TALLAHASSEE - His name appears nowhere in the legislation, but make no mistake, a bill passed by state legislators this week is squarely aimed at reining in land speculators like Don Connolly. 

Connolly made national news last year when he paid $848 for a small lake in Tarpon Woods and put a pink fence part way around it when 15 homeowners refused to pay him $30,000 each to get their view back.

The bill, which still requires the governor's signature to become law, prevents common areas like that from falling into tax delinquency. Those common areas include lakes, easements and submerged land.

It was also Connolly who paid $2,000 for some submerged land near South Pasadena and tried to sell it back to 61 waterfront homeowners for $100,000 apiece.

When new subdivisions are built, such common areas will either be given a taxable value of zero, or its value will be assigned on a pro-rated basis to all the homeowners.

That applies, however, only to new construction. In order to protect residents against common areas already on the books, the bill would require neighbors to be notified when an abutting property faces public auction due to delinquent taxes. Most residents said they never even knew the common areas bought by Connolly were headed for auction.

State Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor, who initiated the bill along with state Sen. Jim Sebesta, R-St. Petersburg, said the legislation aims at "Don Connolly and his ilk" who have targeted homeowners "with what amounts to extortion on common lands within residential subdivisions."

"We want to give subdivision residents the peace of mind that comes with knowing that their neighborhoods are in tact and not subject to the high jinks of prospectors," Bilirakis said.

Pinellas County officials, in response Connolly's purchases, had already begun notifying adjacent property owners about tax deed sales. "This is a bigger issue than Don Connolly," said Pinellas Property Appraiser Jim Smith. The legislation would help protect homeowners, Smith said, but "people have to start taking some responsibility for themselves. There is still the matter of "buyer beware.' "