The land use designation on more than 1,500 acres in Land O’ Lakes would be changed from planned development to conservation, under a proposal sent to state officials for review.
The Pasco County Commission voted on Aug. 8 to send the proposal to the state, and then it will come back to the county board for final action.
The 1,517.89 acres proposed for the change are located south of State Road 52, north of State Road 54, east of the Suncoast Parkway and west of a CSX Rail corridor in Land O’ Lakes.
The property is in the area previously referred to as Project Arthur, but now known locally as the emerging community of Angeline.
The change will amend the county’s conservation map in the North Pasco to Crossbar Critical Ecological Corridor and the North Pasco to Connerton Ecological Corridor.
The proposed change is a result of a collaboration between the county’s Planning and Development Department and its Parks, Recreation, & Natural Resources Department, according to the county board’s Aug. 8 agenda packet.
The departments are working together to implement an agreement approved on Nov. 19, 2019, relating to Project Arthur ecological corridor sites.
The proposed land use change includes 843.50 acres for the North Pasco to Crossbar corridor and 674.39 acres for North Pasco to Connerton corridor, according to the agenda materials.
“The 843.50 acres of the North Pasco to Crossbar corridor were acquired by the Environmental Lands Acquisition and Management Program (ELAMP),” materials in the agenda packet add.
The county’s ELAMP acquired that land from Len-Angeline LLC and the James and Mabel Family Partnership LLP, et al, for $21,950,000, according to the background materials.
On another matter, the county board approved Carmen Chucrala and Doug Traub each to three-year terms serving as consumer representatives on the Pasco County Construction Board (PCCB).
That board has 10 voting members who have the jurisdiction and authority to hear and decide alleged violations of the county’s codes and ordinances.
The board is made up of volunteers representing these disciplines: an air conditioning or mechanical contractor, an aluminum contractor, an electrical contractor, a general contractor, a plumbing contractor, a general or residential contractor, a roofing contractor and three consumer representatives.
There are currently vacancies for an aluminum contractor, an electrical contractor, a general contractor, and a roofing contractor.
In other action, the board approved:
- Renewal of life and disability insurance, with Standard Insurance Co., for long- and short-term disability insurance and life insurance, for $591,000 annually. This is an increase from $330,611. The higher rate is primarily due to the county having a bad claim year and an increased number of county employees. The rates are guaranteed for the next three years.
- Renewal of individual stop loss reinsurance coverage with Florida Blue for high dollar health claim protection, in the amount of $2,130,660. This represents a 5% increase over the current premium. The county is self-insured for health insurance and the county uses Florida Blue as its third party administrator and for the purchase of stop loss coverage. Stop loss coverage is intended to protect the county against large, unanticipated health insurance claims.
- A request to rezone 4.99 acres at the northwest corner of State Road 54 and Livingston Road for general commercial uses. The applicant proposes to develop the property with a coffee shop with a drive thru, an eight-bay tire store and 10,000 square feet of day care. The applicant also has signed a voluntary deed restriction that requires the site to be developed with general commercial uses, in order to preserve employment-generating use of the land.
- Amended a contract with the Area Agency on Aging of Pasco-Pinellas Inc., to increase funding for the Emergency Home Energy Assistance for the Elderly Program by $104,864.94. Previously, the total contract amount was $752,838.97. It is now $857,703.91.
- Approved the purchase of field maintenance equipment to be used at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Complex, at 3021 Sports Coast Way, in Wesley Chapel. The purchase is being made from Wesco Turf Inc., through a cooperative purchase — through Omnia Partners — in the amount of $379,086.80. The equipment will be used for upkeep and maintenance of five new soccer fields and two existing sports fields at the Wiregrass sports campus.
Published August 16, 2023
