The Laker/Lutz News

Lennar Homes LLC

Zoning approved for new Connerton villages

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The Pasco County Commission has approved a rezoning for two new villages in Connerton, and that clears the way for the creation of a 40-acre Downtown Connerton.

Plans also call for creating connections — through trails and mid-block pedestrian crossings — that encourage walkability and reduce reliance on automobiles.

The plan promotes the use of neighborhood vehicles, bicycles and other ways to get about — with strategically placed hubs that feature amenities such as water refill stations, restrooms, places to make bike repairs, and public gathering spaces.

County board members unanimously approved the proposal, by applicant Lennar Homes LLC, for Connerton Villages III and IV.

The master-planned development allows:

  • A maximum of 2,160 dwelling units
  • 150,000 square feet of retail
  • 150,000 square feet of office, including 50,000 square feet in the downtown area and the other 100,000 square feet within downtown or spread throughout the villages
  • A charter school with up to 765 students
  • An 80-acre district park
  • 7 acres for a library/fire/emergency medical services facility within the villages

The proposed development drew opposition from three speakers, who raised concerns about the impacts that rampant growth is having within Pasco County.

Rob Park, who lives on Ehren Cutoff, reiterated his concerns about the traffic impacts — particularly along Ehren Cutoff — from additional growth in Land O’ Lakes.

Maryann Bishop, who lives on Hale Road, told commissioners: “As a longtime resident of Pasco County who fell in love with the rural aspects that Land O’ Lakes had to offer, I am truly sickened by the lack of vision here, across the board, that county officials have about responsible development. I am not against development. But I am totally against the runaway development that is being allowed in Pasco County now.

“You are allowing developers to completely strip the land bare, so they can fit as many dwellings and buildings as possible and then call it proper landscaping when they plant a few water oaks or palms,” she said.

Nicole Miller, who also spoke in opposition, submitted a petition with 1,592 signatures from residents, she said, “who are joining their voices together to speak out against these different development projects.”

But county planners and the Pasco County Commission recommended approval of the rezoning.

County planner Tammy Snyder outlined Connerton’s downtown plans. She also detailed its extensive plan aimed at making it easier to get from neighborhoods to downtown, the district park, shopping, public gathering spaces and various amenities — without having to rely on a vehicle.

Clarke Hobby, an attorney representing Lennar, told the board that when Connerton was approved as a development of regional impact more than 20 years ago, it was planning a regional mall and a community college.

Now, it is calling for a development that will create a community where people truly can live, work and play, he said.

Hobby also noted: “When Connerton began, it was about 8,500 acres. Three thousand of those acres were conveyed for preserves to SWFMD (the Southwest Florida Water Management District). Of those 3,000 acres, there was wetland enhancement done on over 1,600 acres.”

“We’re very proud of the project. We plan on this being a featured community for Lennar,” Hobby said.

Commissioner Mike Moore said he’s excited about the project and he believes the residents of Connerton will be, too.

Published April 28, 2021

Connerton ‘downtown’ moving closer to reality

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A plan for a downtown in Connerton — that’s been decades in the making — is moving closer to coming to fruition.

The Pasco County Planning Commission, and the county’s planners, are recommending approval of a change that would set the stage to convert land currently zoned for agricultural into a master-planned development.

The proposal, by applicant Lennar Homes LLC, calls for Connerton Villages III and IV, which would be a master-planned development that would allow a maximum of 2,160 dwelling units, 150,000 square feet of retail, 150,000 square feet of office, a charter school with up to 765 students, an 80-acre district park and the allocation of 7 acres for a library/fire/emergency medical services facility within the villages.

Clarke Hobby, an attorney representing Lennar, said “when Connerton was approved originally over 20 years ago, it included a 300-acre downtown area — in this area — that included a very large community college and over 1 million square feet of regional commercial. So, basically it was going to have a mall.”

The new vision is substantially different.

It has a connectivity plan — including trail systems — that will greatly reduce the dependence on vehicles to get around the community, according to background materials in the agenda packet.

The commercial plan is different, too.

“It’s going to be a bunch of local-serving retail that will benefit the Connerton community, but will not be of regional nature,” Hobby said.

“We’re really excited. We’ve worked with staff for 2½ years to get to this point — and the community plan, and connectivity plan that we’ve created — I believe is going to be one that we’ll all be proud of for generations,” he said.

The only public comment came from Rob Park, who lives in Bahia Acres, which is on the other side of Ehren Cutoff from the proposed development area. Park sent an email to be read into the record.

“Over the years, there has been one variance after another and none of the proposed downtown areas were built,” Park wrote.

“The variation requests address that and reads like a fairytale, and sounds like a dreamland,” he added.

“Issues of congestion, light and noise are not mentioned,” Park continued.

“The proposal does not say one thing about blending in with Bahia Acres across the street, which has generations of residents. I have been there 40 years, and I am the relatively new guy on the block,” Park’s email says.

Hobby responded to Park’s email by noting: “For the planning commission’s benefit, Mr. Park has objected at several hearings about his concerns about Ehren Cutoff, which is a county collector and it is morphing into a larger-scale road.”

Hobby also noted that: “Most of the uses that Mr. Park is concerned about are about a half-mile from Ehren Cutoff and really won’t have an effect on those people on the east side of Ehren Cutoff, and moreover, the uses are really only community-serving retail-sized.”

Planning commissioners voted unanimously to recommend approval of the request, to the Pasco County Commission, which has final jurisdiction on land use and zoning issues.

Published March 31, 2021