WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. – The Pasco County Florida Board of County Commissioners (BCC) will hold a public hearing at the Historic County Courthouse, 2nd Floor Board Room, 37918 Meridian Avenue, Dade City, FL, 33525 at 1:30 P.M. on October 11, 2022, to review/approve/disapprove the SD, LLC S-19 Settlement Offer.
You can attend the public hearing at the County Courthouse either in person or virtually. The rules for Public Comments/WebEx registration can be found here.
If you need more than 3 minutes to speak, request additional time from the BCC Chair (kstarkey@pascocountyfl.net, 727-847-8100) at least 24 hours in advance of the hearing.
On 2/9/22 Stock Development, LLC (SD, LLC) filed a “Request for Relief” under the “Florida Land Use and Environmental Dispute Resolution Act” (F.S. 70.51).
It requested Mediation of the BCC 1/11/22 denial and rebuttal of their request to build a 320-apartment vertical-mixed-use complex on the Commercial-zoned land next to Sam’s Club on SR56 in Wesley Chapel (a.k.a., S-19).
Mediation concluded on 9/9/22 when Special Magistrate David Mechanik issued a “Joint Stipulation and Order” stating that: “The mediation concluded without resolution….”
Absent resolution, SD, LLC will present a Settlement Offer at the 10/11/22 BCC hearing. It repeats the request to build a 320-apartment vertical-mixed-use Multi-Family complex on S-19.
It also 1) increases retail/office space from 20,000 to 25,000 square feet, 2) adds a parking garage, 3) alters the site plan/building configuration, 4) adds pedestrian features, and 5) offers to connect to the existing shopping center walkways.
If the BCC approves the Settlement Offer and it is then challenged, SD, LLC will pay legal expenses to defend the approval and County staff and offer a lien on S-19 if additional funds are needed.
Even though the County has increased building height limits, redefined Commercial zones to include apartments, and increased unit density/acre from 24 to 30, the proposal is still unacceptable.
It: 1) consumes sparse job-creating Commercial land for “Hillsborough bedrooms”, 2) ignores public demand for jobs and retail, 3) perverts the concept of Commercial zoning, 4) overlooks Seven Oaks Suburban character, 5) eliminates 2.2 required acres of open/park space, 6) ignores compatibility zoning considerations, 7) relies on outdated traffic data, 8) adds over 640 vehicles to Seven Oaks roads, 9) provides only 1.9 parking spaces per 1/2/3 BR apartment, 10) lacks a total count of parking spaces, 11) exceeds the .27 floor area ratio, 12) imagines bikeability/pedestrian safety, 13) overestimates public transportation use, 14) contributes less to the County economy than existing alternatives, 15) violates deed restrictions, 16) fails to conform with State law and 17) proposes 18-foot parking spaces when the best-selling U.S. vehicle is the 20.4 foot Ford F-150.
“Spot zoning is usually thought of as giving preferential treatment to one parcel at the expense of the zoning scheme as a whole “(Southwest Ranches Homeowners Assoc. v. Broward County, 502 So.2d 931, 935 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987)). Contract zoning, the “Zoning of properties by a municipality, being legislative in character, cannot be bargained or sold” (Church vs. Town of Islip (New York, 1960). The SD, LLC S-19 Settlement Offer exhibits both and is an unacceptable “poster child” for Spot and Contract Zoning and must be denied.
“We need your help to defeat overdevelopment. Attend the S-19 Community meeting Tuesday, October 4th at 6:45 p.m. at the Seven Oaks Clubhouse, 2910 Sports Core Circle, Wesley Chapel, FL 33544. And plan to attend the Historic County Courthouse, 2nd Floor Board Room, 37918 Meridian Avenue, Dade City, FL, 33525 at 1:30 P.M. on October 11, 2022,” said Patrick Mullen.
For more information, contact Jon.Tomsu@gmail.com.
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And remember, “Development is a privilege” not a right. (Trent Meredith, Inc. vs. City of Oxnard, 114 CAL. App. 3d 317 (1981)).