The Pasco County Commission has delayed until Jan. 25 a request for a 108 single-family subdivision in Land O’ Lakes — to give the developer a chance to work out a solution for addressing area traffic concerns.
The rezoning is being requested by Darrell A. and Karen J. Renner.
It calls for changing the zoning on 50.5 acres of agricultural land to allow a master-planned unit development (MPUD), on the south side of Bexley Road, about a mile west of the intersection of U.S. 41 and Wisteria Loop.
Both the Pasco County Planning Commission and county planners recommended approval of the rezoning, providing a number of conditions are met — including the construction of a new road.
But the applicant has balked at constructing a new road, because of the cost.
Attorney Shelley Johnson, whose clients are seeking the rezoning, said they are willing to improve Wisteria Loop, to bring it up to county standards — a condition that county planners required in their original recommendation for approval.
The applicant also has offered to improve a nearby intersection into a safer configuration, Johnson said.
Area residents, however, continue to push for the new road to be built.
Speakers including Ray Gadd, Chris Nocco and Jeremy Couch urged the county board to take action to prevent existing neighborhoods from being flooded by traffic, not only from the future 108-home development, but others that are being, or will be built in the area.
Gadd, who is deputy superintendent of Pasco County Schools, and Nocco, who is the county’s sheriff, both made it clear that they were speaking as private residents, not in their official capacity.
At the initial planning board meeting, Johnson said her client would be willing to build the new road or improve the existing one and county planners subsequently changed the conditions to require the new road.
But when the issue came back to the planning board for further discussion, Johnson said constructing the road would be too costly. Instead, she said, her client was willing to bring the existing road up to standard.
Published December 22, 2021
