Citrus County planning board recommends approval of Pine Ridge Reserve, an 80‑home plan with 84 acres set as conservation

The Citrus County Planning and Development Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of application AA‑202500002, known as Pine Ridge Reserve, sending the proposal to the Board of County Commissioners with conditions including a requirement to place the conservation easement and perimeter buffers on the recorded plat.

The proposal would change 221.9 acres on the Pine Ridge Unit 3 master plan from golf course use to single‑family residential, allowing up to 80 homes and preserving roughly 84 acres as a perpetual conservation easement, the applicant said. The commission’s recommendation includes a condition that the conservation area and a 20‑foot perimeter buffer be shown on the plat and maintained in perpetuity, plus a buffer requirement for community buildings adjacent to residential lots.

The plan’s lead presenter, James Dix, president of DIX Developments, and consulting planner Avis Marie Craig told the commission the project mirrors Pine Ridge’s existing one‑acre lot character, uses advanced onsite wastewater treatment for each large lot and would create private roads, sidewalks, trails and a community pavilion. Professional engineer Chuck Pigeon cited a Phase I and Phase II environmental assessment with 48 soil borings; he said tests found no contaminants above applicable…