Pasco Planning Commission continues Evans County Line rezoning after hours of testimony; staff cites utilities and rural-compatibility concerns

The Pasco County Planning Commission on Tuesday agreed to continue consideration of a rezoning application for the Evans County Line master planned unit development (MPUD) to the commission's March 6 meeting in Dade City, after more than three hours of public testimony and debate among staff, the applicant and commissioners.

The application, listed in the packet as APC-3 (PDE25-7738), would rezoned roughly an 80-acre site from agricultural (AC) to an MPUD carrying an Employment Center (EC) future-land-use mix that the applicant says allows up to 300 multifamily dwelling units, 100,000 square feet of neighborhood support commercial and as much as 1,500,000 square feet of light industrial/distribution uses. William Vermillion, Planning, Development and Economic Growth Department, told the commission staff's recommendation is denial because the site lacks adequate public utilities and transportation infrastructure to support the proposed intensity.

Why it matters: commissioners and scores of nearby residents said the interchange at I-75 and Blanton/Lake Iola Road and the local rural road network are not prepared for the traffic and service demands the MPUD could generate, and that the site sits inside the county's Northeast Pasco Rural Protection area, whose policies prioritize rural character and restrict higher-density development unless utilities and other infrastructure are available.

Vermillion said the proposal raises multiple comprehensive-plan and land-development-code inconsistencies, noting the absence of water and sewer within a reasonable distance (staff cited about 10 miles to the nearest connection) and…