The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Jennifer Motsinger

Pasco adopts policies to address residential design on small lots

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The Pasco County Commission has adopted policies aimed at improving the architectural look of houses built on 40-foot wide and 50-foot wide lots in master-planned communities.

The idea is to avoid creating subdivisions in which the houses on small lots within the neighborhood all look alike.

To prevent that, commissioners want houses on the 40-foot-wide and 50-foot-wide lots to have, at a minimum, three architectural distinctions.

Commission Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey called for requiring that minimum for houses on any size of lot, but other commissioners did not think that was necessary.

Pasco County Commission Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey continues to push for better-looking developments in Pasco County. (File)

Commissioner Ron Oakley put it like this: “As you move to larger lots, the architecture kind of takes care of itself.

“On 40-foot lots, it’s very important we make sure you do it the right way. But as you get to 60-foot lots and others, people are spending more money on their home. They care about the architectural view and they don’t want what somebody has next door, or across the street,” Oakley said.

Commissioner Jack Mariano said, “I think with the smallest — the 40s and the 50s — I think the architecture is critical.”

Like Oakley, though, he was less concerned about imposing the standards on the larger lot sizes.

Mariano asked how the new policies will be enforced.

Sally Sherman, assistant county administrator, said the onus will be on the people seeking the smaller lot sizes, in master-planned unit developments (MPUDs), to keep track of complying with requirements.

Nectarios Pittos, the county’s director of planning and development, said quarterly reporting will be required.

Starkey, whose family is involved in development, said: “This is commonly done. You rarely build the same model next to each other.”

She said it’s easy to achieve differences in architectural details, by varying such things as the style of a garage door, a shutter, some brick.

“Brick, stone, stucco, Hardie plank — there’s so many to choose from, I don’t think it’s ever going to be an issue. But we should at least have three details,” Starkey said.

Jennifer Motsinger, representing the Tampa Bay Homebuilders Association, said the county and stakeholders had an in-depth conversation.

“The real issue that we were concerned about was that this already takes care of itself. And, so it puts a lot more pressure on the staff and essentially, you’re kind of doing double work.

“The staff is already reviewing the plans in the process and then they are doing this extra layer, which they’ve already kind of done. And because the bigger lots have all of the bells and whistles that you guys like anyway, why regulate something just for the sake of a regulation?”

“Chairman, to your point, of course, we understand that generally speaking, you want a better product in Pasco County. That’s what we’re trying to deliver for you,” Motsinger said.

“That’s the goal,” Starkey said.

Clarke Hobby, a land use attorney who represents many applicants who appear before the county board, told commissioners: “We were tasked with dealing with a 40-foot lot issue and townhouse issues, so we were dealing with those issues with MPUDs.

“And, there was discussion with stakeholders about applying architectural features to 50-foot lots. And again, there’s some similarity of building type on those lots, so we don’t deny that we should be stepping up those issues.

“We’re trying to avoid creating a bigger paperwork issue for the county and the building community going on, forever, on lots that are really not a problem,” Hobby said.

“The perceived problem was 40-foot lots. We broadened it to 50. We just don’t want to keep going on this forever and ever,” Hobby said.

Starkey said she also wants to pursue changes relating to driveways, which she will research and bring back for further discussion at a later date.

Pittos said that “by October, we should have a number of (MPUD) negotiations under our belt and should have been able to test these conditions of approval under a series of situations, and we can make an assessment at that time to see whether or not the provisions work, what needs to be changed and what now can be added into the land development code, as a standard.”

Published March 30, 2022

Designing a better Pasco County

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As Pasco County’s rampant growth continues, the Pasco County Commission has been calling for changes to the land development code that would address aesthetic issues.

They’ve been hashing over the topic, off and on, for months.

Commission Chairman Ron Oakley put it like this, at a recent meeting: “We need to be real careful about what we allow our developers to do — make sure that they’re (doing) the right thing for Pasco County.”

These laborers are working on a project in Zephyrhills. Commissioner Kathryn Starkey says that Zephyrhills has some architectural design requirements, and Pasco County should, too. (Fred Bellet)

Oakley has repeatedly voiced concerns about neighborhoods made up of houses on 40-lots noting there’s little room for landscaping.

“We’ve been rural for many, many years,” Oakley said. “We really do not want to destroy the nature of what we have in Pasco County, and yet, we do want to grow and have jobs for our citizens, and do the right thing for our citizens.”

Commissioner Kathryn Starkey has pushed for greater attention to design details, as the county’s building boom continues.

“If you go and drive and find a 40-foot front-loaded street, it’s just a driveway, garage and a door.

“If you drive down a street where they’re rear-loaded on 40-foot, it’s a porch and grass, and it’s very nice.

“You can see it in Starkey Ranch, you can see it Longleaf, you might see it in Asturia. In Bexley, I know, you see it,” she said.

“I’m not opposed to 40-foot lots. I’m opposed to 40-foot front-loaded lots and only 40-foot, and the house is cookie-cutter and there’s no architectural elements on it,” Starkey said.

Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey wants more attention paid to architectural detail, in future housing developments in Pasco. (File)

“This is an issue that I think needs to be addressed soon. I don’t want 10,000 homes to be approved before we fix this,” Starkey told her colleagues, during a board session.

“I get that our development community needs to understand what we’re looking for.

“When I’ve been meeting with developers, I let them know, that I am very loathe to approve a 40s-only development (40-foot lots).

“I need some better landscaping in front of homes. I need a mixture of 40s, 50s, 60s (lots). I need better architectural details on the sides and the front. I need more rear-loaded 40-foots.

“I want to be fair to the development community. They need to understand what the rules are, or when someone buys a piece of land (what to expect),” Starkey said.

Commissioner Jack Mariano agreed: “We don’t want to build slums for the future. You know, density is sometimes overrated — how good it can be. If the lots are a little bigger, it makes it more comfortable.

“It’s a worthy conversation to bring forward at some meeting coming up,” Mariano said.

County Administrator Dan Biles told the county board that planning staff has drafted some potential conditions that could be added to master-planned unit developments to address concerns that commissioners have been raising — regarding smaller lots, the lack of landscaping on the front, parking and other issues.

Nectarios Pittos, the county’s director of planning and development, is meeting individually with commissioners to discuss the issues.

Biles noted: “Your focus has been on those single-family small lots, of 40-foot, but we thought through what that looks like on the townhome perspective, too. You need to think about both of those discussions. Your front-loaded townhome, you have the same types of issues, as you have with the small 40-foot lots.”

Pasco County Commission Chairman Ron Oakley wants to avoid subdivisions made up of 40-foot lots, noting they don’t have enough room for landscaping.

Starkey told her colleagues: “The city of Zephyrhills and Dade City require some architectural details, and we don’t. And, so, we are getting … windows and a door and a roof.”

Pittos said, when the driveways are rear-loaded, “you can talk about fenestration: How many windows you want to see. Where to place the door — keep it on the front of the house, instead of on the side of the house. A porch.”

Starkey said “there can be a smorgasbord of architectural details” that can be added, that are not expensive.

“We don’t want to see what we’re getting. We want to see better,” Starkey said.

As the county board considers changes to the land development code, Jennifer Motsinger, executive vice president of the Tampa Bay Builders Association, is encouraging the board to look at updates that can streamline the development review process.

In an interview with The Laker/Lutz News, Motsinger said that the cost of a home is made up of four components: Land, materials, local regulations and labor.

Some regulations in Pasco’s land development code have stymied ongoing efforts to streamline the development review process, Motsinger said.

She also noted there’s a need to balance the desire for a particular type of aesthetic with the need for affordable housing.

“Every single one of the suggestions that are being made (by commissioners) can be accommodated for a price. For a price,” Motsinger said.

“We have to make sure that there is a balance of options for folks,” she said. “We have to be careful that we are not trying to legislate to a particular type of buyer.

“One of the reasons you would do a neighborhood with just 40 (40-foot lots) is to get that more-affordable product,” Motsinger said.

She also addressed the issue of requiring homes with 40-foot lots to be backloaded.

“That trend is not in high demand. Because, guess what? Kids want a backyard to play in,” she said.

She said the building industry will be paying close attention to proposed changes and will want to weigh in on them.

“We have to be careful that our local government doesn’t have too much power to say how we live in our homes and what our homes look like,” Motsinger said.

Published December 01, 2021

Tiny House Program Builds Construction Opportunities for Area Students

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A tiny house is opening doors to a world of opportunities for area students, thanks to a hands-on homebuilding initiative between a high school magnet program and the Sales & Marketing Council of the Tampa Bay Builders Association.

Students at the Center for Construction Technologies, a magnet school in St. Petersburg, work side-by-side with TBBA members, who mentor students and demonstrate construction trade skills.

“This program provides us with a tremendous opportunity to educate students about our industry, the joy of providing a home to a family and, of course, the many career opportunities in home construction,” says Scott Campbell, a former TBBA president.

Members of the Tampa Bay Builders Association helped build a tiny home with high school students to encourage and support careers in skilled trades. Helping paint the home is Terri Williams (wearing blue) of The Laker/Lutz News and Lauren Morgan.

The program was established in 2018 when TBBA members recognized the immense need to encourage and support careers in skilled trades for high school students and young adults.

“Students relate what they learn in the textbook to what they see during the field experience,” says Lincoln Yates, assistant principal of the magnet school. “They’re attentive and ask great questions.”

“The Tiny House Project is a great opportunity to help our local youth while also helping our industry,” says Michael Kramer, vice president at Sharp Design Studio Architecture, which donated design plans for the program’s tiny house.

“Finding talent is always challenging, and anything we can do as an industry to promote jobs and provide proper training will set them up for success,” Kramer says. “This kind of engagement has the potential to lead to full-time jobs for these students, and hopefully a full-fledged career.”

The Tiny House Project also benefits the local economy, says Jennifer Motsinger, executive vice president of TBBA.

“We are providing an alternative housing product that is sustainable, portable and affordable, and when it’s all done will be enjoyed by homeowners for years to come,” says Motsinger.

Over the past seven months, the 28-foot custom tiny home was built by Tampa Bay area skilled-trade professionals, interior designers and suppliers, while actively teaching and mentoring the 123 students participating in the program.

TBBA members donated over 80% of the supplies and labor, and the remaining materials were purchased through monetary donations.

The Laker/Lutz News was one of the TBBA members involved in the project from its inception, through the leadership of Terri Williamson, senior account manager for the newspaper. Williamson is the president elect of the Sales & Marketing Council, which presented a $10,500 check to help finance the Tiny House Project.

“The tiny house capstone project has allowed us to better prepare our students for college, career and life, by bringing student apprenticeship opportunities into our classroom. Students have had the opportunity to hear from the various trade professionals, work alongside them and gain valuable experience and insights that would have otherwise not been possible,” says Assistant Principal Yates.

The tiny house will be showcased at a future Suncoast Tiny House Festival. Funds generated from the home’s sale will support the magnet program for years to come.

For more information about this project, please visit TBBAtinyhouse.com, where you can see a full list of participating companies.

Published March 25, 2020

Committee recommends higher impact fees

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A committee appointed by the Pasco County Commission to suggest ways to boost funding for Pasco County school construction has recommended a hike in school impact fees.

The committee stopped short of initially suggesting the full amount recommended by a consultant hired by Pasco County Schools.

However, the committee said the full amount of the increase should be approved, if the Pasco County School Board votes to put at least a quarter-cent sales tax increase on the 2018 ballot so voters can decide the issue.

Members of the School Infrastructure Funding Advisory Committee discuss various options to boost funding for school construction. They vote to recommend an increase in school impact fees, and to suggest the school board seek an increase in the sales tax. Their recommendations will be considered by Pasco County Commission, which has jurisdiction over impact fees.
(B.C. Manion)

In other words, the recommendation calls for raising the impact fee for a single-family detached house to $7,175 immediately, then up to $9,028, when the school board approves putting the sales tax increase on the 2018 ballot. If the sales tax is approved by voters, the impact fee would drop to $8,101. Impact fee rates would be increased by varying amounts for other types of new residential construction.

Jennifer Motsinger, the committee members who made the motion, noted that the higher fee is not tied to voters approving the higher sales tax.

“It’s not tied to success. It’s only tied to it getting to referendum. It gives us the teeth that we need, in order to move forward,” said Motsinger, who called for that approach during an April 26 meeting of the infrastructure funding committee.

The committee approved Motsinger’s motion 7-3 during the meeting at Rasmussen College in Land O’ Lakes.

Stewart Gibbons, the committee’s chairman, said using this approach provides a greater incentive for the school board to seek the sales tax as an additional source of revenue.

Scott Sheridan, another committee member, said the committee needs to make it “emphatically clear” that other sources of revenue, besides impact fees, are needed to address the school district’s funding problem.

Ray Gadd, deputy superintendent of Pasco County Schools, agreed with committee members that the impact fee increase is not the total solution.

“The impact fee will not be a panacea. It will not solve all of our problems,” Gadd said.

Parents in the audience said the funding shortage must be solved.

“We are leaving our schools in a position, in Pasco County, of doing damage control. We are in a financial crisis. Our public schools are suffering,” said Heide Janshon, who lives in the Seven Springs area. “Please, as a parent, I am begging you to raise the impact fees,” she said.

“In all honesty, the impact fees are the source of revenue that we have that must be raised, in order to keep up with the building,” Janshon said. “Seven Springs Middle School, the capacity is 1,400, somewhere in that vicinity. We will, by the middle of next school year, have 1,800 students. Mitchell High School, is going to be in excess of probably 2,400.”

Claudine Judge, of Seven Oaks, said “nothing is keeping up with the development. The roads aren’t keeping up. The schools aren’t keeping up.

“This area, in the last four years, it’s insane the amount of housing that’s going in.

“We were part of a very nasty school board rezoning process, that was not the fault of the school board, but the school board bore the brunt of it,” Judge said.

Denise Nicholas, of Florida PTA, told committee members: “Ten-period days, overcrowding of schools, brand-new schools opening overcrowded — it’s not good for our kids. We need to fully fund our schools. Pasco County is in an absolute financial crisis. We need these impact fees. Please vote to increase them.”

The committee’s recommendation was scheduled to be discussed in a May 2 workshop of the Pasco County Commission in New Port Richey — after The Laker/Lutz News went to press.

The County Commission — not the school board — has jurisdiction over school impact fees.

If the Pasco County Commission agrees with the committee’s recommendation, it will go the county’s Development Review Committee for a recommendation and then come back to the County Commission for two public hearings before the new impact fees can be adopted.

Published May 3, 2017

Committee looking at ways to fund schools

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The Pasco County School Board is seeking to nearly double impact fees charged to new residential construction to help foot the bill for new schools, but a committee studying the issue wants to know about other possible sources of funding before making a recommendation.

There’s no doubt that Pasco County’s residential growth is generating increased enrollment, outpacing the school district’s ability to pay for new schools.

Bexley Elementary, which is scheduled to open in the fall, will alleviate crowding at Oakstead and Odessa elementary schools.
(B.C. Manion)

But, the 10-member School Infrastructure Funding Committee wants more information before making its recommendation to the Pasco County Commission on the school board’s proposed impact fee hikes.

The county commission, not the school board, has the authority to impose impact fees.

The school board justifies the need for an increase by pointing to an impact fee study it commissioned that was completed by Maryland-based consulting firm, Tischler Bise.

The impact fee study calls for increasing school impact fees on new homes from $4,828 to $9,174 for single-family detached; from $1,740 to $3,693 for single-family attached; from $2,843 to $5,634 for mobile homes; and, from $1,855 to $5,382 for multifamily.

Impact fees are expected to pay for new growth, and are assessed against new residential construction, excluding 55 and older communities.

Increased revenues from impact fees could be used to build new schools, add capacity to existing schools, purchase buses, furniture and fixtures.

Before deciding what it wants to do, the Pasco County Commission appointed the infrastructure funding committee to study the issue and bring back a recommendation.

That committee has met twice already and expects to have at least two more sessions before taking a vote on its recommendation.

While Pasco County Schools plans to open Bexley Elementary and Cypress Creek Middle High School in the fall, residential growth continues to outpace the school district’s ability to pay for new schools.

At its most recent meeting, on April 5, the committee sought additional information on what schools the district expects to build next, how much land the district owns for schools and whether any of it could be sold to raise revenue now, and whether the district could pursue other sources of revenue, such as general obligation bonds or real estate transfer taxes.

Committee member Scott Sheridan asked if the school district could sell some of the land it has banked for future school sites, to help raise money to build schools now.

The school district isn’t opposed to selling some of its land, but even if it did, it would fall far short of addressing its funding needs, said Chris Williams, director of planning.

But, Williams also noted: “Most of these sites are in future developments. It might be 10 or 15 years in the future, but if I don’t secure my school sites up front, they’re not there for me later on.”

The school district doesn’t oppose using general obligation bonds to build schools, but that would require approval by voters and a referendum couldn’t be put on the ballot until 2018, said Ray Gadd, deputy superintendent for Pasco County Schools.

A real estate transfer tax is another potential source of revenue, but the idea has been broached twice with members of the local legislative delegation and rejected both times, said David Goldstein, chief assistant county attorney.

Goldstein noted an impact fee increase could be adopted with the provision of reducing it, if revenue became available from a general obligation bond or another source.

Committee member Jennifer Motsinger said the committee needs to know what sources of revenue might be available beyond merely doubling impact fees.

“We’re trying to understand what the sources are, so we can help give you some ideas on recommendations on school funding or the capital plan,” she said.

Another committee member asked for a breakdown of how much a new residence must pay in impact fees.

That breakdown is among the items expected to be discussed at the group’s next meeting set for April 18, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The committee also has scheduled another meeting, April 26, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Both sessions are open to the public and will be at Rasmussen College, 18600 Fernview St., Rooms 102 and 103, in Land O’ Lakes.

Published April 12, 2017