The Laker/Lutz News

Brad Tippin

Proposal calls for modernizing county code

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Pasco County is considering updates to its landscaping code — and, while doing so, is contemplating how to deal with electric charging stations for cars and for carports within parking lots that have solar panels on top.

David Goldstein, chief assistant county attorney, asked county planners and the Pasco County Planning Commission to consider including the electric charging stations and solar-paneled carports, as the county amends its code.

He made the suggestion during the planning board’s April 7 meeting.

The attorney said he’d been out West recently, where he saw that in many parking lots, “they have these, what I’ll call solar car ports.”

They provide shade for the cars, while also generating solar energy for businesses, Goldstein said.

“As I saw them, I was thinking: ‘Is that even possible to do in Pasco and still comply with our landscape ordinance?” Goldstein said.

“What I noticed was where these solar panels were, the footers that were holding them up were basically where we would normally have these landscaped islands,” he added.

Patrick Dutter, a senior planner for the county, told Goldstein that the code amendments didn’t address those particulars.

But Dutter added: “The main goal of those trees (required in the landscape code) in those vehicle use areas is to provide shade, right. And, if those carport structures are doing that, it’s meeting the main intent. So, staff would probably be OK with approving an alternative standard.”

Goldstein, however, suggested adding the solar carports to the list of exceptions included in the proposed code.

“I’d just hate to see someone have to go through an alternative standards process for something that we probably would encourage, because it’s providing shade, it’s providing solar energy. Why not write it into the code, as opposed to saying, ‘You’ve got to go through an alternative standards process?’” Goldstein said.

He continued: “If it is providing just as much shade as the landscaping and it’s encouraging solar, I would think we want to encourage that.”

Brad Tippin, the county’s development review manager, responded: “I think that is something we could probably add to that list of exceptions, with a caveat that the county sees to what’s being proposed, to see if it actually meets that.

“We may also want to address things like electric charging stations,” Tippin said.

Goldstein responded: “That was going to be my next question.

“A logical place to retrofit putting in an electric charging station is in the landscape islands, and I wouldn’t want us to preclude those,” Goldstein said.

“I think there should be some allowance for that,” the attorney said, providing the planning board approved that direction, which it did, later in the meeting.

Tippin said county staff will draft language to address those issues, before bringing the proposed landscaping update to the Pasco County Commission for a vote.

Goldstein said it makes sense to include the changes in the code update.

“We don’t amend the landscape code very often,” he said.

“This is probably the first time in 15 or 20 years. I just don’t want to have to wait another 15 or 20 years to amend the code, and allow for electric charging stations and solar facilities.

“We should anticipate the future that these things are probably coming, and we shouldn’t have our code preclude them,” he said.

Published April 20, 2022

More changes are coming to Central Pasco

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The Pasco County Commission has cleared the way for more changes to come to the central part of Pasco County.

The county board voted on Aug. 24 to approve changes to a master plan unit development (MPUD) on the west side of U.S. 41, between Roaches Run and Causeway Boulevard. The changes allow a maximum 275,000 commercial retail square feet and create a land use equivalency matrix, to expand the types of uses.

Those additional uses are office, medical office, health care-related, light industry distribution, multifamily residential, single-family attached residential, senior retirement/assisted living/aggregate home and public institutional uses.

The request was filed by Hagman Groves Inc., and RS Roach LLC, who were represented by attorney Barbara Wilhite.

The county board also approved a request to change the name from Causeway Center Commercial MPUD to Causeway MPUD, to better reflect the potential uses.

The commercial retail square footage shall be a minimum of 100,000 square feet.

Residential uses will only be allowed on the parcels abutting U.S. 41, if they are part of a vertically mixed-use integrated building.

Commissioners also approved a variance to reduce the number of required parking spaces in the development. And, they granted a deviation from the county’s standard platting procedure, for this specific project.

Brad Tippin, the county’s manager for development review, explained what the county is trying to accomplish with the platting deviation.

“One of the things that we’re doing — the development services branch and public infrastructure branch — are working together to try to reduce the overall timelines to market for some of these types of projects. So, one of the things that we’ve included in here is a deviation from our standard platting process,” Tippin said.

“We only are doing this in this particular project and we can only do it upon your approval of this particular set of conditions that would actually allow us to do that. We’re going to give it a trial run, see how it works,” Tippin said.

He added: “Some other jurisdictions are doing something similar.”

The county hopes this approach will help shorten its timelines, Tippin said.

Wilhite, representing the applicants, told commissioners: “I think we’ll come up with something that will bring this project to market quicker.”

In other action, the county board:

  • Approved a request by Pulte Homes to rezone the southwest corner of Lake Patience Road and Perdew Drive to allow 240 single-family detached homes on approximately 80 acres.

Attorney Clark Hobby, representing the applicants, noted the density “is roughly one-half of the density that would otherwise be permitted on the site.”

He added: “Every property that’s adjacent to the site, running for approximately six miles, have MPUDs or large-scale developments to the west.”

In other action, the board:

  • Established the Connerton East Community Development District, east of Land O’ Lakes Boulevard, West of Ehren Cutoff, and South of State Road 52. The district covers 1,274.6 acres.
  • Approved a text amendment to the county’s comprehensive plan to allow a broader array of uses to be considered on the Paw Materials property, on the north side of State Road 52, about one-quarter mile west of Land O’ Lakes Boulevard. The policy previously contained the word “support” when referring to commercial and retail entitlements. Removing the word “support” expands the list of potential uses.

Published September 01, 2021

Lutz neighbors oppose commercial rezoning

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Residents of the Meadowbrook Estates and Sierra Pines subdivision, in Lutz, are banding together to fight a proposed commercial rezoning at the entrance of their communities.

Kiddie Campus University Inc., is seeking to change residential zoning to general commercial on a 1.67-acre site, on the southwest corner of State Road 54 and Meadowbrook Drive.

Area residents who oppose the change were represented by Todd Pressman, a private consultant, during a March 4 meeting of the Pasco County Planning Commission.

Pressman cited a report by a private planner, commissioned to review the request. The planner raised issues with the compatibility of a commercial use — in an area characterized by residential development.

“A request came through for this property for a day care and preschool in January ’11. That was denied 7-0, by this board. The same request came through one year later, for preschool, and that was denied,” Pressman said.

“This request would allow a gas station operating on this property. That would be nothing less than devastating for this community,” said Pressman, who presented petitions signed by 140 people against the request.

Residents from Meadowbrook Estates and Sierra Pines voiced objections, too.

They said a driveway from the proposed commercial site would have access onto Meadowbrook Drive —  a street they claim is too narrow to handle the traffic a commercial project would generate.

One opponent also raised concerns about the potential long-term environmental damage — from droplets of gasoline that seep into the ground — if a gas station is allowed to locate at the site.

The communities rely on private wells for drinking water.

Other residents pointed out the problem of delivery trucks having a hard time getting out of the neighborhood, if they make a wrong turn, because the streets are so narrow.

Despite those objections, county planners have recommended approval of both a land use change and a rezoning. Both changes are needed to clear the way for a commercial use.

If the land use change is approved, the applicant will have to meet buffering requirements that exceed those normally required by the land use code, county planners said.

Barbara Wilhite, an attorney representing the applicant, noted that the site is at a signalized  intersection, on a six-lane arterial highway, three-quarters miles east of the Suncoast Parkway.

“I think the neighbors are clear that they will object to any use other than residential,” Wilhite said, but given the site’s location at the intersection, on a six-lane arterial highway, she added, “this is absolutely not the place for a residential use.”

Wilhite also noted that the county board has adopted a comprehensive plan that specifically directs where it wants commercial land uses.

“This application strictly complies with that direction,” Wilhite said.

Charles Grey, planning commission chairman, said “I try to always put myself in the position of both property owners. The residents and the person who wants to develop the property. It’s always a balance of property rights.”

“I’m a strong proponent of property rights.

“I do think we need to provide some type of protection for the residents who live in that area. They are very, very close to this property.

“I certainly wouldn’t want people walking back and forth, from a 7-Eleven, for example, to my home, walk across my property. I know how that gets. I deal with that all of the time,” Grey said.

Planning commissioner Peter Hanzel said he would prefer to see a less intense commercial use.

“When you go to a C2 (general commercial), you open a large variety of facilities that can go there. Perhaps that’s what the residents are concerned about, going to a C2. Is there a possibility that it could go to a C1,” he said, which would limit the potential list of uses.

Wilhite responded: “My answer to that is that they opposed the day care. They clearly said today that they want it to remain a residential use. This is not a place to underutilize property.”

Planning commission Chris Poole asked about what type of use was planned.

Wilhite said a gas station is one of the permitted uses in the requested zoning district.

Grey wanted to know if the planning commission could see the buffering plan before voting on the request.

Brad Tippin, the county’s development review manager, said buffering is typically determined during the site plan review process — after the use of the site is known and the orientation of the building, parking lot and other elements are known.

In this case, because of the land use requirement, a greater degree of buffering would be required, Tippin said.

But, Grey said he would like to see the actual plans.

Tippin said creating the buffering plan before sufficient details are known could result in a less-effective plan.

Poole suggested voting on the land use plan, but delaying the zoning request until more details are available on the buffering.

Wilhite said she would be happy to work with the county on a buffering plan, and could include language that would provide flexibility to adjust the plan, if necessary.

A board majority voted to recommend approval of the land use change. The board continued the rezoning request until April 1.

Published March 17, 2021

Neighbors object to proposed house near wetlands

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A property owner’s request for a variance to front-yard setback requirements has attracted opposition from nearby neighbors.

Sachin K. Shah appeared before the Pasco County Planning Commission on Nov. 19, seeking a variance to the front yard setback requirements for the property on the east side of Raintree Road, about 1,350 south of Rainbow Lane, in Lutz.

The normal setback requirement is 50 feet, but Shah is requesting that be reduced to 30 feet.

Shah told planning commissioners the smaller setback is needed to reduce potential impacts on the wetlands behind the house.

But, several neighbors appeared before the planning commission raising objections to the request.

They said the property that Shah wants to build on has been known to be an unbuildable lot for decades because of its proximity to wetlands and the flood zone.

They said building on the lot will worsen the area’s flooding problems.

The lot is surrounded by single-family detached homes, in the Meadowbrook Estates and Sierra Pines subdivisions.

One neighbor told planning commissioners that he had told Shah that the lot was not a buildable lot, but that warning did not sway Shah.

Shah told planning commissioners that a drainage solution will need to be engineered, but he said the setback variance will reduce the impacts to the wetlands.

Will Poon, a senior engineer for Pasco County, said the property poses “a lot of physical challenges,” in terms of handling runoff, and the placement of a septic tank.

“Right now, what I see, is you’re very limited in uplands,” Poon said.

Brad Tippin, a development review manager for the county, agreed with Poon’s assessment: “This is absolutely going to be a challenging site to develop.”

Planning commissioners, however, said their role is to rule on the variance request, not whether a house should be built on the lot, and they voted to grant the variance.

Shah now will be required to meet the regulatory requirements of various agencies, in order to proceed with his plans.

Published December 02, 2020