TAMPA, Fla. — City leaders in Tampa are trying to find answers about how to stop a development project on land that could be part of a historic cemetery. It’s the Marti-Colon Cemetery off Columbus Drive.
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Community members, state leaders, and a local cemetery group have all called on city officials to stop the development.
The three parcels of land next to Marti-Colon Cemetery are permitted and up for sale, ready to be developed into three homes. Now, Tampa city leaders are asking if they can purchase this property and prevent it from being developed.
Don’t let history repeat itself was the message from residents at a Tampa City Council meeting Thursday.
“The idea that land containing human remains could be sold, neglected and potentially developed for housing is deeply concerning and troubling and morally wrong,” said one resident.
“Something has to be done once and for all,” another woman said.
After public outcry about the development of the property next to the Marti-Colon Cemetery, city leaders asked the county attorney if there was anything they could do to stop the development.
The City of Tampa recently approved the portion of land to be broken up into three parcels to build on.
“We have a very bad reputation of issues with cemeteries,” said Councilman Guido Maniscalco. “From Zion to memorial of what we know. There could be potentially more. I mean there’s nothing really that we can do?”
“No, I don’t believe we have any authority. We don’t have anything in our land development regulations. We have no state law. There’s just nothing there to ask them or demand them to do anything,” the city attorney said.
The city attorney also noted that if the developers were to discover remains, the law requires them to notify police and the medical examiner’s office. But even some council members were skeptical about that.
“All you dig is the foundation, you don’t dig the center. So, the proponents of the property is never gonna be realized if anyone is buried there or not because all you did is the footers,” said City Councilman Charlie Miranda.
It’s a chance city council leaders aren’t willing to take, and residents aren’t, either.
One woman ended her public comment with a moment of silence. “The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is the duty of the living to do it for them. I would like to use the remainder of my time and ask the council and the community join me in a moment of silence to honor the memory of those buried at Marti Colon Cemetery,” she said.
The city attorney said the City of Tampa is in the process of purchasing a plot of land where they know bodies are buried between the cemetery and the proposed land. As for the property where this development is planned, we should learn more next month if the city is prepared to pay market price for this land or a land swap to prevent development.