863-04 Land Use Amendment for Jeter Property

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OR BK 5910 PG 1460 13 of 25 W.C. Boggs became the first mayor and the five aldermen were N.L. Wright, S.J. Lyons,A.D. Perry, S.G. Allen, and W.J. McLaughlin. The first four committees formed were the Ways and Means, Rules and Ordinances, Streets and Public Improvements, and Sanitary and Fire. The first ordinance was for issuance of licenses to conduct business within the city limits and the third ordinance prohibited hitching of animals to the shade trees. The success of the new colony was not lost on other northern developers. Co-operative Homestead Company in Toledo, Ohio bought 10,000 acres of Zephyrhills Colony Land and 111 added it to other land that later became Crystal Springs Colony. By 1913,the original offer of $50-55 for 5-acre lots with bonuses was withdrawn and the tracts went for$165-275 dependent upon the payment schedule and down payment. World War I and Aftermath, 1917-1920 By 1918, the town had two hotels, a school,four churches, and an electric light and power plant. Partially due to the automobile and the increased independent mobility of people, the influx of visitors and seasonal residents began to increase in Florida as the new decade approached. Due to the high number of visitors and prospective settlers,many homes had roomers and boarders. Secondary dwellings were constructed on the alleys and additions were built on many buildings. Numerous"good roads"associations were formed in various communities whose goal was to promote and advocate improvement and construction of roads. Pasco County members advanced the idea of good roads and attended city commission meetings in the late 1910s. Land Boom Period, 1921-1928 By 1921, Zephyrhills was no longer referred to as a colony. The Florida boom was underway and by 1930, 10,574 people resided in Pasco County and approximately 1,500 in Zephyrhills. Various pamphlets,books, and newspapers carried the momentous news of the inexpensive and growing areas in Florida. In Pasco County, some 200,000 acres of land was open for development and improvement. Agricultural prospects were advertised and in 1925 the biggest crop was still oranges while grapefruit, corn, and strawberries trailed far behind. In Zephyrhills, _ cucumbers were advertised as one of the town's best crops. Cattle were the most significant livestock industry with chickens and hogs following behind. Colonists tried their hand at many different types of crops including cotton and sugar cane. In the 1910s,J.F. Stebbins Manufacturing Company ginning cotton and processing sugar cane into syrup opened in Zephyrhills. In 1922, the Zephyrhills Vegetable Growers' Association experimented in cooperative farming. During the early 1920s, campers at Zephyr Lake and the"tin can tourists"began to arrive. The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad came to town in the mid-1920s. Some eight through trains from the north headed to Tampa and four local trains between Jacksonville and Tampa stopped at the Zephyrhills railroad station. A brick paved road extended from the Pasco County line to Tampa and a paved road existed from Dade City to Zephyrhills. In 1923 an extensive paving program was undertaken in the City that lasted throughout the mid-1920s. Some 125 miles of hard- surfaced highways were completed in the county. The paving was in brick and all people owning property adjacent to the new roads were required to lay concrete curbing. In 1925, a bond issue was passed that allowed for$40,000 to be used to pave streets; $8,000 to be used for maintaining and extending the water system; and$4,000 to be used for lighting a"white way" along 5th Avenue. In 1927, Zephyrhills was included in the Automobile Blue Book under "tourable roads"in an itinerary from Brooksville to Lake Wales. The automobile situation in Zephyrhills was addressed in Ordinance 16, which fixed"the rate of speed at which autos and motorcyles shall run in town at 10 m.p.h." Other improvements to the city included a water tower in 1923 and telephone lines in 1927. The 1920s also saw the first building ordinances in town. Ordinance No. 27,passed in 1922, established the Board of Building Inspectors whose charge it was to examine plans and specifications for projects that cost over$50.00 including demolition. The ordinance stated, "no wooden buildings shall be permitted in the business blocks." The ordinance was expanded in 1924 with Ordinance No. 34 that restricted the construction of buildings "unless the outside walls of such buildings...(are of)...brick, stone, concrete,hollow tile or other like non- combustible material. Such walls to be not less than 8 inches in thickness for buildings not more 7