Planning commission backs Little Road rezoning to neighborhood commercial with deed restriction barring gas stations, car washes and self‑storage

Pasco County Planning Commission members recommended approval of a rezoning that would change a 3.03‑acre site at the northeast corner of Little Road and Jasmine Boulevard from PO2 (professional office) to C1 (neighborhood commercial), with the applicant offering a recorded deed restriction to prohibit gas stations, car washes and self‑storage on the property.

The commission’s recommendation follows the applicant’s presentation and public comment from nearby residents who said they were worried about traffic, increased noise and changes to neighborhood character.

Penny Terra, the applicant’s land‑use planner and authorized representative for Casting LLC, told the commission the developer had complied with a directive to remove three specific high‑impact uses. “Just to be clear again for the record, a gas station will not be allowed nor will a car wash nor will self‑storage facilities based on the deed restrictions should you approve it,” Terra said.

Terra also said the site is signalized at two major roads and that a traffic impact study prepared by Grid Engineering, reviewed by county staff, concluded the project would add a small share of traffic — the applicant described the project as adding about 1% of new traffic at the analysed intersections — and that the intersection would continue to operate at an acceptable level of service under modeled conditions.

Two neighbors who spoke — Alan Rose and Joan Wilson — urged denial. Rose described the parcel as a wildlife sanctuary under his community’s covenants and said the area’s covenants were recorded in 1978; Wilson cited concerns about additional traffic near a charter school on Jasmine Boulevard and problems with loitering and a growing unhoused population in nearby commercial areas.

Commissioners discussed the tradeoffs of the adopted comprehensive plan designation — the Board of County Commissioners had previously amended the future land use to allow commercial uses — and noted that the applicant’s voluntary deed restriction and a decision to limit the zoning to C1 (rather than C2) were mitigating factors. One commissioner said C1 was “the lesser of all evils” compared with alternatives allowed by the future land‑use designation.

A commissioner asked staff to ensure the traffic analysis referenced in the agenda packet was actually attached to the record before the item goes to the Board of County Commissioners; staff agreed to do so. The commission voted to forward a recommendation of approval with conditions to the board.

The action sends the rezoning recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners; any final zoning change or development order would require subsequent review and permits at the county level.