Pasco commissioners approve Sackleson MPUD rezoning with conditions to block Foxfire access and pursue Colony Road funding

The Pasco County Board of County Commissioners on March 25, 2025, approved a rezoning to allow the Sackleson Master Planned Unit Development (MPUD) on roughly 34 acres south of Hudson Avenue, subject to added conditions including a permanent cul-de-sac at the Foxfire Drive boundary, expanded landscape buffers, and disclosure requirements for future buyers.

The vote followed hours of testimony from residents who live along Foxfire Drive and Colony Road and presentations from county planning staff and the applicant. Commissioners approved a land-development-code variation that prevents the new subdivision from creating a vehicular connection to Foxfire Drive and directed staff to record plat language and a separate HOA-maintained buffer tract to make that restriction enforceable.

County planning staff told commissioners the MPUD would allow about 63 single-family lots (a density the applicant said is lower than the maximum allowed under the future land-use designation). The applicant agreed to add construction-traffic controls, temporary turn lanes on Hudson Avenue for construction access, and additional buffering and landscape standards along Foxfire Drive. Staff also said the applicant would include the Florida Right to Farm Act language in seller disclosure documents and a disclosure tied to properties within a half-mile radius of the MPUD.

Residents raised multiple concerns during public comment, including the safety of the Foxfire curve, possible contamination of private well water, loss of wildlife and habitat, and whether impact or mobility fees collected from nearby developments would be used to build the segment of Colony Road neighbors say is needed. “Our biggest concern... is the quality of our well water,” said Brooke Hubbard, a Foxfire Drive resident. Other speakers described repeated vehicle accidents at the Foxfire curve and urged county action on drainage and traffic-safety improvements.

County Engineer Nick (county engineer) told the board mobility fees are forecast and allocated on a zone basis over five-year capital programs and are not automatically applied to a single nearby project unless that project is essential for access. Victoria Speedo's (Planning, Development & Economic Growth) provided ballpark mobility-fee estimates mentioned during the meeting: roughly $3.5 million for the Palm Wind area (319 units) and about $760,000 estimated for the Sackleson parcel, with a separate estimate of about $1.7 million for a nearby 62-unit project. Staff also said the applicant negotiated about $109,000 in mobility-fee credits for a 0.7-acre pond and dedicated about 0.87 acres of right-of-way.

To address the neighbors’ concerns and implement the board’s direction, the board’s approval included: (1) a condition requiring plat language and a separately conveyed, HOA-maintained buffer tract to prevent vehicular access to Foxfire Drive; (2) a requirement that developers prepare disclosures for buyers regarding nearby agricultural uses and the planned Colony Road improvements, using a half-mile radius for the disclosure term; (3) approval of the requested LDC variation to omit the Foxfire connection; (4) commitment to add conditions for construction traffic to use Hudson Avenue and to construct required temporary turn lanes before heavy equipment is brought on site; and (5) a directive that staff pursue mobility-fee and capital-improvement-program options to advance Colony Road, including the possibility of developer-prepaid mobility fees where legally permissible and voluntarily agreed.

The board also directed county staff to update right-of-way preservation tables and the highway vision map where necessary to reflect the approved 60-foot typical cross section for the roadway alignment, work through the mobility-fee and CIP prioritization process, and finalize the redlined conditions and exhibits the applicant provided. The motion approving the MPUD, the LDC variation, and the added conditions passed with a standard voice vote.

The applicant’s team said it will record the promised plat language and binding concept plan elements to make the cul-de-sac and buffer commitments enforceable; staff said wildlife surveys have been completed for the rezoning phase and that listed species protections and additional surveys occur again at the development-plan stage. Staff and the applicant also said they will continue to coordinate with the Florida Department of Transportation on the Colony/State Road 52 corridor improvements and signalization plans noted in FDOT’s 60% designs.

The approval authorizes the applicant to proceed toward site plans under the agreed conditions; final construction timing, road funding and exact construction phasing were not set at the meeting and will depend on subsequent permit submissions, right-of-way acquisitions, CIP prioritization and available mobility-fee revenues.

Residents said they remain concerned about timing and enforcement. Commissioners asked staff to keep the community informed and to return with any follow-up material needed to implement the conditions.

Ending: The board’s approval sets the MPUD conditions and gives staff directions to pursue right-of-way, mobility-fee, and CIP actions; it does not set construction start dates or commit county capital funds beyond existing budget processes.