Council conditions water and sewer for 4007 Sparta Road to allow developer’s 40-home proposal to advance

The City of Sebring City Council on April 15 voted to approve a utility services agreement, conditioned on execution by the property owner, that would allow the provision of city water and sewer to a proposed 40-single-family-home development at 4007 Sparta Road.

Dana Riddell, a consultant with Stonehenge Lane Development Consultants, spoke for Green Group Development LLC, which is working to purchase the property currently owned by Sparta Properties LLC. Riddell said water and sewer run past the property and that the applicant is requesting service for 40 single-family homes. She said existing zoning and a deed restriction currently limit development to 28 homes, though the parcel’s underlying future land use would allow up to 43 units.

Riddell said the developer is seeking a flexible unit development (FUD) plan that asks for slight deviations from some zoning standards — notably smaller lot sizes than a straight single-family residential zoning district would normally require. She said the applicant proposes minimum lots of about 6,250 square feet, with standard setbacks of 25 feet front and rear and seven and a half feet on the sides; no reductions to setbacks were requested.

Council members asked questions about density and traffic. Riddell referenced a prior traffic study for a different, larger proposal on the opposite side of Sparta Road that passed county review and said the developer of that other project supports the current application. A member of the public, Gary Brown of Sparta Road, and others asked procedural questions about whether county approval is contingent on the city providing capacity. Riddell replied that Highlands County code contains language that permits county action to proceed even if the city refuses capacity, so the county could allow development without city utilities if necessary.

Council made approval conditional: the motion approved the utility services agreement subject to execution by the owner. During the roll call for that motion, one council member recorded a “no” vote; the motion passed by majority.

Riddell offered background on how flexible unit developments differ from standard zoning: FUDs provide flexibility so a developer can meet the intent of the future land-use designation while seeking modest adjustments to lot sizes. She said the developer previously finished construction on a subdivision in the city (Las Villas) and argued the applicant has a local track record.

The council’s conditional approval allows the developer to proceed with obtaining a county letter of water and wastewater capacity and to pursue county approvals; the developer still must submit required plats, permits and any county-level approvals. If the city ultimately refuses capacity for reasons not specified at this meeting, Highlands County’s code provides an avenue for the county to allow the development to proceed without city utilities, according to Riddell.

The council’s action at this meeting was limited to granting the conditional utility agreement; zoning, final plat approval and any county approvals remain separate processes.