Several Hudson residents told the Pasco County Planning Commission on Jan. 23 that they were against a proposal for a 63-lot subdivision.
They expressed concerns about the possible impact that increased traffic would have along with the possibility of flooding in their area.
Two neighbors also said they thought wildlife in the area would be negatively impacted and the use of nearby agricultural property would be affected if the rezoning request is approved.
Other residents said they were concerned development of the proposed subdivision would affect the value of their properties.
However, the planning commission recommended approval to the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners. County commissioners are scheduled to hold a public hearing on the DRB Group’s request during their Feb. 25 meeting in New Port Richey.
The 34.24-acre site is located on the northwest corner of Hudson Avenue and Colony Road.
The property is currently zoned A-R Agricultural-Residential District and the DRB Group, based in Rockville, Maryland, seeks to have the zoning changed to Master Planned Unit Development.
If the rezoning request is approved, it would make it possible for the development of the 67 residential lots and associated infrastructure in the area that would be known as the Sakelson Hudson MPUD.
Barbara Wilhite, an attorney representing the applicant, said the planned entrances to the MPUD would be off of Hudson Avenue and Colony Boulevard with an interconnection to Foxfire Drive.
“We are constructing that portion of our entrance, actually, we’re constructing the Colony Boulevard Vision Road standards,” Wilhite told Planning Commission members. “But our entrance is off of Colony, and we’re constructing that entrance off of Colony.”
She also referred to a section of the Pasco County Land Development Code that requires the interconnection to be made to Foxfire Drive.
Foxfire Drive is the primary roadway that neighbors said they thought would be negatively affected by increased traffic from the proposed subdivision.
Chief Assistant County Attorney David Goldstein said it wasn’t clear on the MPUD plan the applicant had submitted that there was a dedication of right of way to make the connection to Colony Boulevard.
“It looks like it goes through land that you own,” Goldstein said. “And there’s no right of way dedication requirement for that interconnect. So I think there needs to be.”
Wilhite said her team had to do a wildlife assessment at the time of zoning. She added that the wildlife assessment would be done again at the time a primary development plan is submitted because the one that has already been done is only good for 18 months.
“There’s a lot that goes on with stormwater as well, as our many engineers here on the board know,” Wilhite said.
And she said she didn’t think the value of adjacent properties would be lowered because the homes in the subdivision would be very expensive.
In other business on Jan. 23, the planning commission:
Approved a request for a conditional use amendment made by Spanish Lakes Land Company LLC to remove a height limitation previously put on approximately 18.65 acres in west central Pasco County.
The current height limitation of 35 feet was set in 2005.
Spanish Lakes hopes to develop a maximum of 360 multiple-family dwelling units on the property located 150 feet north of State Road 52 and east of Deerbrook Boulevard. This is less than the 432 units for which the property was previously approved according to the applicant’s representative, attorney Barbara Wilhite.
The property is located within the Urban Service Area and there’s no limit on the height of structures there according to Spanish Lakes’ application.
Wilhite said she didn’t know the height of the structures that Spanish Lakes was considering constructing on the site.
County commissioners will hold a public hearing regarding this request during its Feb. 25 meeting in New Port Richey.