After more than two hours of discussion, the Pasco County Planning Commission decided at its March 21 meeting to not permit vehicular access onto Hazel Avenue from a proposed subdivision in Hudson.
The commissioners agreed by a vote of 4-2 to approve a rezoning request by Gary L. Blackwell Investments Inc., with conditions, and to send it to the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). The Planning Commission (PC) acts as an advisory board to the BOCC.
If approved by the BOCC at a future meeting, the zoning of approximately 107.24 acres north of Hudson Avenue and east of Hazel Avenue will be changed from A-R Agricultural-Residential District and A-C Agricultural District to an MPUD Master Planned Unit Development. This will allow a maximum of 321 single-family detached units to be developed on the site.
Several area residents spoke against the proposed traffic interconnection with Hazel Avenue that had not been originally planned.
Members of Pasco County’s department of Planning and Development had recommended the interconnection after reviewing information they had been provided, said attorney Kamala E. “Kami” Corbett who was representing the applicant.
“We don’t need that extra traffic on Hazel Avenue. We don’t need it and we don’t want it,” William A. Kromer said.
“I am totally opposed to them opening that road on Hazel and using it for more traffic. It’s not safe,” Kathy Kromer said.
“That connection to Hazel Avenue is not something that should be allowed,” Alisha Juanis said. She added it wouldn’t be a good thing to do even if county staff had recommended it.
“The majority of people driving down Hazel Avenue are not area residents,” Amber Tucker added. She also asked planning commission members to either deny the rezoning request outright, or to approve it with a lower density than the applicant had requested.
Planning commissioners briefly considered letting part of Hazel Avenue to only be used as an emergency access to the proposed subdivision. They decided to instead permit a 5-foot-wide sidewalk to be installed on Hazel Avenue. A crosswalk at the intersection of Hazel Avenue and Cobra Way would give students a safe place to walk when they were going to area schools.
It also was proposed that emergency access to the subdivision be provided by means of nearby Edwards Road.
Robert “Bob” Waldo told planning commissioners he owned the property on Edwards Road that Blackwell planned to use and that he wouldn’t grant an easement for that purpose.
Attorney Corbett, of the Clearwater office of the law firm Hill Ward Henderson, said she thought that part of Edwards Road could be used for emergency access since it was on county records as being for public access.
In other business last week, planning commissioners:
- Approved a conditional use request for a Group Living Arrangement in an A-C Agricultural District for 471.40 acres in Northwest Pasco County made by Word of Life Fellowship/Word of Life GLA. If approved by the BOCC, Word of Life, which is an adult and youth religious camp and facility, will be able to have nine buildings constructed that can be used as dormitories for up to 440 people. This would increase the number of buildings on the property to 52 and the number of people who could stay in the dormitories to 1,237.
- Approved a special exception requested by Hope Youth Ranch Inc., to be able to have a private school serving up to 60 special needs students in an R-2 Low Density Residential District on approximately 1 acre in northwest Pasco. This needs to be approved by the BOCC.
- Approved a zoning amendment requested by Sandra Marie Brown, Stefanie F. and Derek L. Pontlitz for 19.841 acres on the north side of Dusty Lane to be a conditional use request, changed from an A-C Agricultural District to an R-4 High Density Residential District. If approved by the BOCC, this would allow 47 single-family residential units to be built on the property in southwest Pasco.
Published April 3, 2024
