Council approves rezoning, property buy, signage contract and schedules workshop; water-rate increase set for first reading

The Zephyrhills City Council voted unanimously on Oct. 13 to adopt a second-reading zoning ordinance for an AdventHealth parcel, to purchase a single-family lot to enlarge a city retention pond, and to select a vendor for park entrance signage. Council also approved on first reading a 3 percent increase to water and sewer rates effective on or after Nov. 1, 2025, and voted to cancel two upcoming meetings and schedule a planning-and-water workshop on Nov. 17.

The council passed all 10 consent items at the start of the meeting by unanimous voice vote. Later votes included: adoption of ordinance 1508-25 (rezoning), approval of a $250,000 contract to buy 6109 Sixteenth Street for stormwater work, selection of Kinko Signs & Awnings for park signage, and a first reading approval of ordinance 1509-25 to raise water and sewer rates 3 percent. The council also voted unanimously to cancel the Nov. 24 and Dec. 22 regular meetings and to hold a workshop addressing the comprehensive plan/visioning and preliminary water-supply discussions on Nov. 17.

Ordinance 1508-25: rezoning and deed restrictions Adopted on second reading, ordinance 1508-25 changes roughly 22.7 acres east of Dairy Road and north of Daughtry Road from City R-4 multifamily residential and PUD to City C-3 general commercial. City planning staff and the applicant negotiated voluntary deed restrictions that will be recorded with the ordinance; those restrictions prohibit mini-warehouse and recreational-vehicle storage uses and the applicant said it intends to retain an on-site community garden. The planning staff said site-specific traffic issues at U.S. 301 and Daughtry Road will be addressed during site-plan review and engineering. The council adopted the ordinance by unanimous voice vote.

Purchase of 6109 Sixteenth Street: stormwater The council approved purchase of the single-family property at 6109 Sixteenth Street for $250,000. Public Works Director Shane LeBlanc said the lot sits adjacent to a city retention pond in an AE flood zone and that acquiring the parcel would allow the city to double the pond’s capacity after demolition, redesign and permitting. LeBlanc said the city will seek a SFWMD ("Swiftmud") permit and design the enlarged pond with an engineer; the purchase contract was described as a standard residential contract and was contingent on council approval. The motion passed unanimously.

Park signage contract The council selected Kinko Signs & Awnings as the low bidder to build entry signage for multiple city parks. The city manager explained the bid specifications were prepared by purchasing staff and reviewed by a consultant who produced the signage design; council members noted a large disparity between the two bids received but heard staff believed the bids were comparable. The council approved awarding the contract by unanimous voice vote.

Water and sewer rates (ordinance 1509-25) On first reading the council approved ordinance 1509-25 to amend city code section 51.23 and raise potable water, wastewater/sewer and reclaimed-water rates by 3 percent, effective on or after Nov. 1, 2025. Staff said the increase was recommended in a recent rate study and is intended to support roughly $20 million in water and sewer capital projects planned this fiscal year. Using a 4,100-gallon example, staff said a monthly bill would rise from $68.11 to $70.16 (about $2). The ordinance passed unanimously on first reading; a second reading will be scheduled in a subsequent meeting.

Meeting schedule and workshop The council voted to cancel the Nov. 24 and Dec. 22 regular meetings; staff noted that, if needed, a special meeting could be called. Council members then agreed to hold a workshop on Nov. 17 to begin visioning work on the comprehensive plan and to discuss preliminary steps on finding additional water supplies. Staff said it is working with a consultant (Jones Edmunds) on a task order to identify new water sources; the memorandum in the packet referenced a $48,000 task order for that work.

What the votes mean Council members described the actions as incremental steps: adopting the rezoning with deed restrictions to address neighborhood concerns; buying a property now to allow a needed stormwater improvement rather than waiting for grant funding; and keeping capital funding plans for utilities on track with modest rate increases. All formal actions recorded in the meeting were unanimous voice votes.

Votes and formal actions (selected) - Ordinance 1508-25 (rezoning AdventHealth parcel to City C-3 with deed restrictions): passed (second reading), motion and second not specified in the record; vote: unanimous. Provenance: meeting item introduction and final vote recorded in transcript blocks 1153.185–1270.7849 and 1441.6–1456.765. - Purchase of 6109 Sixteenth Street (business item 3.2): motion to approve purchase at $250,000; mover/second not specified; vote: unanimous. Provenance: 1672.03–1778.0349 and 1997.795–2006.09. - Ordinance 1509-25 (amend city code §51.23; 3% water/sewer rate increase; first reading): motion to approve on first read; mover/second not specified; vote: unanimous. Provenance: 2009.29–2061.05 and 2136.2449–2150.77. - Park signage contract (selection of vendor Kinko Signs & Awnings): motion to accept staff recommendation; mover/second not specified; vote: unanimous. Provenance: 1471.37–1532.04 and 1657.545–1666.45. - Cancellation of Nov. 24 and Dec. 22 meetings and scheduling workshop for Nov. 17: motion and second not specified; vote: unanimous. Provenance: 2158.53–2259.5051 and 2591.875–2604.8.

Provenance: For each item above, the transcript blocks cited contain the introduction, staff presentation and the concluding voice vote as recorded in the meeting transcript.

Ending Council members described the votes as part of an ongoing push to address infrastructure, planning and growth issues. Several items (notably the water-rate ordinance and the Nov. 17 workshop) will return for further hearings and discussion.