The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Pasco moratorium area set to expand

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The Pasco County Commission is set to expand the area where new applications for multifamily are on hold.

The county board heard public comment on the proposal at its Jan. 25 meeting, with final action set for Feb. 8. The expanded moratorium would be retroactive to Jan. 6, the date of the Pasco County Planning Commission’s public hearing on the issue.

The larger area was proposed by Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore, who has championed the pause on new multifamily applications — to allow completion of a study to determine whether the county has an oversaturation of entitled apartment developments.

This map depicts the original boundaries for Pasco County’s temporary pause on accepting new multifamily applications, and the approved expansion area. (Courtesy of Pasco County)

Moore repeatedly has warned his colleagues about potential long-term consequences from allowing too many approvals of apartment projects.

He fears the prospect of an oversupply leading to buildings being abandoned, as renters move to newer developments. That, he has said, will set the stage for blight and increased crime.

The temporary moratorium on new multifamily applications applies only to an area within Moore’s District 2.

The temporary ban on new applications applies to an area essentially made up of Wesley Chapel and Land O’ Lakes.

The area initially was generally defined as between State Road 52, on the north; U.S. 41, on the west; State Road 54 on the south; and, Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, on the east. The boundary zigzags between Moore’s District 2 and Commissioner Ron Oakley’s District 1.

The proposed expansion includes several additional areas along the State Road 54/State Road 56 corridor.

The expansion area can generally be defined as State Road 54 to Collier Parkway to County Line Road (south) to Mansfield Boulevard to State Road 56; and from just east of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and State Road 54 due north to Interstate 75 to Overpass Road and west to the existing moratorium boundary.

The moratorium expires on April 1.

Originally, the moratorium was set to expire on Sept. 28, 2021, but the county board extended it for 185 days, to allow more time to complete the study.

The study is examining whether there’s a potential oversaturation due to existing and possible future multifamily developments, and to determine whether additional regulations are necessary.

Revised on Feb. 10, 2022

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Comments

  1. Pasco county is over saturated with developments going up that feed to 2 lane roads not adequate to handle the traffic! January had 8 fatalities in Pasco county due to the 2 lane roads being fed by SR56 which is 4 lanes going to 6. Also SR54 construction came to a halt over a year ago when the company filed bankruptcy. Nothing is being done to the infrastructure. Who cares about empty apartments when you have people dying because infrastructure was not fixed before 721 subdivision permits were handed out! Pasco County planning and commissioners could care less about the loss of human life! They destroy swamps and wetlands on a daily basis with no regard to human life or wildlife! The moratorium needs to put a hold on ALL building! Period!

    • We absolutely agree. There should be a moratorium on ALL developments until solutions are completed and deemed effective, on roads/alternate and all county services. The developers should be the ones paying for all this, not the existing taxpayers who are, in effect, footing the bill for more congestion, pollution, strain on the infrastructure. For example, think about who is paying for the wastewater stations and handling stormwater – it’s not the developers whose fees have been reduced, effectively causing the existing taxpayers to subsidize their businesses. In the past, in other parts of the country, studies have shown that the new property owner’s taxes alone are not adequate to fund all of the additional municipality’s services for this new development. So everyone’s taxes end up going up. This is just how it affects our pocketbook and our quality of life, not to mention the cost to nature.

    • I neglected to mention that staff was about doubled in the Planning department and who knows how many other departments, to fast track the process for all of the developers. Who pays for that? The current taxpayers AKA “stake holders” as they like to say, implying that we are listened to.

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