Planning panel denies Garden Street Communities’ 125‑lot PUD after density, ISR and drainage concerns

The Citrus County Planning and Development Commission voted 4‑3 to recommend denial of AAPUD‑2025‑01, a proposed Planned Unit Development (PUD) by Garden Street Communities (RBW Properties) that sought a master plan for up to 125 single‑family homes on roughly 34 acres east of South Rock Crusher Road.

The applicant reduced the proposal from 136 units to 125 units and added design changes — including 23 perimeter lots sized at 9,600 square feet (80‑foot width) and internal lots of roughly 6,000 square feet — and offered enhanced architecture, a 25‑foot perimeter buffer, a 40‑foot primary building setback and an on‑site pump station plus about 3,200 linear feet of force main to connect to existing sewer infrastructure. Project consultants said the project would connect to central water and sewer and that the planned force main would link to an existing 8‑inch force main to the northwest.

Applicant representatives Betsy Jolley and Ron Pianta (Coastal Engineering) and developer Mike Lawrence (Garden Street Communities) stressed modifications made after a January hearing: a reduction in units to 125 (density 3.67 dwelling units per acre), larger perimeter lots, internal open space and a dedicated future road/utility stub to the east to serve undeveloped adjoining property. The developer said homes would start at roughly $325,000 and that the firm would follow state rules on protected species and wetland permitting.

Staff planner Melissa Morris told commissioners the request remains higher in density than surrounding neighborhoods and requires a substantial ISR deviation (applicant requested up to 0.55 ISR on interior 6,000‑square‑foot lots while perimeter 9,600‑square‑foot lots would meet the 0.35 ISR). Morris said the application “proposes single family home development with a density that still remains higher than the surrounding area, and it is requesting a substantial deviation of the LDC maximum.”

Public commenters raised concerns about drainage and flooding in the low‑lying site, the adequacy of existing water mains and sewers, traffic on Rock Crusher Road and the presence of gopher tortoises on the property. The applicant replied that the PUD would rely on central sewer (not septic), that the developer will pay to extend sewer and construct the required pump station and force main, and that they would follow FWC rules for any protected species.

After extended discussion, commissioners voted 4‑3 to recommend denial and cited continued concerns about density, ISR deviation and whether the site’s low elevation and drainage characteristics make the proposed intensity appropriate. The denial is advisory; the applicant may revise and return or take the matter to the Board of County Commissioners, which has a hearing on the application scheduled for April 22, 2025 at 5:10 p.m.