the district in 2012 in order to preserve its serene landscape and avoid urban sprawl into the area.
The developer for the project, George Stamas, approached city officials in 2019 seeking to have zoning amended, which would allow the development to move forward, giving him the right to build one home per acre.
The Save East Lake group has now formed, and the residents who make up the group say the city is ignoring its promise to keep the overlay district area sprawl-free.
Marc Washburn, president of the Save East Lake group, claims the project is just about the money while Stamos counters it is a development project similar to the other 1,000 homes his company has built in the area. He's also a native of Tarpon.
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