Citrus County planning panel continues review of Tuscany Ranch PUD and development agreement amid questions over density, roads and water

The Citrus County Planning and Development Commission on Feb. 26 heard a detailed presentation from Metro Development Group on proposed updates to the Beverly Hills development of regional impact (DRI) — the application is filed as PUD2663 with a companion development agreement DA‑2024‑2 for a project the applicant calls Tuscany Ranch — but commissioners voted to continue both files to a later meeting for additional revisions and staff review.

Metro’s entitlement team told commissioners the application does not ask for any additional units than those already authorized in the 1981 Beverly Hills DRI (most recently amended in 2021). “We are not seeking any additional units,” said land‑use attorney Rob Batzel during the applicant presentation. The firm said the request is a modernization of an older plan and that a development agreement is intended to bind infrastructure and environmental commitments over the long term.

Commissioners and dozens of public commenters pressed the applicant on several core issues: placement and possible expansion of multifamily housing and three‑story apartment buildings, how water and sewer service would be staged, the applicant’s transportation commitments along County Road 491, and an optional “lagoon” amenity that drew repeated environmental concern.

Why it matters: the project sits inside the long‑standing Beverly Hills DRI (2,233 acres total) but the applicant’s focused application covers roughly 1,069.5 acres in the DRI’s northern portion. The plan would use a mix of commercial, multifamily and single‑family product types, and the development agreement attempts to lock in who pays for and when certain off‑site improvements would occur. Commissioners said they need clearer, complete contract language before recommending approval to the Board of County Commissioners.

What the applicant told the commission

Metro’s entitlement director, Justin O’Brien, described Metro as a master‑plan developer that…