Planning panel backs PUD for US‑19/98 site; denies blanket approval for RV/boat storage

The Citrus County Planning and Development Commission recommended approval of application PUD3063 for US‑19 and 98 Acquisitions LLC on a unanimous 7‑0 vote, advancing a proposed planned unit development for 8.57 acres along South Suncoast Boulevard to the Board of County Commissioners with conditions.

The PUD would allow up to four internal lots with access from West Miss Maggie Drive and permit uses allowed in the General Neighborhood Commercial (GNC) district; the applicant also asked for RV and boat storage to be allowed but staff recommended that use not be approved at this stage. Commissioner Robert Sherra moved the commission recommendation and Commissioner Curt Stone seconded; the motion carried 7‑0. The item is scheduled for the Board of County Commissioners on April 22, 2025.

Staff planner Frankie Pylan told commissioners the property is zoned GNC and that only Lot 1 currently had a specific proposal. “Lot 1, they plan to have an O’Reilly’s, and have provided us a master plan that details what they’re intending to do,” Pylan said, and explained the remaining lots are undefined and would require future returns if uses beyond standard GNC are sought.

Applicant consultant Lori Viola of Stantec described the master plan for Lot 1 as a 1.3‑acre retail parcel proposed for a 7,453‑square‑foot O’Reilly Auto Parts building with parking (the plan allowed 32 spaces and provided 34), on‑site stormwater retention and necessary setbacks and landscape buffers. Viola said Lot 1 already holds an environmental resource permit (ERP) from the Southwest Florida Water Management District for the on‑site retention. Jimmy Bingham, managing member of US‑19 and 98 Acquisitions, said an easement along the eastern boundary had been vacated and replaced so that the new access alignment would not encroach on delineated wetlands.

Commissioners and staff pressed the applicants on wetlands, buffers and access. Pylan confirmed the site contains delineated wetlands on the south side; Viola said mitigation has been proposed and that mitigation for the southern lots would be addressed as those parcels develop. Pylan reiterated that RV and boat storage “is not being supported” in the staff conditions because that special use requires additional criteria and specific location, not a blanket allowance in a PUD.

The commission adopted the staff‑recommended conditions that the PUD shall allow up to four lots with internal access, require connection to central water and sewer, meet Land Development Code standards for impervious surface ratios (ISR) and floor area ratios (FAR) where applicable, and submit tree preservation and landscaping plans at permitting. The motion to recommend approval forwarded the application with those conditions to the Board of County Commissioners.

The commission’s recommendation does not itself authorize RV or boat storage; applicants seeking that use must return with a more detailed master plan showing location, screening and any additional criteria required by code. The applicant and staff both said Lot 2, 3 and 4 remain market driven and that Lot 1 is the immediate development priority.

The commission’s recommendation will go to the Board of County Commissioners for final action; the applicant must demonstrate full code compliance at permitting, including wetland mitigation on lots that will affect delineated wetlands.