The Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) were informed during their Aug. 6 meeting in Dade City that a proposed ordinance to regulate invasive species such as cogon grass, kudzu and English ivy, has been withdrawn from consideration.
The BCC wasn’t required to take any action on the proposed ordinance. It had been a controversial topic when the Pasco County Planning Commission reviewed it during their July 11 meeting in Dade City, as measures to regulate invasive plant species are already contained within part of the Pasco County Land Development Code (LDC) but haven’t been enforced.
Planning Commission members recommended changes be made to the LDC so steps could be taken to help eradicate invasive plant species and prevent their reoccurrence. Ways to enforce what’s already in the LDC were also recommended.
County staff members are following that recommendation and will present amendments to the LDC to the BCC at a future meeting.
In other business at the Aug. 6 meeting, commissioners:
- Approved an ordinance establishing the Hope Innovation District that will consist of roughly 775.6 acres, to be located east of the Suncoast Parkway, south of Ridge Road, and west of Sunlake Boulevard.
This Community Development District (CDD) is the site where Moffitt Cancer Center plans to make a major expansion into Pasco County.
Plans call for 13,400,000-square-feet of development that will be assessed by the CDD. Types of development that may be assessed include Clinical, Research, Labs/Office, Amenities/Residential, Education, Light Manufacturing, a Future Community Partner Hospital, and Flex space. All internal roadways will be financed, owned, operated, and maintained by the CDD. The CDD will be responsible for maintaining the hardscape, landscape, and irrigation, including bike trails and sidewalks.
The life sciences park established in the CDD will bring together expertise from across fields such as biotechnology and manufacturing to accelerate progress in cancer and other diseases, according to a statement by Moffitt Cancer Center.
- Approved a revised ground lease agreement with the Peachtree Group that became the new leaseholder for the four-story, 128-room Residence Inn by Marriott on March 29. The hotel’s address is 2867 Lajuana Blvd. in Wesley Chapel. It opened in 2017 and is on county-owned property adjacent to the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Complex.
Michael Bernath, Peachtree’s senior vice president for acquisitions and dispositions, told commissioners that the current average daily rate (ADR) for occupancy of the hotel is 58.8%. Bernath made his remarks remotely due to inclement weather.
District 5 Commissioner Jack Mariano expressed serious concerns about that number. He said that Peachtree should try to find some way to get that rate up higher. “We should be shooting for 100 percent,” Mariano said.
An ADR of even 80 to 85 percent would be difficult to achieve, remotely, Bernath said.
Mariano maintained that the higher rate being charged to rent rooms at the hotel is what was keeping the occupancy rates down.
Bernath replied that the rate charged at the hotel would be “what the market will bear.”
Commissioners approved extending the term of lease from 25 years, with three consecutive renewal terms of 10 years each, to 50 years, to accommodate Peachtree Group’s investment timeline and financial considerations.
Peachtree Group originally planned to inform commissioners of the ADR at five-year intervals. Commissioners agreed instead to have that information provided to them every three years during the term of the lease.
- Continued until Sept. 9 a zoning change requested by Crossways MPUD – Crossways 301 LLC for approximately 29.5 acres located in east Pasco County. The property is currently zoned A-C Agricultural Zoning District and the applicant wants it to be changed to a Master Planned Unit Development (MPUD) to allow for the development of up to 130 single-family detached dwelling units and associated infrastructure. Some residents in the area near the intersection of Old Lakeland Highway and U.S. Highway 98 have expressed concerns about the increased traffic they think would be created if that many homes were built on that property.
Published August 14, 2024
