The Pasco County Planning Commission continued to Aug. 8 a request for a conditional use that would allow a 185-foot-tall cell telephone tower to be placed on a property at 34041 St. Joe Road in rural Dade City.
The applicants are Southern One LLC/Coral Towers LLC/Verizon Wireless. They would be leasing space on the property where the cell tower would be located if the conditional use request is eventually approved.
The Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) has the final say on whether the conditional use may be approved because the planning commission only acts in an advisory capacity.
A couple of area residents who attended the June 6 meeting in Dade City expressed concerns about the possible negative impact the tower might have on the value of their properties. The continuance was granted to provide time for research.
The applicant also agreed to the continuance according to attorney Mattaniah S. Jahn who represented them at the planning commission’s June 6 meeting in Dade City.
The applicants are seeking to have the tower on St. Joe Road, as it’s anticipated to increase coverage and capacity in the area for cellphone users.
In other business, the planning commission:
- Recommended that the density of a proposed subdivision on Old Lakeland Highway should be reduced.
Crossways MPUD – Crossways 301 LLC had applied for a zoning amendment that would have enabled them to choose between two different options on how the proposed subdivision would be developed.
Option A was to build a total of 130 single-family residences on the 29.5-acres property that is 0.2 miles east and 0.1 miles north of U.S. Highway 98. Sixty-five of the homes would be on 50-foot-wide lots and the other 65 homes would be on 40-foot-wide lots.
Option B was to build 40 single-family residences on half-acre lots in the proposed subdivision.
Crossways wanted to be able to choose either of the two options according to market conditions at the time the proposed subdivision was being developed.
Water and sewer services would have had to be provided by either Pasco County or Dade City if 130 homes were constructed on the property. It was unknown to the developer and county officials whether the required utility services would have been available from either potential provider in the six years that the requested zoning amendment would be effective.
Wells and septic tanks could be used if 40 homes were built on half-acre lots.
Planning commission members voted to remove Option A and to have conditions regarding utility conditions to be modified. Shelly May Johnson, the attorney representing Crossways, will work with Chief Assistant County Attorney David Goldstein to make the recommended changes before the BOCC considers the requested zoning amendment during its July 9 meeting in Dade City. If water and sewer services were available in six years, Crossways could apply to be able to build more homes on the site.
- Recommended approval of a zoning amendment requested by Thomas Lee and Kimberly Anne Samonek. The Samoneks would like the zoning of approximately 3.22 acres in southeast Pasco County to be changed from an A-R Agricultural-Residential District to a C-2 General Commercial District.
The property is located on the southwest corner of State Road 54 and Ryals Road near the Zephyrhills First Assembly of God Church. The Samoneks have agreed to a voluntary deed restriction to ensure the property provides the benefits of commercial development, including, but not limited to, adequate employment generation.
If the rezoning request is approved, it will not take effect until the deed restriction for the property has been recorded and delivered to the county. The owners/applicants must also submit a preliminary site plan or preliminary development plan, as applicable, for review and approval prior to the development or redevelopment of the property.
- Recommended approval of a zoning amendment requested by the Rubrecht Ronald C and Patsy M Living Trust for approximately 40 acres in southwest Pasco County. The property is located on the west side of Joy Drive, approximately 650 feet north of Dogpatch Lane. The property is currently zoned Master Planned Unit Development and the request is for it to be rezoned to an A-C Agricultural District.
The property is within approximately 45.3 acres that were rezoned as MPUD on Aug. 9, 2022. This would have allowed the construction of a maximum of 107 single-family dwelling units and associated infrastructure. However, the developer/contract purchaser did move forward with the purchase. Most of the properties were subsequently sold to others, including the site for which this zoning amendment has been requested.
The present owners have no intention or desire to proceed with the conditions of approval associated with the MPUD. Instead, they propose to develop the site with three single-family dwellings and agricultural pursuits in conformance with the A-C Agricultural District standards for development.
- Finally, it was recommended to the BOCC that a small-scale comprehensive plan amendment to Future Land Use Maps be approved for Ed’s Food Truck Park. The applicant is seeking to have the zoning of 0.71 acres of property changed from RES-6 (Residential-6/DU/GA) to COM (Commercial). The property is located on the south side of State Road 54 approximately 200 feet west of Shelly Lane in west Pasco County.
It was emphasized at the planning commission meeting that if the land use change is approved, it doesn’t mean that someone could just go ahead and develop a food truck park. There are still several procedures the applicant would have to go through for that to be done.
“An office could be built there. It doesn’t have to be a food truck park,” Planning Commission member Jon Moody said.
