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State Road 54/56

Pasco adopts tighter restrictions on apartments

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The Pasco County Commission has adopted new standards that aim to keep apartment development from consuming frontage along state roads 54/56, between Gunn Highway and U.S. 301.

Commission Chairman Mike Moore has championed tighter restrictions along the State Road 54/56 corridor — citing the need to preserve the frontage for employment-generating development. He also has cautioned his colleagues that allowing too much apartment development now could create problems in the future, when occupancy drops and the buildings fall into disrepair.

Commissioners initially adopted the tighter restrictions on June 30, but revisited the issue on July 14 to clarify the effective date and to address a question raised about which section of State Road 54 falls within the new restrictions.

Under the adopted changes, new multifamily residential zoning and future land use amendments along the SR 54/56 corridor from Gunn Highway to U.S. 301 shall be integrated with a mixture of employment-generating land uses.

Those uses can be existing uses or new ones, according to the county’s new requirements.

Also, on properties along the State Road 54/56 corridor from Gunn Highway to U.S. 301, the first 2,000 feet adjacent to the corridor shall place new multifamily zoning and future land use amendments behind non-residential land uses unless a development vertically integrates a mixture of uses, such as a high-rise with offices, residential and retail uses.

New rezonings or future land use amendments in the affected area that have not yet filed complete applications as of June 30 will comply with the county’s directive.

The new restrictions do not apply to the section of State Road 54 that runs between Wesley Chapel Boulevard and Zephyrhills, Chairman Moore said.

He said the directive has been clarified because questions had been raised about that.

Before voting, commissioners also heard concerns raised by Joel Tew, an attorney who frequently represents applicants in rezoning and land use requests.

Tew questioned the process being used by the board to make the changes, noting it bypassed the normal public hearing process to adopt changes to the county’s comprehensive plan and land development code.

He also said the changes are in conflict with policies within the county’s comprehensive plan.

But, David Goldstein, chief assistant county attorney, said “I am not aware of any direct inconsistencies with the comp plan or land development code, as part of this policy. However, if we identify any, we will address them through the appropriate land development code or comprehensive plan amendment.”

Moore also noted that no Pasco County property owners stepped forward during public comment to raise objections to the new restrictions.

Published July 29, 2020

Pasco eyeing rule changes to spur more jobs

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The Pasco County Commission is looking at changing the county’s employment center land use requirements in an effort to encourage more jobs.

County Commissioner Jack Mariano raised the issue during the board’s July 14 meeting, noting that he’s aware of a potential development near the intersection of State Road 54/Suncoast Parkway that could yield more jobs, if the site wasn’t required to have a multifamily component.

“I don’t want to restrict anybody, with EC (an employment center designation), not to be able to create more jobs,” Mariano said. “I want to get every single job that I can.”

Commission Chairman Mike Moore chimed in: “I agree. Do we want apartments or 500 more jobs? We want the jobs. It’s not hard to figure out, right?”

Moore said that’s especially true along the State Road 54/56 corridor, which already has a substantial amount of housing available.

Commissioner Mike Wells said he also supports Mariano’s position.

Nectarios Pittos, the county’s planning and development director, reminded commissioners that it has been the county’s longstanding policy to locate housing close to employment.

He also noted that the county’s plan promotes creating density to support transit plans.

Sites designated as employment centers that are 20 acres or less are not required to include multi-family development, Pittos added.

He also cautioned commissioners that such a change could contribute to traffic congestion.

Commissioner Kathryn Starkey said the board needs to hear the pros and cons of making such a change.

“We’re making some knee-jerk reactions,” Starkey said. “We only have two east-west roads. We need to be careful.”

Commissioners directed county staff to prepare a board workshop for further discussion on the issue.

In other action, the board:

  • Approved a resolution to notify the public of the county’s proposed solid waste rate increase of $7 per equivalent residential unit (single-family) for fiscal year 2021. The resolution also includes a proposed increase in per-ton tipping fees of $6.39 per ton for fiscal year 2021. A public hearing on the proposed increases has been set for Sept. 8 at 9 a.m., in the board chambers of the Historic Pasco County Courthouse, at 37917 Meridian Ave., in Dade City.
  • Approved an amendment to an agreement with Good Samaritan Health Clinic of Pasco Inc., to extend the time to complete the installation of a generator for the pharmacy and medical flooring for the clinic. The original completion date was scheduled for Sept. 30, 2020. However, due to COVID-19, an extension was necessary. The new completion deadline is Sept. 30, 2021.
  • Promoted Brian Hoben to the position of community services director. Hoben had been serving as the public services administrator and as interim community services director.

Published July 22, 2020

Pasco County ‘hottest county around,’ commission chairman says

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When Pasco County Commission Chairman Mike Moore moved to the county in 2007, it was a different place.

When he arrived, the State Road 54/56 corridor — with it shopping malls, restaurants, car dealerships, hotels, residential subdivisions, medical offices, state college and industrial development — looked nothing like it does today.

The Shops at Wiregrass wasn’t even there yet, recalled Moore, who had made the move from nearby New Tampa for a larger home in Seven Oaks.

“They just built the JCPenney, without the mall. When I first moved here, we were still going to Hillsborough County and to New Tampa for a lot of things,” he said.

That was then.

“You think about how hot Pasco County is right now. We’re the hottest county around,” said Moore, now serving in his second term, and recently named county commission chairman.

Pasco County Commission Chairman Mike Moore is bullish on Pasco County. He sees bright prospects for 2020, and said the county’s pro-growth attitude is creating more opportunities for its residents. (File)

“Wesley Chapel has the highest income in the Tampa Bay region.

“New restaurants and businesses are coming every single day.

“I do so many ribbon cuttings my fingers are tired,” Moore said.

New businesses are bringing jobs to the county, and there’s even some Class A office space popping up.

“That’s what’s amazing, you look at the growth and opportunity that we have in this area now, compared to what we had when I first moved here in ’07.”

Now, he said, “I don’t need to leave Pasco County, unless I need to go to the airport.”

Statistics paint a favorable picture of the county.

The number of homeless is down; job growth is up. Tourism hit the million-visitor mark for the first time this year, and numerous companies have set up shop in Pasco, or have announced plans to do so.

Moore said a strong economic development team, a streamlined approval process and a pro-growth board have combined to create more interest in Pasco.

County staff and the private Pasco Economic Development Council, Inc., work together to recruit new businesses, he said.

“There are certain things that (Pasco) EDC can do — being a private entity,” Moore explained.

“A lot of companies don’t want to make it public beforehand. People have employees who might have to relocate. There are investors involved, if they are public companies.”

“The EDC can work behind the scenes.”

The county also has focused on reducing bureaucracy, Moore said.

“One of the things that we have encouraged — as a commission, as a whole — is to make it as easily navigable as possible, to come here and start from the ground up,” Moore said.

“Our economic development group needs to make sure that when they (prospects) come here and they’re ready to do business, that it’s a smooth process,” he added.

The economic development team’s job is to make the area enticing, but it goes beyond that Moore said. They also need to help the companies through the county’s process.

Public support for economic development has played an important role, Moore said, noting that a portion of the Penny for Pasco tax proceeds is earmarked for that purpose.

The county has a number of tools it uses to entice businesses: It waives mobility impact fees and permit fees. It rewards job creation. It supports work force training. It forgives loans. It uses tax and job creation incentives.

The commission’s Dec. 10 meeting — where two companies announced intentions to locate in Pasco — offered a glimpse of how such strategies are paying off.

Encompass Health Corporation, based in Birmingham, Alabama, announced plans to bring 179 jobs to Central Pasco. Rooker Properties, LLC, a company based in Atlanta, Georgia, unveiled plans for an industrial park on a site off Old Pasco Road, expected to generate hundreds of jobs.

Meanwhile, financial services company Raymond James — also receiving a number of incentives — is expected to break ground in 2020 for a campus expected to have hundreds of employees, in the Wiregrass Ranch area of Wesley Chapel.

“That will be significant for our area. We’ve all been waiting for it,” Moore said.

Aside from the economy, the county is making strides in efforts to improve its quality of life, Moore said.

Numerous road construction projects are in various stages of progress.

Most recently, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit to extend Ridge Road, initially from Moon Lake Road in New Port Richey to the Suncoast Parkway, but ultimately it will extend to U.S. 41 in Land O’ Lakes.

The county has pushed for the east-west corridor for 20 years, and securing the permit marks a major milestone. As of last week, it remained unclear if opponents — who object to the project’s path through the Serenova Tract of the Starkey Wilderness Preserve — will wage a legal challenge.

Meanwhile, over in Wesley Chapel, construction continues on the diverging diamond, a project aimed at easing congestion at the Interstate 75/State Road 56 interchange.

And, in another significant development, the extension of State Road 56 between Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills was wrapped up in July, creating a new east-west corridor between the two communities.

The county also has been making strides on civic projects, Moore noted.

Four voter-approved bond issues are supporting the construction of additional fire stations, the renovation of libraries, improvements at county parks and a jail expansion.

The county also recently announced a record-breaking $22 million acquisition of environmental lands, to preserve ecological corridors.

And, within recent months, the county opened its first barrier-free playground.

Moore championed the idea, after noticing there wasn’t a place where children with disabilities could play at Wesley Chapel District Park.

Keith Wiley, who oversees the county’s parks departments, got involved — and the Wesley Chapel Rotary Club, Lennar Foundation and AdventHealth Wesley Chapel stepped up to help pay for the project.

The barrier-free playground was a first for Pasco, but Moore expects that it won’t be the last.

Six things to watch in 2020

The Laker/Lutz News asked Pasco County Commission Chairman Mike Moore to identify the top things to watch in 2020. He provided these six, along with some observations:

  • Wiregrass Ranch Sports Complex: The 98,000-square-foot Wiregrass Ranch Sports Complex will open, creating a new destination for amateur and youth travel teams. It also will have programs during the week for local youths. The facility is expected to boost county tourism, as teams travel to Pasco from around the country and even internationally. The facility also will add to the local economy, as visitors stay at hotels, shop at stores, eat at restaurants, buy gas and so on.
  • Interstate 75-Overpass Road interchange: Work will begin on a design-build project to create a new interchange at Interstate 75 and Overpass Road, 3.5 miles south of State Road 52. The new diamond interchange will include a flyover ramp for westbound Overpass Road access to south I-75. To accommodate the new interchange, Overpass Road will be widened from two lanes to four lanes between I-75 and Old Pasco Road and to six lanes between I-75 and Boyette Road. Blair Drive will be realigned to connect with Old Pasco Road; and, McKendree Road will be realigned to connect with Boyette Road.
  • U.S. 41 Redevelopment: Redevelopment and revitalization along U.S. 41/Land O Lakes Boulevard is expected to occur, as U.S. 41 is widened, south of State Road 52 to alleviate backups at State Road 52/U.S. 41. There also will be increased efforts to improve the corridor’s appearance, through landscaping projects and redevelopment.
  • Job growth in Pasco County: The county is attracting more companies because of its policies that support growth and that is expected to continue. Quality of life improves when citizens can work closer to home, and new developments, such as Raymond James, which is expected to occur in early 2020, offers one example of increasing job opportunities in Pasco.
  • Improved quality of life through public projects: New looks for Centennial Park Library and New River Library will be unveiled in 2020, with modernized interiors and makerspaces. The county is also engaged in more than 30 projects in its parks, ranging from new roofs and gutters on buildings to updating playground equipment.
  • Ridge Road Extension: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit to Pasco County on Dec. 20, to begin on Ridge Road Extension, initially to connect Ridge Road to the Suncoast Parkway. Plans also call for eventually extending the road to U.S. 41. The project will provide a new east-west corridor, giving motorists another travel option and providing another evacuation route during emergencies.

Editor’s note: These observations were edited for brevity.

Published January 01, 2020

FDOT budgeting future land purchases for 54/41 project

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A local task force is expected to make recommendations next year on a traffic fix for the intersection of State Road 54 and U.S. 41, but the Florida Department of Transportation already is budgeting about $32 million for land purchases connected to the project.

The funding is slated for fiscal year 2023, as part of the agency’s five-year work plan.

Florida Department of Transportation is budgeting about $32 million for rights of way purchases in fiscal year 2023 for an as-yet-undecided project to improve State Road 54 and U.S. 41 intersection. (File)

The funding for the rights of way for the State Road 54 and U.S. 41 intersection is a conservative amount programmed in advance to give Pasco County time to do outreach, and determine the community’s vision for this project, according to FDOT spokeswoman, Kris Carson, in an email response to The Laker/Lutz News.

“The amount may be reduced or increased or we can shift the funds elsewhere if the no-build is selected,” Carson wrote.

The department also is working on interim improvements for the intersection, she added.

One anticipated project would lengthen some of the turn lanes at the intersection to improve traffic flow.

In October, the 17-member Vision 54/56 Task Force scheduled a workshop to review in more detail traffic projects that are being proposed as solutions.

The group’s options include 11 major highway and transit alternatives, as well as a no-build alternative for the intersection. Some alternatives would be at-grade re-designs with express transit lanes; others would have flyovers, and toll lanes.

The task force is expected to schedule its next public meeting in November or December. Additional public meetings into 2018 also are expected in order to complete the second of three phases of the traffic study.

The entire study includes the State Road 54/56 corridor, from Bruce B. Downs Boulevard on the east to U.S. 19 on the west. However, for the current phase of the study the focus is on two intersections: Little Road and State Road 54 in New Port Richey, and U.S. 41 and State Road 54 in Land O’ Lakes.

The Land O’ Lakes segment is getting intense scrutiny as it is among the busiest intersections, with nearly 100,000 vehicles per day.

Representatives from Pasco County Planning and Development, the county’s Metropolitan Planning Organization, FDOT and consultants are assisting in the study.

The FDOT also is expected to fund a detailed analysis and evaluation of the State Road 54 and U.S. 41 intersection, likely in 2018. MPO officials say it is the only segment included in the study that has funding.

The MPO established the task force in 2015, and started with two separate groups. One studied issues for west Pasco; the other for east Pasco.

In late 2016, a single task force, with some members from the first groups, began studying a list of potential options. They include 11 major highway and transit alternatives, as well as a no-build alternative for the intersection.

The task force initiative got underway after the FDOT proposed a flyover for the intersection, with room for express toll lanes. The project met with opposition from the community, and FDOT officials agreed to back off while a task force tried to reach consensus on what should be done.

The FDOT’s five-year work plan is updated annually.

Some projects to redesign, expand and resurface roadways are slated for 2018/19. They are:

  • Resurfacing U.S. 41 from north of Ehren Cutoff to north of Caliente Boulevard for about $2.3 million
  • Resurfacing U.S. 301 from Pond Avenue to north of Long Avenue/Pioneer Museum for about $2.3 million
  • Realignment, widening and new construction on State Road 52 from Uradco Place to west of Fort King Road for about $83.3 million
  • Widening State Road 52 from two lanes to six lanes, from west of Suncoast Parkway to east of U.S. 41 at cost of about $75 million. This also includes intersection improvements, sidewalks and 12-foot trail.
  • Right of way purchase for U.S. 41 from north of Connerton Boulevard to south of State Road 52 for about $739,000. Construction of that project, in 2020, would cost about $20.3 million.

For more information, visit FDOT.gov.

Published November 15, 2017

FDOT leader goes point-by-point on elevated toll road

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Patrick Knight has been an active voice against the proposed elevated toll road in the State Road 54/56 corridor, and tried to pull the big guns into his fight by writing Gov. Rick Scott.

Instead, Knight’s letter was answered by Florida Department of Transportation District Seven secretary Paul Steinman, who responded to Knight point-by-point on the potential 33-mile project that would stretch from Zephyrhills to New Port Richey.

“This type of project has already been built, and is operating successfully around the country, so we are getting a good idea of what people are able or willing to pay to use them,” Steinman wrote in a letter to Knight, which was shared with members of elevated road opposition group Pasco Fiasco. “Like any good business, the company that runs this venture will study its potential customers and set reasonable prices. If they were to charge too much, they would lose money in the end.”

In his letter to Scott, Knight touched on not only the potential high cost of tolls, but other factors he and members of his opposition group fear, like sinkholes, traffic congestion, extra noise from the road, and even allowing a foreign company to participate in a road project. One of the key partners working with developer International Infrastructure Partners LLP is OHL Group of Spain.

“There will never be public support for this project,” Knight wrote. “An elevated toll road owned and operated by a foreign corporation and used only by those who can afford a very high toll is not needed.”

However, where a proposing road construction company is based is not necessarily something the FDOT considers when partnering with projects, Steinman said.

“Nothing prohibits foreign companies form competing for this type of project,” Steinman said. “Allowing more companies to compete benefits Florida by increasing competition and lowering costs for the taxpayer.”

Also, any company, foreign or domestic, would have to hire local subcontractors and engineers to build, Steinman added. And both that work and the attraction to develop in the area because of the “presence of the roadway” would create more jobs in the state.

Steinman also downplayed any potential problems with sinkholes in the county, citing recent work on Interstate 75, which he said created no sinkhole problems either on the project site, or in surrounding private property.

There was a little bit of hope for opponents of the road, however.

“We have received many similar comments from other citizens, and have asked the company proposing the project to provide other options to the original elevated concept,” Steinman said.

International Infrastructure Partners submitted its unsolicited proposal to FDOT last summer, and the decision to give the company the necessary right-of-way along the State Road 54/56 corridor to build the potential $2.2 billion project lies with the state agency.

However, FDOT officials have said in the past they would not move forward without the blessing of the Pasco County government. Two members of the commission, Henry Wilson and commission chair Jack Mariano, have publicly come out against the project.

Public meetings about the proposed project are set to begin in June and July.

Town hall over elevated toll road descends into chaos

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The crowd was there to speak, not to listen.

After spending nearly an hour hearing why some Pasco County leaders like planning and development administrator Richard Gehring were still open to exploring the possibility of an elevated toll road along the State Road 54/56 corridor, hundreds of people gathered at a town hall meeting at Sunlake High School Monday night interrupted, shouted and booed over scheduled speakers.

Residents crowded into Sunlake High School's gymnasium March 10 to talk about the proposed elevated toll road for the State Road 54/56 corridor. (Photo by Michael Hinman)
Residents crowded into Sunlake High School’s gymnasium March 10 to talk about the proposed elevated toll road for the State Road 54/56 corridor. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

And their goal was clear: No elevated toll road.

“This needs to have community support, and the presentation (from county officials) was very demeaning,” one resident said. “Everything has already been decided.”

It was supposed to be just another one of several town hall meetings Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey had organized for constituents: She would bring members of the county staff with her to discuss various issues, and then listen to the attendees and get their feedback.

This meeting, however, served as a prelude to official public interaction over the elevated toll road and overall county transportation plan that’s set to kick off Saturday at The Shops at Wiregrass.

Even with a microphone, speakers like Gehring struggled to talk over the unruly crowd. When one man interrupted him after shouting from the audience, Gehring tried to keep some sort of order.

“Sir … could we have …” Gehring said before getting interrupted again. “Public dialogue requires civility. Let me try and ask you for it.”

International Infrastructure Partners, which submitted an unsolicited proposal last year to privately build the elevated toll road in Pasco County, has not even actually bid on such a project yet, and is still early in negotiations with the Florida Department of Transportation, Starkey said.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said. “But we all need to know, at least in my mind, what our alternatives are” to the road if it’s not built.

Some of the talk from the crowd is to keep moving such an east-west connector north, just like residents in Hillsborough County have successfully done over the years. One idea would be to build a higher-capacity road along State Road 52, which virtually runs parallel to State Road 54 in the northern part of the county.

“We do have a problem: We have to have an east-west road,” said Christie Zimmer, a member of the Pasco County Citizens’ Advisory Committee. “I’m absolutely 100 percent opposed for that to happen in the State Road 54/56 corridor, but if we look at the 52 corridor, the cost is substantially less.”

Such a road, she said, would not just serve the travelers from Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, but it would help bring Hernando County into the fold on a road where not so much development has happened.

At one point, Gehring rebutted a comment that an elevated road would depress property values along the corridor, using the Selmon Expressway as an example in Hillsborough County. There, he said, property values are actually on the rise — a statement that was met with jeers from the audience.

While there was a lot of interruptions from the audience, it did seem at least one person was listening. Ken Littlefield, a Republican candidate for Pasco County Commission seeking to replace Pat Mulieri, failed to take a position on the elevated road during a Republican debate last week. But now, the former state legislator says he has all the information he needs.

“If there is one thing that I detest, it’s an unsolicited call,” Littlefield said. “Every evening, between 5 and 7 p.m., our telephone rings, and every now and then, I will not recognize the number and I’ll pick it up. They’ll start an unsolicited call, and I will hang it up.

“Ladies and gentlemen, what I think we need to do on this unsolicited bid is hang up.”

Read more about this meeting and this weekend’s transportation presentation at The Shops at Wiregrass in the March 19 print edition of The Laker/Lutz News.

Workshops planned for transportation, elevated toll road

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The Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization has set dates to openly discuss its various transportation plans with the public, including the proposed elevated toll road along the State Road 54/56 corridor.

The series of workshops begin March 15 at The Shops at Wiregrass, and wind up April 10 during an MPO workshop in New Port Richey.

The primary discussion is focused on the 2040 Long Range Transportation Needs Plan, the blueprint Pasco County will use to determine what kind of transportation infrastructure is needed over the next 25 years, and where and when it should be built. That plan now includes the impact of a proposed elevated toll road from International Infrastructure Partners, which would connect a 33-mile stretch between U.S. 301 near Zephyrhills with U.S. 19 in New Port Richey.

A toll feasibility study is underway right now, and part of the long-range planning will include exploring alternatives to such a road, especially other east-west roads in Pasco County like State Road 52 to the north.

The complete plan for 2040 is expected to be finished by the end of the year.

Public workshops include:

March 15, 10 a.m to 2 p.m.
Fresh Market at Wiregrass
28211 Paseo Drive, Wesley Chapel

March 25, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
West Pasco Government Center, Lobby
8731 Citizens Drive, New Port Richey

March 26, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Alice Hall Community Center
38116 Fifth Ave., Zephyrhills

March 27, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Pasco County Recreation Center
3032 Collier Parkway, Land O’ Lakes

April 10 at 10 a.m.
MPO board meeting workshop
West Pasco Government Center, BCC Board Room
8731 Citizens Drive, New Port Richey

For more information, visit www.Mobility2040Pasco.com, PascoMPO.net, or call (727) 847-8140.