Big Bend development project headed for rejection again

A controversial development project proposed for Taylor County by St. Petersburg surgeon Dr. Clayton Pruitt is again headed for a denial by state officials, according to a letter dated Friday from the Suwannee River Water Management District.

Pruitt's original plans called for turning 500 acres of swamp and salt marsh that the locals call Boggy Bay into a massive condominium/hotel project with a marina. But to make it work, he needed a 7-foot-deep channel 2 miles long and 100 feet wide through the Big Bend Seagrass Aquatic Preserve, the state’s largest aquatic preserve.

State Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Mike Sole wrote a letter saying that the project would not be in the public interest, and Suwannee River Water Management District staff members recommended denying Pruitt a permit to wipe out the wetlands. Before the permit could come to a vote, though, Pruitt withdrew his application.

His new plan drops the marina and channel, but still calls for destroying 58 acres of wetlands next to the state preserve to build 624 condominium unites, an 874-unit hotel, 280,000 square feet of commercial space and a golf course. But state Department of Community Affairs Secretary Tom Pelham sent the water district a letter saying that "the proposed impact to wetlands could significantly affect wildlife habitat," especially in the state preserve, and thus was inconsistent with the state's planning goals.

As a result, the water district staff is again recommending denial of Pruitt's development permit, which is slated for a vote Tuesday.

- Craig Pittman, Times staff writer