Zoning Amendment (Regular) - Mitchell SJP MPUD - Master Planned Unit Development - St. John Properties, Inc. - A Rezoning Request from an I-2 General Industrial Park District to MPUD Master Planned Unit Development District to Allow for the Development of 515,000 Square Feet of Business Park and 107,660 Square Feet of Commercial/Retail Uses and Associated Infrastructure on Approximately 92.61 Acres Located in South West Pasco County

1:52:15Item P 56 was published in the Tampa Bay Times on April 2, 2025, and affidavits of certified mailings and site postings.

1:52:24Okay.

1:52:27Good afternoon. William Vermillion, Planning Development, Economic Growth. This is PDE 2578. 25 is zoning amendment, Mitchell S. J.P. For master plan unit development. Before I get started, I do have some ex parte to provide to the clerk.

1:52:44Uh voting receiving file.

1:52:47Uh all in favor? Wait, did I get a second? Give me a second. All in favor? Wait, can I does that to be roll call vote for that one? Roll cover.

1:52:57District one, Commissioner Oakley. District two, Commissioner Weightman. District four, Commissioner Yeager.

1:53:04District Four, Commissioner Yeager.

1:53:09Commissioner Yeager, we cannot hear you.

1:53:11Is she on?

1:53:17Can you hear me?

1:53:18Yes, District Four, Commissioner Yeager. Aye. Thank you. District five, Commissioner Mariano. Hi. District three, Chairman Starkey. Hi.

1:53:39Perfect. So here is a a map of the county indicating where the project is. This is just south of State Road 54 in southwest Pasco County in the South Market area in Commission District Three.

1:53:56This rezoning request is for a master plan unit development. The current zoning is Industrial II, I2 zoning district, General Industrial Park. This is to allow for the maximum development of 515,000 square feet of business park and six or 107,000 square feet of commercial retail on approximately 92 acres of the city. This is point two miles east of the State Road 54 and Starkey Boulevard intersection. Here is that location map for this project.

1:54:29The zoning map indicating the current I two zoning district. and the future land use of P D.

1:54:39Here is the context map here.

1:54:44This shows a uh the Starkey, the current Starkey Trail runs along the Duke Eastement along to State Road 54.

1:54:57Here is the M PewD Master Plan.

1:55:01Oh sorry.

1:55:04The pink and red areas highlighted show the commercial retail portions of this M PUD. the a hundred and seven thousand square feet. which are C two uses with provisions. The blue is the business part portion of this MPUD, the that employment generating uses, industrial medical office. The small T there Is the connection uh the stub out to the Starkey Trail in which the applicant is providing financing

1:55:34for the county in terms of a uh Fifteen thousand dollars from their engineer cost estimate to be able to allow the county to connect to this trail if it is proven feasible with Duke Energy.

1:55:48That V there is the uh it's a vehicular stub out. Uh in case the uh the Starkey Boulevard extension requires a connection there and it's somehow feasible with the uh the trail intersection. And then you can see highlighted there on A, B, and C are the proposed access points for this development off of State Road fifty four.

1:56:12There is internal pedestrian circulation throughout both the business park and the commercial node. t to highlight some of that in internal capture for people that work within that blue area. to to be able to go to lunch uh and so forth within the red area.

1:56:29There are a couple variations associated with this project, the first from 9016 D 11. This is to not provide a vehicular interconnect. to the east or to the south.

1:56:44This recommendation uh comes with uh amenability from P D E as well as the Planning Commission. Uh there are wetland impacts as well as uh as some neighborhoods to the south that the applicant proposes not to impact. From eight oh five six restrictions on post-development wetlands and upland buffers within residential lots and non-residential parks. as well as from Land Development Code 902 to stormwater management requirements. Both of these variations speak to the applicant. Uh, not having to form a C D D or an

1:57:14HOA to maintain these, rather the individual parcel owners would be responsible for their for their maintenance of both their. stormwater as well as their um They're buffering the landscaping and such.

1:57:28Finally, from thirteen oh two from mobility fees. This speaks to a blended mobility fee rate. Which are located in the conditions of approval.

1:57:39Wait, um I have a question on that. Perfect. I thought the I thought that the company was keeping this, so why why are you talking about individual owners maintaining their stormwater pond? Because there is one owner of all of this. Were you talking about in the f in the maybe in the front?

1:57:57Sure. I I'm I will

1:57:59cover that when you come up?

1:58:00Yes.

1:58:00Okay.

1:58:01I don't want to speak for the ownership. Oh, sorry. Move it back to uh thirteen oh two, which is the mobility fees.

1:58:11Because of the the multiple users that could end up in the business park within that blue area, staff and the developer agreed to a blended fee. Which is essentially a calculation. which uh takes office, industrial and retail and blends them together, and which time the applicant would be assessed this fee at the certificate of completion when they get to building construction services, just because of the multiple tenants that would be associated, instead of each individually being charged. Staff agreed to a

1:58:41blended fee here and that's a variation from thirteen oh two. This is to uh to encourage those employment generating uses that could be priced out with a project of this size. And finally from 9052 landscaping and buffering. This is for internal buffering between the business part And the commercial residential that variation is to allow for greater pedestrian um walkability and visibility to not separate these uses. uh as hard so we can keep some of that internal capture.

1:59:13This comes to you with a recommendation of approval from both the Planning Commission and Planning Development Economic Growth.

1:59:20Okay.

1:59:20I'm here for any questions.

1:59:21Any any questions for staff? Yeah.

1:59:24You gotta know my question, Will. You have to know it. We do have the live local conditions in this one, Commissioner. Thank you.

1:59:33Um Let's have the applicant speak. And I I I have a question, a couple but I'll let you do your presentation if you want to.

1:59:45Two questions.

1:59:46Well she's pulling that up. Clark Hobby, Hobby and Hobby PA. 109 North Brest Street, Tampa, Florida, have been sworn.

1:59:58We've been discussing uh the Western Hub for many years and the Mitchell family has owned this property uh for many, many years. Uh the subject site that we're here to talk to you about today is going to be one of the largest employment nodes in West Pasco and will generate a significant number of jobs. Our client that's going to be developing the site, uh St. John Properties out of Maryland, has extensive experience in building uh business parks with what they call

2:00:28flex buildings. that are if we can go to the next slide. Uh Based on a lower slung building built to higher standards than we typically see in a lot of the highway distribution industrial parks. And the Uh ultimate uh result is that they build them to a high enough quality where the buildings themselves and the spaces within them can flex to a higher percentage of office than

2:00:58a typical tilt wall highway distribu highway distribution uh building would. And after uh conducting a survey of the space that our client has developed over time, uh we've determined that again we expect this site with the uh flex buildings that we'll have on it to generate eighteen hundred jobs. for West Pasco. So it's really exciting. Uh Dewey Mitchell spent a considerable amount of time interviewing uh industrial

2:01:29developers around the country and settled on Saint John's because of their extensive experience in building this product. If I can go the next Page, you'll see where this differs with the higher quality finish on the side and the way the windows are oriented. So again, you can flex to more expensive build-out space, more office flexibility than the tilt wall 40-foot buildings that we see typically by the Interstate and to some degree by the Sunk Coast

2:01:59Parkway. If I can go to the next slide. So I just wanted to let the board and the citizens know, and I know we'll have some questions from a couple of our neighbors here. This site has been uh zoned for heavy industrials since nineteen eighty three. The aerial you see here is from nineteen eighty-five, it's showing that uh none of Trinity adjacent to the site had started to be built by then. If we can go to the next slide. And you'll see that the Fox Hollow

2:02:30area next to us started to be built in about 2001. Go to the next slide. And we can just roll on through there. From the initial comp plan that was adopted and readopted in 1991 through the next, we can go on to the next couple of slides. This site has always been designated heavy industrial and it's been zoned heavy industrial since 1983. We can go to the next slide. If we were to zoom in a little bit here, you can see there's a lot of reasons why none of us want the existing heavy

2:03:00industrial to remain in place. It would allow for some extremely noxious obnoxious uses that we don't want there. They're not good for the county. And so we are essentially down zone. Now if I can go to the what I believe is the last slide. We're very much aware that Fox Hollow was built behind us there, and so a great amount of care with the St. John property team has gone into making sure that we have appropriate setbacks, buffers, et cetera. So I'd

2:03:30point you to two things. The upper part of this graphic is showing you that the closest neighbor is 315 feet away from the first building. And we will have between that neighbor and the first building, we will have on our side uh the Very nice landscape buffer that's shown on there with a vinyl fence and landscaping on their side. We will then have a pond and a wetland and the pond that's there uh will have a

2:04:00fountain in it. So it'll be a really pretty amenity and again we'll create a really nice visual buffer in addition to the fencing between the residences that are there and again a football field or more a wetland. The first buildings. On the south side, and this is just from our property line, we're over 629 feet away where the first building is, and there's a wetland along that boundary, too. So we're almost, you know, it's getting close to being a quarter mile away from any residences there.

2:04:31We've given a lot of thought to how we've laid this project out. We've provided for the connectivity. Both vehicular and uh for uh pedestrians over to the Starkey Trail through it. If we if Duke Energy will cooperate with permitting for the county, we'll be able to build, you know, a connection or the county will be over over to that area. And our client went ahead and is gonna fund the pedestrian trail connection over to the Starkey Trails. We want it to happen. Our only

2:05:01concern is just trying to get the permits and approvals from Duke. So again, we're really excited about it. I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have.

2:05:09Is that it for your slides?

2:05:11That's it for my slides.

2:05:12Okay. Um I have questions but I'll go to you guys first. Yes?

2:05:16You wanna go

2:05:17first? Good.

2:05:18So with this zoning I Just for general conversation, I think it's important that we in the appropriate locations keep. Our heavy industrial uses. Wherever those are, I I think we need to figure out where we want those and to have them. Um well the caveat, this is this is really a a unique project. Within this zoning part, we I talked a little bit about this this morning with uh Bill Fernand and the EDC. If a data center wanted to move in, would

2:05:48this be a location that could potentially work? I mean you talk about Duke right here and

2:05:53Absolutely. And and just so you all know, and I I try to be a little bit demure, I don't want my client's head to get too puffy up uh here in Pasco County. This is their first project. But this client has o uh a tenant list of over a thousand tenants. And they have a huge presence with light industrial and office folks, data centers. l high end labs and I'm very hopeful that we're gonna get some of those higher paying jobs in this facility that will

2:06:23be on a much higher employee per square foot basis than we've seen out by seventy five to date, for instance. Okay.

2:06:31All

2:06:31right. Thank you.

2:06:33Thank you, Mr. Um I was at a golf tournament this weekend and I had a guy that uh knew of the knew of this company, a con local contractor and spoke very very highly of them. Uh so they're they're happy to see that coming forward. Uh I want to say for this development, uh industrial heavy is is great. in certain areas. This is a tough area and we've ha we lost a lot of industrial in this whole area to resident uh not to to residential, to you know, retail, et cetera. So keeping this even as a light industrial is phenomenal. Uh I think the job opportunities are

2:07:03great. And uh as as you mentioned the live local. This could have been storage units, it could've been car washers, apartments, etcetera. And not having that as something behind these people is so much better to the height that's gonna come up here. Um I'm happy to see that you're putting the heavy buffer in, twenty foot width, twenty f twenty seven shade trees. Might be

2:07:27So I think as far as buffering goes and creating good quality jobs where we want it to be, I think it's phenomenal. And I hope that you'll uh follow through and and talk to them about that industrial park up in Hudson because I think these guys could do something great up there too.

2:07:39Yes, sir.

2:07:40Thank you.

2:07:41Um so I'm not a fan of vinyl fences and commercial applications and industrial especially. So Uh can we get what happened to the screen? Oh, uh what do you guys think about brick or concrete? Um, 'cause I think vinyl behind people's houses, that's gonna be a nightmare upkeep for those people on their side. Um So why would it be

2:08:06it's gonna be on our property, why would it be

2:08:08there's the other side, the back side.

2:08:11We're gonna be after we're gonna have to

2:08:13You're gonna be on both sides? This is gonna be on the property line.

2:08:17I still don't I I do drive around the county and the commercial I I can see vinyl and residential uses, but I I just don't like what I'm seeing in the commercial Um they get blown out in a big storm. I I don't know.

2:08:31Well, if I if I might, Commissioner, remember, and I think this is what you were asking a question earlier about the the maintenance of the common areas. While we are going to plat this uh project, and that's part of the reason for one of the alt standards, it just related to uh lot lines that will go through the truck uh parking areas as an example and loading areas. Uh Saint John's generally does not sell any of their business parks. So their office, their regional office will be in this

2:09:01facility and their intention is to own it all. uh basically in perpetuity and maintain it. And the way that they operate, and again it's different. they don't go in, merchant build, lease it up, sell it. So they're very uh keenly interested in how the maintenance looks over time. because they're there releasing the space again and again and again. They have several of these parks that are they've owned for over fifty years in Maryland. And so that's how they

2:09:31make their bet bread and butter.

2:09:33So I I've seen so we've acquired um That's right. place I don't remember his name on Miles Stretch who was operating a used car lot illegally. to put in a vinyl fence between him and the houses behind him. and and then he put landscaping on it. He's not maintaining it. It's full of mould, it's dirty. So I I don't know what happens when you pressure wash a vinyl fence. Someone put vinyl fencing around Um the I think around long leaf at the b at the front and it's

2:10:03just falling apart. And but I think it's very hard to pressure wash vinyl fences. And so how do you repaint them? Um over time they just have to

2:10:13over time they just have to replace the the panels themselves over time.

2:10:17So um someone in the the development world had suggested we instead of requiring concrete or brick, which I think you mentioned cracks, um it was suggested that maybe Uh the way Metro just did the fence in front of Longleaf it was poured panels. which seemed to la to last very well between some posts.

2:10:41Yeah, I guess. Um you You know, I I don't know how my fellow this is how I feel. I don't know how my fellow board members feel about vinyl fences and commercial and industrial applications.

2:10:51If if I might, Commissioner, I mean th I I would just say right now.

2:10:55You're only putting it right there behind those houses. Right, that's right.

2:10:58But we're we're exceeding the code. Already with our plannings and our and our landscaping there.

2:11:09There are applications where we need the ability to have the vinyl fencing in because the precast stuff is so expensive if you're doing it over a large expanse. It's generally because I just had to price this at my house. I think it's three or four times as expensive as vinyl fencing, generally.

2:11:27Did we increase the amount of industrial square footage that they're putting in there from the original?

2:11:32Well it was it was a Euclidean district, so it's tough to say, but I mean we're doing five hundred thousand square feet.

2:11:38And what were they asking for originally? The original.

2:11:42Uh it was completely it was a Euclidean district and our application is to over five hundred thousand square feet.

2:11:48Okay, I just No the the original uh heavy industrial

2:11:51uh Yeah it did again in a Euclidean district you don't have it doesn't say for instance the number of square feet.

2:11:56I just think it increased from the my first meeting with them. Well that's just how I feel. Maybe one day we'll talk about it when we go water fences, Commissioner Mariano.

2:12:06Look, what about instead of a vinyl because you're gonna do heavy landscaping? So a typical vinyl fence is good to buffer a view shut that's going in there. But if you're gonna do heavy landscaping there, What what would what would the what would think of like say uh arc just like a metal fence going vertically? Decorative metal going up and down.

2:12:22I don't I don't I don't know enough about that. But let me let me I let me say this. I'm happy to chat with you, Commissioner Starkey, and and talk about this uh you know as we go through site plan permitting, but right now I I feel like we're going above the code and I I think that's a good idea.

2:12:39I

2:12:39don't

2:12:39even know if you need a fence. D is someone saying you have to have a fence?

2:12:42We we've offered that to the neighbors and I've talked to a couple of them on the on the you know either at the meeting or on the phone and I I don't wanna take out what I've already told them I was gonna have as a minimum but I'd be happy to chat with you all but I would need to get with a client our engineer and work through what our landscape plans are.

2:13:00Okay, so that's question one. Um the second question is that I was just looking at some of your beautiful projects around the country. Yeah. And um Uh I just have a little issue with the flat roof, flat facade. and and looking here I have seen in other Saint John's properties where they put some awnings to just break up the monotony. I'm I'm actually kinda surprised we uh the Zar code allow just the flat f roof and Big long

2:13:30flat buildings. We don't have any more architectural

2:13:34So generally, Commissioner, that applies to Big Box, which is designed for retail buildings. However, you raise a good issue, and we already have a meeting set up with Mr. Engel and his staff after, you know, assuming that the MPUD would get approved to talk about some of that architectural design, because David already raised it. I think maybe he got comments from you on it.

2:13:52Yeah, and well we we see what happened at Sun Lake and

2:13:55I I would tell you. Speaking with our client on these particular types of buildings, my understanding that breaking up the roof line in in that way it it literally There are uh architectural and foundational issues that it creates and my understanding is that it was gonna increase the cost of some of the phase one buildings by as much as three or four hundred thousand. And just to do that because it creates the way our buildings specifically are set up, there are issues

2:14:26that translate all the way down to the foundation and doing that. But again, that's why we want to meet with your staff as more of a technical.

2:14:32I've seen some from the other guys coming in where they're doing that and they're doing awnings. But at the very least, it'd like to be able to do that.

2:14:41And then um so I notice we worked hard on Yeah. We're um are we gonna see that eventually?

2:14:48Oh yeah. I mean it's gonna w we're gonna have again, we're gonna have meetings with staff. We've gotta get the M P U D approved first. Staff will see

2:14:56it.

2:14:56Yeah, staff will see it. And we'll be happy I mean, Commissioner Oakley on it. You're you're gonna see it. We know you're keenly interested in it.

2:15:05Yeah, we we spent a lot of time working on that same way.

2:15:08For sure.

2:15:09And um

2:15:10But just so you know, I mean all the comments that I believe you had about, you know, two sided buildings and so forth, that's all in our MPUD conditions. Okay. Staff already implemented all that.

2:15:22Okay, then one last thing. Um Uh so I see where you guys, you know, have the road stubb out where we hope that we hope No guarantee that we can get it right through because that'll keep people Allow people to go back and forth between the developments and um Mitchell Boulevard say without having to get on fifty four. So that's what we want. Right. Um But I do wonder if um If until that happens, if The the Sun Coast Trail comes right to

2:15:52the edge of this property and I was just looking at it on the map. Um can we uh work with Duke to to just connect to the trail somewhere else on this property? Wha what what's gonna be along your western

2:16:04edge?

2:16:10the cost of taking the multi use path to the Starkey Trail in the location and there are other areas that may be closer. This was one of the furthest spots and we're providing you the funding on it. So if you're

2:16:23if it works out that they will give us approval right away if we do it somewhere else, because it's right there. It's right on your border.

2:16:28Yeah, if I mean that'd

2:16:30be great.

2:16:30We you'd have extra money to build it. We're we're giving you the money.

2:16:33All right. I just I just don't know what what if you if anything you plan to put

2:16:38along the Western edge. We have no objection. I mean again the the way Saint John looks at this uh Saint John properties they they're looking for amenities for the people who work on site. So that'll be a great one. Nothing but an amenity. Okay.

2:16:51Okay. Okay. I've got

2:16:52to do that.

2:16:52This is uh public hearing. Uh does anyone else want to speak to this? Maybe we addressed all your questions if you're here.

2:16:59I have no one signed up and no one on WebEx for this item.

2:17:02Lisa, did you want to say anything?

2:17:04I can't tell

2:17:04if your hand's up, so No, I'm good. Thank you. Okay, is there anyone on anyone online that wishes to address this? No one is on WebEx. Take a motion.

2:17:15Madam Chair.

2:17:16Yeah.

2:17:16I just want to say I think it's gonna be a great project. It's a great quality company. Happy they're coming here and I'm I'm I'm Happy working with Clark that you've talked to the residents to find it the one I'm sure making them happy is is a big em priority so that's great too. So without a move approval.

2:17:30And I I've seen that client list and you can go online and look at it. It's it's it's fantastic. We want them all here. Um Roll cover vote.

2:17:39District One, Commissioner Oakley.

2:17:43District two, Commissioner Weightman. District four, Commissioner Yeager. Aye. District five, Commissioner Mariano. Aye. District three, Chairman Starkey. Aye.