The Pasco County Commission has taken the first step in the process needed to clear the way for a proposed Downtown Connerton in Land O’ Lakes.
Commissioners approved changes to the long-range plan that would set the stage for a new mixed-use community within Connerton, that would be on the west side of Ehren Cutoff, about 2 miles south of State Road 52.
There are 16 parcels within Connerton Villages III/IV, according to county planning documents.
No one objected to the proposed change to the county’s long-range plan, which commissioners approved unanimously.
Now that the long-range plan has been amended, the next step will be consideration of a request to create a master-planned unit development (MPUD).
The land currently is zoned for agricultural use, but would be used for a mixed-use development.
The rezoning calls for activating a mixed-use area of at least 40 acres to create a Downtown Connerton.
Specifics in the proposal call for approximately 2,160 dwelling units, 55,000 square feet of retail, and 150,000 square feet of office, and a 765-student charter school, the planning documents say.
The idea is to bring employment, retail, a school and higher-density residential together to make it easy for people to walk, bicycle or use forms of transportation other than vehicles.
The area also will have pedestrian-oriented open spaces, community gathering spaces and will be within walking distance to an 80-acre district park, planning documents say.
Planners also report that the county has been working with the applicant to draft a connectivity plan that “will ultimately provide a system of trails, multi-use paths and associated amenities.”
A request to rezone the land — to enable the development of the proposed Downtown Connerton — will be brought to the board for consideration, at a later date.
Published July 29, 2020
