A zoning amendment approved by Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) on April 10 makes it possible for a large subdivision to be developed within the Villages of Pasadena Hills (VOPH) after other requirements are met.
Plans call for 796 dwelling units and 75,000 square feet of non-residential use to be developed on 101 acres of property located within Village B of the VOPH.
The VOPH is a dependent district comprised of approximately 22,000 acres bounded by State Road 52 to the north, Eiland Boulevard to the south, Curley Road to the west, and U.S. Highway 301 to the east.
A site plan will need to be prepared and presented to the BOCC before development of the proposed subdivision can begin.
The part of the site that is located by Curley Road “is the most important corner for everything going into VOPH and it had to be done right,” said Clarke Hobby, an attorney with the Tampa-based law firm of Hobby & Hobby P.A., representing the applicant.
“This is a very good project and it looks very nice,” said BOCC chairman Commissioner Ronald Oakley, who represents District 1 where the property is located.
The request by RDPD V LLC, a Zephyrhills-based limited liability company, to have the property’s zoning changed from an Agricultural District (AC) to a Master Planned Unit Development (MPUD) was approved by a 4-0 vote.
Commissioners voting on the measure in addition to Oakley were Jack Mariano, District 5; Kathryn Starkey, District 3; and Seth Weightman, District 2. BOCC Vice Chairman Gary Bradford, District 4, was not present for the meeting.
In other business on April 10, commissioners:
- Approved a zoning amendment allowing a maximum of 105 townhouses to be developed on approximately 17.6 acres of property in District 1 located on the south side of Clinton Avenue, approximately 330 feet west of Fort King Road. New Clinton LLC, a Land O’ Lakes-based limited liability company, had requested the property’s zoning to be changed from an A-C Agricultural District and an R-2 Low Density Residential District to an MF-1 Multiple Family Medium Density District.
- Approved a zoning amendment that will allow 37 single-family detached units to be developed on 26.6 acres of property in District 4 located on the north side of Willow Bend Parkway, approximately 250 feet north of Pasco-Hillsborough County Line Road. EC Willow Bend LLC, a St. Petersburg-based limited liability company, had requested the property’s zoning to be changed from E-R Estate Residential to Master Planned Unit Development (MPUD).
- Approved transmitting to the Florida Department of Commerce a large-scale comprehensive plan amendment that would allow 18 single-family residences to be built on approximately 92.6 acres of property located in District 1 at 17001-17005 Bellamy Brothers Blvd. Sandbarren LLC, an Odessa-based limited liability company, requested the comprehensive plan amendment.
The property is near the intersection of Bellamy Brothers Boulevard and Johnson Road. A man living on Johnson Road said he and neighbors didn’t want the property rezoned because the density that was being requested was very much out of character with the surrounding area.
The BOCC will reconsider the request during its June 4 meeting after it has heard back from the Florida DOC and other reviewing agencies.
• Approved an ordinance amending the Pasco County Land Development Code (LDC) so 3.49 acres of property owned by Russell K. and Leann Finlay could be used for commercial purposes. The property in District 1 is located on two lots on the east side of U.S. 301, approximately 200 feet north of Marka Drive.
The Finlays plan to construct a 21,000-square-foot small commercial center on the property, said their representative Anne Pollack. Part of the space will be used for the Finlay’s business and they will be able to add six additional employees. The remaining six to eight spaces may be leased to other businesses resulting in an increase of employment in the area, said Pollack, who is an attorney with the St. Petersburg-based law firm of Fletcher Fischer Pollack P.I.
• Approved a zoning amendment allowing 1.95 acres of property located in District 2 on the northeast corner of Tupper Road and State Road 54 to be used for commercial purposes. Dempsey and Daughters Inc., a Wesley Chapel-based for-profit corporation, requested the zoning amendment.
They are required to submit a deed restriction stating that the property will be specifically reserved for those commercial uses set forth in the Pasco County LDC to ensure that the property provides the benefits of commercial development, including, but not limited to, adequate employment generation. The rezoning will become effective when the deed restriction is recorded in Pasco County’s public records.
All three of the zoning amendments, the large-scale comprehensive plan amendment and the change to the LDC were approved by a vote of 4-0.
In addition, a resolution was approved by a vote of 4-0 to amend part of the BOCC procedural rules to establish the position of second vice chair. Commissioner Starkey was elected to fulfill that role.
She will be able to perform the duties of the chair in the absence of both Oakley and Bradford, and only will be authorized to perform those duties for one day. This change was made due to the absence of both Commissioners Oakley and Bradford from the BOCC meeting on March 26, due to health reasons. Commissioner Mariano was temporarily designated as acting chair at that meeting as he is the longest serving member of the BOCC.
And a resolution electing to not exempt property under the “Live Local Act Property Tax Exemption” was continued to the May 7 meeting in Dade City because Gov. Ron DeSantis had not yet signed the legislation as of April 10.
The act would grant tax exemptions to units in multifamily projects that are used to house natural persons or families whose annual household income is between 80% and 120% of the median annual adjusted gross income for households within Pasco County.
Officials previously said the county could lose out on $38 million in tax revenues over a 35-year period if a pair of properties that were considering using the Live Local Act received tax breaks.
Also, Commissioner Weightman nominated Matthew Munz to fill a seat on the Pasco County Planning Commission that was previously held by Peter Hanzel who recently retired after serving on the PC for many years.
Munz’s appointment was confirmed by the BOCC and he is scheduled to participate in the planning commission’s May 2 meeting at 1:30 p.m., in Dade City.
Published April 24, 2024
