Zoning Amendment (Consent) – Evans County Line 80 MPUD Master Planned Unit Development – Evans Properties, Inc. – A Rezoning Petition from A-C Agricultural District to an MPUD Master Planned Unit Development to Allow 300 Multi-Family Units, and 1,500,000 Square Feet of Light Industrial Uses on Approximately 80 Acres, Located South of County Line Road North and East of Lake Iola Road
What the county recorded
Staff recommendation
Approval with Conditions
DispositionContinued
Approved to continue the item to the October 3, 2024 Planning Commission meeting at 1:30 p.m. in Dade City.
The source document
The county’s agenda for Planning Commission, Sep 5, 2024
The published PDF, as served by the county. This item is one entry in it.
The county’s minutes for Planning Commission, Sep 5, 2024
The published PDF, as served by the county. This item is one entry in it.
This case, across meetings
PDE-24-7738 in full →Heard once. PDE-24-7738 appears on no other agenda in the archive.
- Sep 5, 2024PlanningPC4▶Continuedthis item
What was said
Machine transcription of 34m of recording, with speaker names inferred from voice matching. 75% of 166 lines carry a name. It shows what was said, not what was decided, and both the words and the names can be wrong.
Uh item PC four is a zoning amendment in the name of Evans County Line eighty MPUD Master Plan Unit Development for Evans Properties Incorporated. It's a rezoning petition from AC Agricultural District to an MPUD Master Plan Unit Development to allow three hundred multifamily units And 1,500,000 square feet of light industrial uses on approximately 80 acres located south of County Line Road, north and east of Lake Iola Road. Prior to this meeting, the applicant has requested
for a continuance to the next state city meeting, October 8th. What was that date to enter? October tenth. October tenth? October eighth. October eighth. October eighth yes. October eighth. And that would be here here at Dade City at one thirty PM.
So Mr Chair, since this was not advertised as a continuance, I think that you're gonna have to ask anybody who wants to speak today who cannot make the October eighth. Is it is that what you said Terry? Eighth? Eighth. Eighth meeting. Um they can speak today but they will not be able to speak again on the eighth. Everybody's entitled to three minutes to speak, so you get it picked today. or the next meeting. It's up it's up to you. But we do need to at least ask if anybody wants to speak to the
10th October.
It's actually the third.
Yeah let's get this let's get this straight. So it's Yeah. What is the date? October third
October third. October third
October third,
okay October third.
So I'll repeat what I said. If you want to speak today, you can You can get your three minutes to speak today, but you will not be able to speak again when this comes back on October 3rd. So that's up to you.
Okay. Can
I ask you a question?
Spider Man. That's
up to the
trigger.
Okay.
All right. So um is the applicant present? Do you have anything to say with regard to the continuance request?
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, members of the board. My name is Ron Fianta. I'm a senior principal planner with Coastal Engineering. My address, our address, is 966 Candlelight Boulevard, Brooksville, Florida, 34601. And yes, we are requesting a one-month continuance to a date and time certain, which I understand would be October third, in these chambers dates. No answer any questions that there are.
All right. Are there any questions from the DIAS at this moment? Otherwise I'll ask for comments from the crowd.
Thank you. Okay,
thank you. All right, is there any anybody here today that would like to speak today? Or do you wanna hold your fire until October the third?
Can we ask a question?
Yeah, so if you c if you cut yeah, w I think you had it excuse me. I think you had a question first. Would you
But I I don't want to spend the time talking.
I really do appreciate it. I appreciate your your willingness to come over and be here.
So Yeah, no problem. It's uh Kevin Steele and it's [address removed].
Mm-hmm.
Uh my question is did they do a mailing? 'Cause uh certified I heard that In the beginning, that there
was
a mailing done. I I didn't receive anything. I'm not sure if I'm in the mailing zone or not, but it's less than a question. For the continuum, you mean? Yes. No.
No, for this hearing. The answer is yes, they were are required to do a mailing. I did not receive the mail. Um well it is within a certain distance, and maybe staff can address the required distance so that but they are required to do a mailing. But we do they are required to post signs as well so that yeah so that people know who aren't within that required distance.
Okay. Does that answer the question for you back there or no?
No, you're gonna have to come up to the microphone and we get your name and address, please.
I normally don't need to know uh the market.
Yeah, but we do we do because it has to be on record so she knows
Okay, my name is Jerry Hampton. I live at [address removed]. My question is is what is the purpose of the continuance for uh postponing this till October third, I believe is what you said.
Yes, that's what we said. Yeah. There's been a request by the applicant and it's been our custom. Throughout the years. if we get a request from the applicant or the staff for continuance, unless there's some ex extensive reason why we shouldn't. With it's our custom to approve those continuances. And evidently there are some outstanding questions that need to be answered. So they don't want to move forward without those r those questions being answered. So that's
my short version of the story.
Okay, I understand that. I appreciate that. I'm new to this so I just wanted to know so and to how to get onto a mailing list or something so you can uh when we know when these continuancies or when these meetings
myself.
All right, so where's the bailiff?
I apologize for the right-of-way.
No, I just wanted
to make sure that uh we're on the continuous and uh so we can get contacted ahead of time so we can make plans and avail uh you know be available to come here and listen to these Right. So called
and that's one reason why we are uh suggesting that if we continue it, it'll be continued to uh a date that would be in this room. So that's probably more convenient for everybody that's here. Okay, thank you. Uh-huh. Thank you very much.
Anybody else?
So
we have Okay.
My name is Webster Baker. I live at [address removed]. Uh I am an attorney, however, I'm here as a citizen and a resident of the area. Um I have some questions to add to the questions that you just mentioned are gonna be answered. Uh and I will not be here for the next meeting. I'll be in Atlanta on business. Um has there been a traffic study done? On the affected area of Spring Lake Highway, and uh in that area, because I know that we had a traffic study years ago on a
road issue on Dan Brown Hill. The County Commission put forth the traffic study, and that that was 2014, and we had over 200 cars a day just on that dirt road. So that's something that I think they should address. What about safety and lights location? The Blanton. Road, Lake Iola, and Spring Lake Highway intersection is a danger at this point already with traffic coming off of I-75. There is a hill just to the north, traffic coming south on Spring Lake Highway. Have they put forth any project
how to handle that? There's an issue of traffic accommodation and traffic control. The road widths, there's going to be 1.5 million. f square feet of industrial light industrial out there plus the the potential for three hundred residential homes but the industrial will generate truck traffic And how do they propose to handle the traffic as well as the I-75 exit issues? What about county services? Fire, police, waste services. We
have difficulty at getting county services out in that area now. And uh have they made some accommodations or projections of how they intend to do that? We don't have county waste pickup out there. There, we have a private pickup where I live. And so has that been something that's been addressed? What about the infrastructure of water and sewer? How has that been accommodated? Generally speaking, the uh oftentimes, not generally, oftentimes,
the county is willing to extend these services to a accommodate the growth in pr in hopes that the economic development will help provide back to the county. However, um who's paying for these upgrades? I mean uh the all the upgrades should be paid for by the applicant rather than the county residents. Um what incentives have been given? Is it the property tax stuff? Is it an extension of uh 'cause that's often an issue too. Property
tax the reductions and waivers to encourage economic development in an area. Has that been accommodated and how is that going to affect the citizens that have already have a high tax bill and tax increases? Thank you for your time.
Thank you very much. Appreciate you coming.
Okay. If you want to uh Yeah, come on up. You need your name and address please. And if you if you do want to speak, if you want to come up to the front row so you can get up more easily. Whatever. I just can't I can't take questions from the audience without being up at the microphone because we have to record everything that's said and that m that's a big job for this lady over here. So that's why when you raise your hand I can't Yeah, I can't recognize you.
I'm Stephen Carey, C A R E Y. I live at [address removed]. So I'm right off of Lake Iola Road. I'm very well familiar with this territory all my life. You got intersection hair. What uh Lakala Road comes in with Platinum Road. Uh and to make a left-hand turn bike into Lake Olo, you're on a curve, and you make there's no left-hand line, you're backing up traffic, that's
a curve with cars are coming around at high speed. This has been talked about for years. They're gonna put a roundabout. There's no timeline for understanding there's no money for this. You can't do an M P U D with this intersection, this M. And equate the industry where it is. Without doing some improvement at least. And also just as the gentleman said about the sewer and water. Yeah.
I hope you're making notes back there because we're gonna have to give some.
So I'm gonna get with the county about this.
Yeah.
It's a county, it's not a state thing and uh I don't think you should be any massive rezoning until this section has been improved.
Thank you very much. Appreciate you coming.
Yes, sir.
My name is Roger Snyder. My address is [address removed]. Well this was A surprise to me, and I guess it's to everybody that's sitting here, that this is going to be continued and not hear, heard. Um everybody here has balanced their schedules to be here. All you gentlemen, the staff, all these people here
in this room, except for that gentleman that just got up and decided this is too hot. You're gonna
need to speak into the microphone, okay?
This is too hot a subject With the handle right now. You've already said first, October the 8th. Now you changed it to October the 3rd. I'd like to know the time. And I request that it be held here, not on the other side of the county.
Well, that's why we made on October third, so it would be here.
Well I didn't know then. Maybe you should explain that to the people.
Well we'd be happy to.
Okay. And remember to turn your phone off when you start the meeting.
I appreciate that too. I I do apologize.
Alright, you gonna scold me too?
No. Oh okay. Lisa Maretti, 16331, Iola Woods Trail. In the rural area, changes to our land use really come down to two things, water and poop. This project is outside the utility service district. You cannot put 300 apartments on a well and septic. That would not only be unsanitary, but also a health hazard, not only to them, but to all of the residents surrounding that area as well. We do not currently have a way to supply water to this project. and
there is no wastewater treatment system nearby that they can hook into. So there's supposed to be no more package plants in the northeast rural area. That's one problem. So even if you remove this project from the Northeast Rural overlay, you still have to get water and you still got to get the poop out. So you're presented with a weighty dilemma. Many of you were participants in the process of creating the overlay that residents fought so hard for and has been actually held up as a national model. If
you approve this project, you're going to be chipping away at the rural area yet again. We've been watching it getting chunk, chunk, chunked away. If you approve it, you're also doing so without any way to supply utilities to this project, which I believe is contrary to state regulation. Therefore it would be really short-sighted to grant this project with the current state of how utilities could be delivered. This is part of the Northeast Rural Overlay and it needs to stay in the protected area. It was supposed to be an employment center. It
was supposed to be lightweight impact upon the area. It would not substantially increase the impact nor cause problems with the roadway or impact all the surrounding wells. Remember, just down the road a bit, y'all approved a high density RV park with a package plant. And we know that the package plants in the area just all of a sudden had some bad releases, and we know on hand cart they just had brought sewer water out and about into the waterways.
Also, no matter what any traffic study tells you, models versus reality, we all live here. We know what's going on with that corner. And the only people that are going to be doing well off of this are Lifelight and the local hospitals and the trauma hospital all the way across the county. Um, we already have a problem with our wastewater treatment facilities. You have a package plant on Lake Moody. We have Wells and Septic all around this project. It's just crazy. So now you have to consider if there's
a way to deal with all that poop from three hundred homes and two uh warehouses. We also have two warehouses in the vicinity sitting empty over Pass Road and uh over at 52. There just there's nobody there. So why would we want to build two more warehouses? So as you consider this project, remember two things. It really comes down to just water and group.
Okay. I keep it simple.
Can I ask the
staff a question?
Yes, you certainly may.
Has the applicant asked to be removed from the northeast Pasco rural area?
Mm.
No. So you shouldn't believe everything you read on Facebook. Ms. Gilroy spreads false information. That's not a request of the applicant.
Okay. Thank you for that
clarification.
Okay, forget of your name and address place. I currently reside at 12119, Duck Lake Canal Road in Dade City. Uh I just basically have a statement. Um my wife Nikki and I have been building what is our permanent home on forty acres adjacent to Middle Lake Park and very close to the property we were discussing. Currently we have our herd of Florida Cracker Cattle, a heritage breed, grazing on a property while we build our home. Nikki is a fifth generation from Tampa and I came to Tampa for grad school in the 90s
and I never left. Because of the urban smrawl of Tampa, we decided to permanently move to Dade City several years ago where we could live in an agricultural and natural area away from Tampa's high density. We were attracted to this particular area because of its protective world designation and the inability of it to be densely developed. We now consider Dade City our home and have also invested in the Dade City Historic Downtown. Our current downtown real estate ownership is out of Oleo Restaurant, ABL Brewing, and the Bookshop buildings. My
wife currently serves on the Dade City Rack Committee. We fell in love with our property because of its unique biodiversity. It is situated on Middle Lake and has four springs that feed the lake. We are surrounded by agricultural land and natural beauty. Most of our neighbors have large parcels and livestock. It is truly amazing what wildlife lives in this area. We regularly spot alligators, deer, otters, gopher tortoises, and a huge variety of birds, including flocks of turkeys and a pair of yearly nesting eagles that Eagle Watch
is monitoring regularly. Last year, Eagle Watch released two young rehabilitated eagles in this area because of how well they expected them to do. The current stakeholders may argue that this parcel is transitional since it's closer to the interstate and on a busier term, but the interstate has already sliced through many important lakes, farms, and wildlife habitats. The current buffer is actually inadequate for the rural nature and environmental sensitivity of this area, and intensifying the density would be considered reckless. This area
was included in the northern Pasco Rural Protection District. For a reason, by people with an understanding of Florida's environmental sensitivity and the need to have it designated rural land off-limits to dense development. The planning was done over a course of 12 years by conservative-minded people to protect the land permanently, not to have a couple of public meetings where a monetary gain trumps environmental necessity. This land was designated as the Northern Pasco Rural Protection District to do just that, protect it. Is located within the sensitive plan area and needs to be
protected as such. At the current growth rate of Dade City, these lands are needed more than ever. Otherwise, where will the wildlife go? Will we have any farmland left? The beneficiaries of this proposed plan will only be the current owners of the parcel and the developers, not the current residents, farmers, and most importantly, the nature and wildlife that are found here. Our wildlife policy. Population farmed land keeps being displaced by smaller and smaller areas of land available. Development cannot be reversed once this damage has be done and done. I
urge you to vote against this irresponsible request. Thank you.
Thank you very much.
And who's next?
Joan Kerwin [address removed].
Thank you.
This PC4 zoning amendment violates our Foundation of Growth Management Code and the Pasco Comprehensive Plan. This community contradicts the rural Northeast goals and initiatives of protection. Current policies are to maintain the integrity of the rural northeast, including Lake Iola Road. Why would this community be approved when it directly conflicts with the Northeast Roll Protection Zone? As a licensed marriage and
family therapist, I have strived to help my clients understand that what they say has to be congruent by what they do. that a lack of consistent behaviors lends itself to distrust, dishonesty, and discord, which over the short term breaks trust. I want to understand how writing the Comprehensive Plan under Goals Foundation for Growth Management 1F protection of rural and agricultural areas can be changed. When
under Principles and Objectives for Growth Management 1.1B, Pasco protects rural neighborhoods and effectively limits urban sprawl. Further, under Policy 1.21, Comprehensive Strategy for Conservation, regulations that protect listed species, critical linkages, and wetlands, as this area is a fragile, lacastrine, and palestrine documented area. Policy 4.34, rural neighborhood protection.
In quotes, Pasco shall continue to implement Objective FLU 2.3. Protect existing rural neighborhoods and its associated policies. Policy 2.3.1 rural character areas as Lake Iola Road is. These areas shall not be treated as areas in transition that have the potential for future urbanization. With
these policies and the comprehensive plan, You are clearly mandated to protect Lake Iola Road and our rural Northeast community residents, of which I am one. To condone this plan or any future plans by potential carpet baggers will be the obvious violation of the comprehensive plan and breach of public trust. which could result in costly legal proceedings. Thank you.
Yeah. Mr. Chairman Mr. Chairman M. If if I may ask the last speaker's name as I didn't catch it.
I'm sorry. Could you just repeat your name please that it wasn't caught? Yes ma'am. Thank you. John Kerwin. Okay, thank you very much.
Ivan Watkins, um [address removed]. Um I was racing this area my entire life and what I see happening here is um or a kid's future. I mean I I I was able to purchase twenty acres and build a house on it for less than five hundred thousand dollars. A few years ago, less than ten years ago. My kids they don't have that opportunity. And you guys are taking it away from them if you prove this kind of stuff. I mean uh all the high density develop is just raising the the
price of property up. They they're gonna have an option of living in one of these apartment builder buildings. that they're building or into one of the cluster developments. I mean why can't they have the opportunity to have a you know be able to buy five, ten acres and not be right next to the s you know their neighbor. Um but they're not gonna be able to afford it because of stuff like this. Um I'm I make my living on development. Um I mean I'm a contractor and so I'm I hate to sound like a
hypocrite. I'm not against building I'm not against development and stuff. It's just that this this cluster development like why why in that area? There's there there's enough of it. Uh why can't we leave that area, you know, for the original zoning like it is now. If it's five acres or you know, one home for five acres, let's leave it alone. You know, one home for ten acres, let's leave it at that. So you got eighty acres, you can get eight ten acre parcels on that. Eight homes. Eight kids that were born and raised in this area could have a nice piece of you know, nice home on a nice piece
of property. But they they don't have that opportunity. I mean you are you're just taking that opportunity away from me. And it's not right. So I just wanted to wanted to say.
Thank you very much.
Anyone else want to speak?
Okay, so I su I'm assuming that those of you who do want to speak will speak on the on October the third. So
Mr. Jair, um I think we need to at least ask the applicant if they want to address any of those comments now or if they want to wait till October third.
I'd like to I would hope that he'd address as much as you can now because I think the people that came here today uh deserve to have some kind of response to those concerns.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And um I will follow your protocol and answer some of the questions. I want to be careful that we're not hearing the case today since we have requested a continuance and have the opportunity to enter additional evidence into the record on October 3rd and further answer questions and clarify the intent of the request. May may I proceed, Mr. Chairman? Yes, please. Thank you. Um the first thing I want to say is that
uh the request does not involve an amendment to the comprehensive plan. Uh this site is located in a designated employment center. I believe the employment center designation has been in the comprehensive plan since around 2004-2005, and the uses that we are requesting are consistent with that designation. So therefore we are consistent with your comprehensive plan.
There was a question, several questions about traffic. We did complete a traffic study. That traffic study was submitted to your county staff. The county staff has approved that traffic study. That traffic study did recommend specific improvements to Lake Aola Road. The applicant has agreed to those.
Regarding solid waste, we do understand that when the property is developed, they'll have to have solid waste service. That's going to be the incumbent upon the developer and the end users to make sure they have that service. Regarding police and fire, um your staff can clarify this, but my understanding is is that the application was coordinated with those departments and uh we did not receive any comments back uh relative to
Um police protection, sheriff's office, or uh fire. Relative to utilities, we do understand that utilities are not currently available. Um the staff and the conditions of approval uh that are before you and will be before you on October third, uh provide the applicant uh with the ability to provide alternative public facilities if they developed prior to uh publicities being available.
We are also required to enter into a utility service agreement and connect to utilities when they are available.
The only other comment that I'd like to make is that there is a list of MPUD conditions that are attached to the agenda that were formulated by your staff. We have agreed to all those conditions. Those conditions outline how development is to occur and what the applicant will be required to do when they do develop. Finally, you know this is since this is a long-term planning project and again we're
consistent with the Employment Center designation, which does allow us to plan for long-term uses on the property when public facilities are available and the applicant is ready to develop. So with that I'll answer any questions that uh the Planning Commissioner
Yeager. Could you address the question about how far out you did your mailed notice? There's an affidavit of mailed notice in your in the packet, but it's not clear how far out you did your mailings.
My understanding is that our staff at Coastal Engineering did the mailed notice and they did that mailed notice in accordance with whatever your code requires.
Do you remember what the distance was?
Whatever's required by your code.
I'll ask Daph that question after you're done.
It looks just looking at the
map, it looks like a thousand feet. It's a thousand feet? Yes, sir. Okay.
Yeah, sure.
Okay. Um
is there any other questions, Chris? So just one question, I'm not sure if it's for you or for Mr. Pitos, but just the um entitlements in an employment center for residential.
So um The the question is, does the EC Employment Center future land use carry entitlements for residential centers?
And I know it does, but I was just curious if there were percentages or how does that work?
Th there are percentages. Uh the coverage of plan was recently modified to uh decrease the mandate. Uh I believe it was b uh previously mandated at twenty percent. uh residential in the EC flu and uh now it is zero percent but the maximum remains in place the maximum is forty percent residential.
Okay, and that's for the entire employment center designation for each each one, correct?
It generally works out that way.
Yeah. Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, may I also answer the question? Sure. The number of units is 300, which is a relatively modest number, but the application and the MPUD uh conditions uh include uh a matrix which would allow those units to be converted to an equivalent non-residential use.
Sure. Thank you. I just had a quick one. Um would you be willing, it's up to you, to address um the reason why you're asking for a continuum, it's just for the benefit of all the people that took the time out of their schedule to be here.
Yes, and I I do appreciate that people have been here and and taking the time to speak. Uh I hope they can come again in October and speak. Uh but I think the Chairman uh summarized it uh pretty succinctly. Um there are additional things that we want to address. you want to be prepared for public hearing in October.
Okay.
Question.
Terry Terry, this might this one might be for you, but what was the timing of the um the EC flu versus the northeast Pasco northeast rural Pasco? Which w which one was in place first?
Uh off the top of my head I don't know which one was in place first. Uh I do know that both were in the same time period, two thousand five, two thousand six. Uh
That's my recollection as well, that they were adopted around the same time. Same time.
Anything else?
Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. No do we
have a motion?
Move to continue item PC four to the October third Planning Commission meeting in Dade City, one thirty PM Second.
Motion and a second further discussion of the
motion. I just have one more question for or comment to staff. Um Terry, since there's a lot of people here that had questions, normally your agenda memo says who wrote the memo, um like who the com primary contact person is for questions. This one for whatever reason doesn't. So it does have David Engels name, but I'm I'm guessing he's not the primary contact on this application. So who is if people have questions, who would be the primary contact for this
application?
Uh I could give my name, Nektarios Pitos, and then also Mr William Vermillion, Senior Planner, is in the back of the back of the room here today.
Okay. So if people have questions they can contact one of you. Correct. Okay. Thank you.
Have you a time for October at the third meeting?
One thirty PM, sir.
Same time, same place. Some place. Same time, same place. Same bed champ. Same bed champ.
Okay, so we any further discussion? We have a motion, a second. Any further discussion? If not, all in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, like, sign. Okay. October the third, 130, right here.
Okay, so. Okay, they're on their game in time. There's other things on the agenda.
So we have a quorum on October third.
I know some of you will want to discuss. If you'd please do it in the hallway, we we need to continue the meeting.
Just there.
Can be.