A personal plea to Fla developers (Tampa, Pompano Beach: rentals, big home, neighborhoods)

[NHborn]

Please stop building homes on former cow pastures. I went looking at rentals in Land O Lakes this week and the newer developments dont have any trees over 10ft tall. Its bad enough we're as flat as we are, we dont need our homes on a treeless prairie like we're a hotter version of Kansas. What do you all think? Am I alone in this sentiment?

[floridagirl777]

Originally Posted by NHborn

Please stop building homes on former cow pastures. I went looking at rentals in Land O Lakes this week and the newer developments dont have any trees over 10ft tall. Its bad enough we're as flat as we are, we dont need our homes on a treeless prairie like we're a hotter version of Kansas. What do you all think? Am I alone in this sentiment?

You are definitely not alone. I can't stand treeless subdivisons!

[BucFan]

Where my subdivision was developed there weren't many trees to begin with - all of the trees we have were planted, including a lot of various palm trees. I expect by 10-20 yrs, they'll grow out and up. I doubt that our developer had to take down trees - but probably eliminated a lot of that unsightly jungle scrubbery that you see endemic to the area (obviously I'm no botanist).

I have been in communities up in Temple Terrace/New Tampa and trees form a canopy over the streets. Kind of different. Noticed roots pushing up the sidewalks as well.

I was hoping that the OP was going to complain to developers about how close they put the houses. That's my biggest complaint about FLA communties.

[The Villages Guy]

I am dead set against clear cutting to build homes, but if they are using bare land and then planting trees....that seems like a very good thing.

[druthb00]

Former cow pastures would theoretically make for very good planting soil....It's better than coming in and wiping out all the vegetation to make room for housing. So long as the developers and owners plant some trees in the subdivisions, it'll look pretty nice in a couple decades. Don't get me wrong, the bare treeless cookie-cutter development thing isn't my cup of tea, but I'd rather they go about it that way than clearing land.

[PhotoProIP]

Originally Posted by NHborn

Please stop building homes on former cow pastures. I went looking at rentals in Land O Lakes this week and the newer developments dont have any trees over 10ft tall. Its bad enough we're as flat as we are, we dont need our homes on a treeless prairie like we're a hotter version of Kansas. What do you all think? Am I alone in this sentiment?

You are not alone! I detest this trend more than I can put it into words nicely.

Not only it is a communist tactic considering that all homes are the same= uniformity=beige=little soldiers trained to do the same every day=depersonalization all in lieu of get rich quick schemes by greedy builders...but all these homes are horrible from a building stand point considering that they lack architectural interest, and a lot of basic things like storage, parking, privacy, easy access to shopping, work, etc.

I feel like Florida as a whole has been really plagued by this rampant building because it depleted the state of its character. There is no "Florida Style" left, or promoted.

This emphasis that "hey y'all, move to Florida to live in big homes for cheap money" etc., is increasing people's dependency on gas (for vehicles), electric, water, and promotes large amounts of waste which unlike other countries, we don't burn it, we keep it stinking up neighborhoods! Like in Pompano Beach for example.

If you ever watch HGTV people look for "Character" in those homes...there is no more crown molding, wood details, like they build the front of the house to sort of look "Craftsman Style" but the interior looks like a box. They waste carpet, linoleum, Formica, horrible fixtures,...charge hundreds of thousands for the cheapest materials, wasting all of them, and homeowners money basically, because once the homeowner buys the house all that goes to garbage. Its not like any of it is recycled. There is a lot of waste going on right now in the construction industry. A lot of waste. It is a waterfall effect type of waste...it should be stopped really. MO of course.

[NHborn]

Originally Posted by BucFan

Where my subdivision was developed there weren't many trees to begin with - all of the trees we have were planted, including a lot of various palm trees. I expect by 10-20 yrs, they'll grow out and up. I doubt that our developer had to take down trees - but probably eliminated a lot of that unsightly jungle scrubbery that you see endemic to the area (obviously I'm no botanist).

I have been in communities up in Temple Terrace/New Tampa and trees form a canopy over the streets. Kind of different. Noticed roots pushing up the sidewalks as well.

I was hoping that the OP was going to complain to developers about how close they put the houses. That's my biggest complaint about FLA communties.

Oh trust me, Im not a fan of that either. All the houses were on these rectangluar lots with about 6 feet between your wall and the neighbors wall. Thats fine for a big city like Tampa or St Pete, not suburbia.

[NHborn]

Originally Posted by PhotoProIP

You are not alone! I detest this trend more than I can put it into words nicely.

Not only it is a communist tactic considering that all homes are the same= uniformity=beige=little soldiers trained to do the same every day=depersonalization all in lieu of get rich quick schemes by greedy builders...but all these homes are horrible from a building stand point considering that they lack architectural interest, and a lot of basic things like storage, parking, privacy, easy access to shopping, work, etc.

I feel like Florida as a whole has been really plagued by this rampant building because it depleted the state of its character. There is no "Florida Style" left, or promoted.

This emphasis that "hey y'all, move to Florida to live in big homes for cheap money" etc., is increasing people's dependency on gas (for vehicles), electric, water, and promotes large amounts of waste which unlike other countries, we don't burn it, we keep it stinking up neighborhoods! Like in Pompano Beach for example.

If you ever watch HGTV people look for "Character" in those homes...there is no more crown molding, wood details, like they build the front of the house to sort of look "Craftsman Style" but the interior looks like a box. They waste carpet, linoleum, Formica, horrible fixtures,...charge hundreds of thousands for the cheapest materials, wasting all of them, and homeowners money basically, because once the homeowner buys the house all that goes to garbage. Its not like any of it is recycled. There is a lot of waste going on right now in the construction industry. A lot of waste. It is a waterfall effect type of waste...it should be stopped really. MO of course.

Yeah you end up wasting more water watering your lawn because theres not trees to put any shade on it, and wasting more electric because theres not shade on your house in the summer.

[jfitch21]

Originally Posted by PhotoProIP

You are not alone! I detest this trend more than I can put it into words nicely.

Not only it is a communist tactic considering that all homes are the same= uniformity=beige=little soldiers trained to do the same every day=depersonalization all in lieu of get rich quick schemes by greedy builders...but all these homes are horrible from a building stand point considering that they lack architectural interest, and a lot of basic things like storage, parking, privacy, easy access to shopping, work, etc.

I feel like Florida as a whole has been really plagued by this rampant building because it depleted the state of its character. There is no "Florida Style" left, or promoted.

This emphasis that "hey y'all, move to Florida to live in big homes for cheap money" etc., is increasing people's dependency on gas (for vehicles), electric, water, and promotes large amounts of waste which unlike other countries, we don't burn it, we keep it stinking up neighborhoods! Like in Pompano Beach for example.

If you ever watch HGTV people look for "Character" in those homes...there is no more crown molding, wood details, like they build the front of the house to sort of look "Craftsman Style" but the interior looks like a box. They waste carpet, linoleum, Formica, horrible fixtures,...charge hundreds of thousands for the cheapest materials, wasting all of them, and homeowners money basically, because once the homeowner buys the house all that goes to garbage. Its not like any of it is recycled. There is a lot of waste going on right now in the construction industry. A lot of waste. It is a waterfall effect type of waste...it should be stopped really. MO of course.

Amen to this, McMansions and Florida go hand in hand, other thn the weather the state is as bland and boring as they come.

[Pragmaticus]

Originally Posted by NHborn

Oh trust me, Im not a fan of that either. All the houses were on these rectangluar lots with about 6 feet between your wall and the neighbors wall. Thats fine for a big city like Tampa or St Pete, not suburbia.

This is exactly why when we were house hunting one of my high priority criteria was to back nature and not somebody's yard. We ended up getting just that and more, in fact, in three sides: no house in the front, in the back, and on one side. It feels so quite and so natural not seeing somebody's back . We wake up and just see huge trees and orange trees .