Pasco planning commission approves special exception allowing daycare and veterinary clinic, adds no-left-turn access condition

The Pasco County Planning Commission on a voice vote approved a special exception to allow a daycare center and a 4,000‑square‑foot veterinary clinic at the corner of Wells Road and Curley Road, with a revised access condition that assumes no left turns in or out of the Wells Road driveway and requires a raised pork‑chop island to prevent left‑turn movements.

The approval came after staff described the recommended condition and the applicant’s engineer said changing a planned second daycare building into a veterinary clinic would cut traffic at peak hours. "At the time of site plan submittal, the applicant/developer shall conduct a revised access management analysis assuming no left turns in or out of the driveway connection onto Wells Road," Liam Devine, planner with Pasco County’s Planning, Development and Economic Growth Department, read into the record. He said the condition also requires placement of a raised pork‑chop island at the driveway and evaluation of the Wells Road/Curley Road intersection, including left‑turn warrant analysis.

The application, filed by BDI Properties U.S. LLC, sought a special exception in the AR (Agricultural Residential) district for a daycare franchise (The Learning Experience) and a veterinary clinic. Stuart Rogers of Colliers Engineering and Design, the applicant’s representative, told commissioners the project was previously approved in concept for a single‑building daycare holding 160 children with an additional 4,000‑square‑foot building planned to accommodate 40 more students (200 total). The current request would convert that 4,000‑square‑foot building to a veterinary clinic.

Rogers cited trip‑generation estimates from the Institute of Transportation Engineers. He said, "If it stays 40 students, the average from the ITE ... would generate 164 trips from just that building. The vet would produce about 86 trips." He added that peak‑hour differences are more pronounced: "The 40 daycare students would generate 31 peak hour trips. The vet would produce 12." Rogers said the applicant would submit a revised site plan and an updated access management report showing the lower trip generation and the proposed pork‑chop island if the commission approved the change.

Commission discussion touched on prior approvals and outstanding plan details. One commissioner noted that prior site plan approvals and stormwater plans differ from the applicant’s records and said those items will require a site plan modification and further review. Rogers acknowledged outstanding technical items, including prior right‑of‑way dedications and a preservation area that would remain unless new studies required changes.

A public speaker who had been sworn earlier in the meeting criticized the manner in which some applicant representatives address the commission and staff, saying it showed "disrespect that the applicant's representative treated this body and basically all staff, with disrespect." That comment was recorded during general public comment, not during the item’s hearing.

A motion to approve the special exception with the revised condition was made, seconded, and carried on a voice vote. Commissioners directed the applicant to submit the revised site plan and access management documents showing the proposed change of use, the pork‑chop island location, and any updated stormwater or right‑of‑way materials needed for final site plan approval.

Why it matters: The change replaces a portion of an approved daycare program with a veterinary clinic, a swap that the applicant says reduces vehicle trips and peak‑hour traffic. The commission’s added access restriction and pork‑chop requirement aim to reduce turning movements that staff and commissioners found problematic at the Wells Road frontage.

What’s next: The applicant must file the revised site plan and updated access management analysis that reflect the approved change of use and the commission’s revised condition before final permits are issued.