HISTORY OF BEACON MEADOWS
At one time, Gunn Highway was a narrow two-lane road to nowhere. A traveler could come to one of the largest dairy farms in northwest Hillsborough County, located where the current Plantation homes and Beacon Meadows homes were later built. The dairy sold milk at a “convenience store” at the corner of what is now Casey Road. This is the first exposure that some of Beacon Meadows’ current residents had to the quiet “country life.” They would come to buy milk and later learn that the dairy was to become the bedroom homes of the City of Tampa. How many dreamed of the slower country pace with Saturdays spent working in their yards and serene Sundays reading the paper and visiting neighbors!
On November 10, 1978, Beacon Construction Company, Inc. deeded to Hillsborough County 8.1 acres just west of Beacon Meadows for the purpose of a playground. Often times a developer will deed over parcels of land in lieu of paying County impact fees. Little was done in the way of developing the park when the subdivision was finished. Nevertheless, there was the cleared land.
J. Maurice Laidlaw, acting as President of Beacon Homes of Florida, Inc., signed and executed the first Declaration of Restrictions for Beacon Meadows on November 17, 1978. It applied to the properties just inside the entrance off Gunn Highway and encompassed some of Ridge Point Drive, Country Run Road, the short cul-de-sac streets off Country Run Road and a small portion of Cypress Tree Drive.
Francis Crow had one of the first homes built in this section, known as Unit I. She was forward thinking enough to change her floor plan to something more suitable to her family. She and her husband added a lot of comfort and convenience to their house. Fran continues to live in the neighborhood today after 25 years and is still proud to say, “I live in Beacon Meadows and I love it.” This is evident in the way she maintains her yard and home, mostly by herself. Ronald and Pat Mallory were also among the first, with Pat serving on the Board of the Beacon Meadows Homeowners Association.
A little more than a year later on December 7, 1979, J. Laidlaw signed the second Declaration, known as Unit II. This was only a small portion on the backside of Cypress Tree Drive, which now dead ends into the park. This section contained 28 lots and was bordered on the north by Jackson Road. While the builder had erected green wood fences along the idyllic Gunn Highway, block walls were constructed along the north side of the lots bordered by Jackson Road. The supposition is that Jackson Road, which was dirt, would create dust and the farm that was there would smell, so a barrier was needed. There would be no smell or dust along Gunn Highway, since Plantation was being developed across from Beacon Meadows. After all, there were very few cars that ventured that far out from town to scattered farms and horse ranches!
Louise Duke and Art and Cathy Sagendorf were some of the first to own in this section. Louise and Art have served the neighborhood on the Beacon Meadows Tax District Board. Louise was Treasurer for 15 years and Art continues to be a Trustee after eight years. Merrill and Carmen Olson and Clyde and Mary Sexton had their homes built and still live there also. The residents of Cypress Tree Drive strive to maintain the beauty of their street even though it is secluded. They have often organized a cleanup day for the entrance into the park.
Unit III A’s Declaration was signed June 3, 1981. This section is located to the north of Cypress Tree Drive, along Casey Road and Jackson Road, and encompasses Country Run Road, Painted Hills Lane, Shady Tree Place and Cypress Park Street. Block walls erected by the builder also bordered it. The builder provided for a wide entrance off Casey Road with very large monument walls on Cypress Tree Drive. Until recent years, Cypress Park Street ended at a conservation area to the south of the two lots on the corner of Cypress Park and Cypress Tree.
There are still several residents in this section that bought homes early in the development of Beacon Meadows. Jim and Pat Dean raised their son Timmy there. Sophie Pais and her husband were older and their children were grown and living in the area. Now, daughter Karen lives with Sophie. Dottie and Jim Vanderloop were among those buyers who chose a lot, floor plan and colors for their dream home after living in the country (Citrus Park) for a few years. Jon and Mary Dunkle made the choice to raise two children in Beacon Meadows, with Jon serving as President of the Beacon Meadows Homeowners Association. Jim and Bonita Hawley raised daughter Shannon on Twin Maple Lane. Shannon returned home in later years to marry resident Tony Rojo. They are proud of the remodeling they have done and are raising their young daughter, along with Tony’s two sons, in Beacon Meadows.
Beacon Meadows Homeowners Association was established April 8, 1982. Jon Dunkle and six other residents (including Pat Mallory, who also still lives in Beacon Meadows) formed the Board. Unfortunately, the builder did not have enough foresight when writing the covenants for Beacon Meadows to provide for mandatory membership in a homeowners association, thus depriving the organization of authority to manage the covenants and restrictions. Participation in the voluntary organization was poor (less than 25% of the residents), and it was difficult to collect the $20 annual fee. As a result, the Association failed and was dissolved November 1, 1985. This, however, did not make the Declarations of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions any less binding for property owners. They are separate and individual legal documents unto themselves.
The fourth and last section of Beacon Meadows to be developed is known as Unit III B. The Declaration for this section was signed May 9, 1983. Unit III B is bordered by Cypress Tree Drive and Ridge Point Drive as it turns north along the conservation area, with the cypress tree head on the east side. This unit contains 68 homes. When these homes were built, there was nothing to the east but water, wetlands and wildlife. There was no Kash n’ Karry or other stores along Gunn Highway.
Penny Phillips, long standing Recording Secretary for the Beacon Meadows Tax District since 1991, says it best, “How fortunate we were able to have the vision on a soggy Saturday in late August 1983 to see the possibility of the transformation of a muddy lot to a place of peace and tranquility in our own back yard.” Penny remembers joining the crusade for replacement of the ugly green fence along Gunn Highway. Also, she and Jon Dunkle took down the very large, deteriorating beige lettering on the monuments at both entrances to be replaced with burgundy signs, accented with a bundle of grass and sprigs of flowers. Penny can be seen every December holiday season helping decorate the entrances. John Fillmon and wife were other buyers in the early years. John, along with other residents, had retired from the military and decided to stay near MacDill Air Force Base.
In those years, a buyer could have a two-bedroom, two-bath home built for as low as $50,000. The larger three and four-bedroom, two-bath homes sold for $60,000 and up, depending on extras such as screened patios and fireplaces. The resale of homes in Beacon Meadows has always been brisk. They are just the right size and price for either starter homes for small families or retirement homes for those downsizing or moving into the sunny south from up north. By today’s standards, Beacon Meadows, consisting of 256 homes, is a small subdivision. The location in relation to the rest of Tampa, with easy access to any major street, makes a home here very desirable.
The Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners signed the Ordinance creating Beacon Meadows Special Dependent Tax District on December 16, 1987. The Board of Trustees consists of seven members with a President, Vice President, Treasurer, Recording Secretary and Corresponding Secretary as officers and two additional Trustees. Christine Logue, who no longer lives in Beacon Meadows, served as President of this organization for many years, including when the Tax District replaced the decaying, green wood fence along Gunn Highway with the existing block wall. The entire subdivision paid for the wall by way of a “special” property tax assessment for one year. The Board of Trustees received permission from all homeowners along Gunn Highway to build that wall on their property. The areas outside the wall are actually county right-of-way. Before the Tax District was established, these areas were not well maintained, and the County would mow only twice a year. Children in the neighborhood were teased by others. “Look at the kids that live in the slum neighborhood,” was overheard by them many days when leaving the school bus to walk home. Since the inception of the Tax District, the subdivision looks as nice as any found in Carrollwood Village. In fact, the County considers Beacon Meadows a Carrollwood neighborhood. The Beacon Meadows Special Dependent Tax District is part of the umbrella organization Carrollwood Area Association of Neighborhoods (known as CAAN), recognized by the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners as the voice for the area.
At the Board of Trustees’ direction, Lynn Dean, Corresponding Secretary since 1992, pushed for the Parks and Recreation Department to make improvements and upgrade the “playground” to a park, and that Department maintains it. The entrance walls, monuments and signs, as well as the flower beds, were upgraded through County grants that Le Bailey, current President of the Board of Trustees, applied for in the past four years. To date, the Tax District has been awarded about $10,000 in grants. With these monies, new plants and trees were planted and a new low-flow irrigation system was installed to replace the often broken free-flow system. The annual assessment that every homeowner pays ($75 at this time) allows the Board of Trustees to maintain the more than one mile of block perimeter walls of Beacon Meadows. In addition to other on-going maintenance needs, the Board arranges for trash pick-up along the right-of-way and lawn service once a week in the summer. Board members are residents with two-year terms by election. These terms are alternating so that each Board is a mixture of experienced and new members. There is always a need for new Board members. The younger generation of homeowners is encouraged to serve on the Board. There is no pay for participation. All assessment and grant monies are spent for the good of the neighborhood.
New owners in Beacon Meadows are often asked what brought them to the neighborhood. The reasons are pretty basic. The value for the price is usually first, with convenience a quick second. Then come the remarks about how well maintained the homes are. And the Sheriff’s Department crime reports indicate that there is very little crime in Beacon Meadows.
More and more homes in Beacon Meadows today are being purchased by investors as rental property. The Tax District Board of Trustees along with other homeowners hopes that renters in Beacon Meadows will appreciate the life style created here. Homeowners understand the value of their investment and act accordingly. They respectfully request that renters observe the covenants and restrictions, as well as County residential codes.
Published August 2005