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Planning Commission approves request to remove 35-foot height cap for Spanish Lakes site
Summary
The commission approved a conditional-use amendment to remove a 35-foot height limit on an 18.65-acre site zoned C2 in west central Pasco County; staff and the applicant said the change aligns the prior approval with later board policies for the urban service area.
The Pasco County Planning Commission voted to approve a conditional-use amendment that removes the 35-foot height limit previously attached to multifamily dwellings on an approximately 18.65-acre vacant parcel north of State Road 52 and east of Deerbrook Boulevard.
Liam Devine of the Planning Development and Economic Growth Department described the application (PC5, PDE 25-CU05) and told the commission the prior conditional-use approval dating to Feb. 8, 2005, had limited building height to 35 feet; the applicant requested removal of that limitation to make the approval consistent with later board policy changes for the urban service area. "The applicant is requesting to remove the height limitations that was previously approved in 2005, which restricted the height to 35 feet," Devine said during his presentation.
The applicant representative confirmed the request is intended to align the conditional-use approval with two subsequent Board of County Commissioners actions that eliminated height limits within the urban service area and amended mixed-use land-use rules. The applicant also noted there would be no increase in the number of units compared with the previously approved conditional use; the number previously approved was 432 units and the applicant said it had capped development to 360 units under the current proposal.
Pasco County school planning staff provided student-generation figures for the proposed multifamily buildout and said local schools (Mary Gela Elementary, Cruz Lake Middle and Hudson High) have capacity to accept the projected students under county generation-rate methodology. A school representative told the commission the multifamily yield estimates derive from the county’s generation rates and that, under those rates, 360 multifamily units would generate an estimated 42 elementary, 19 middle and 25 high-school students.
A resident raised a notice concern, saying she did not see signage posted at the site. Staff replied that the affidavit of posting and photographs showing a sign at the Deer Brook access were included in the agenda packet and that the advertisement went to addresses within the 500-foot notice radius.
A motion to approve PC5 was made, seconded and carried on a voice vote.
The approval removes the earlier height cap but does not, in the action taken at this hearing, change the multifamily unit cap the applicant identified. Any subsequent site- or building-level plan reviews will be subject to remaining conditions of approval and applicable technical reviews for transportation, stormwater and wildlife protection.
