The Pasco County Commission has set the stage for an additional 240 single-family homes, near an area known as the Villages of Pasadena Hills in the southeast part of the county.
The board voted unanimously on Jan. 10 to approve a request to change the county’s long-range plan to increase the development potential on 61 acres of land, at 59430 Billmar Road, in Wesley Chapel.
The land previously was designated for up to three dwellings per acre, but the county board changed the category to allow up to six units per acre.
However, the applicant has agreed to a maximum of 240 units, which works out to be an average of 3.93 units per acre.
County planners and the Pasco County Planning Commission each recommended approval of the request.
The development is perceived as a transitional land use between the Villages of Pasadena Hills and surrounding higher density residential land uses. The request also is considered to support the mission of the county’s South Market area, according to materials in the county board’s agenda packet.
The site abuts the Chapel Crossing master-planned unit development (MPUD) to the west and Avalon Park West, formerly known as the New Rivers MPUD, to the south.
The access to the site is on Billmar Road, a 13-foot-wide private residential dirt road. There is a proposed trail that will bisect along the south side of the project site named the Eiland Boulevard Trail.
There also is a proposed arterial roadway identified on the highway vision road map as Zephyrhills Bypass extension planned for future development that will provide additional access south of the proposed project site.
There are no roads or access located to the east side of the subject site.
A rezoning request for the Hamilton Oaks MPUD is associated with the land use change.
In another action the county board approved a rezoning to change an agricultural-residential zoning to a medium density multifamily district, allowing the development of 158 townhomes.
The 30.2-acre site, at the intersection of Chancey Road and Diana Drive, historically has been used for timber and grazing.
Published January 18, 2023
