Pasco planning panel approves rezoning for Shady Hills townhome development with sidewalk and right‑of‑way conditions

The Pasco County Planning Commission on an advisory vote recommended approval of PDE267888, the CL Shady Hills master planned unit development, clearing the way for the developer to rezone roughly 24.1 acres on the east side of Shady Hills Road for townhouse construction and related infrastructure.

Planning and Development staff said the petition would convert land currently zoned C‑2 (General Commercial) and subject to a 2015 conditional use permitting multifamily uses into an MPUD that would allow the applicant to build townhomes rather than high‑density apartments. “This is the CL Shady Hills MPUD. It’s PDE267888,” the Planning and Development presenter said, summarizing the proposal and staff recommendation for approval with conditions.

The applicant’s binding concept plan and materials filed with staff describe a development of approximately 160 townhome units (the staff presentation and the applicant’s materials referenced slightly different counts at various points), yielding a density the staff recorded as about 6.7 dwelling units per acre. By contrast, the 2015 conditional use for multifamily on this property would have allowed up to 18 dwelling units per acre and an entitlement that staff said equated to about 434 multifamily units. The MPUD will limit building heights and unit block sizes; conditions include that townhome buildings will be no more than two stories, that no more than 50% of the buildings be eight‑unit blocks and that two adjacent eight‑unit blocks not be placed directly adjacent to one another.

Staff and the applicant outlined required and voluntary transportation and pedestrian improvements. The applicant agreed to construct an 8‑foot sidewalk along the project frontage on the east side of Shady Hills Road and to provide an off‑site 8‑foot sidewalk segment from the southern boundary of the project to the entrance to Shady Hills Elementary School. “We are building 2,300 linear feet of off‑site 8‑foot sidewalk,” the applicant representative said when describing the off‑site contribution. The applicant also committed to a cash contribution capped at $100,000 toward that off‑site sidewalk plus payment of applicable mobility fees; staff confirmed the contribution will be a cash reimbursement rather than mobility fee credits.

The applicant requested two variations from the Pasco County Land Development Code: one to avoid providing interconnects to adjacent properties (LDC Section 901.6011 Street access to adjoining property) citing existing on‑site stormwater facilities, power‑line and gas corridors and other constraints; and a second to adjust the right‑of‑way preservation table for Shady Hills Road from 166 feet to 124 feet to support a planned future transition to a four‑lane urban section. Staff recommended denial of the interconnect variation on the first issue (finding it did not meet intent) but recommended approval of the right‑of‑way corridor width variation after coordination with the county engineer, noting the revised 124‑foot dedication would accommodate the county’s planned urban typical section.

Members of the public spoke at length during public comment. Several residents urged a pause on development until broader corridor, safety and tree preservation policies are in place, and many asked the county to prioritize Shady Hills Road widening and pedestrian safety. “The sidewalks and Shady Hills need to be contiguous, not just one development at a time,” one resident said. A local pastor and other speakers told the commission that pedestrian safety near schools and recent fatal crashes make sidewalks and roadway improvements urgent.

County staff and the applicant addressed those concerns on the record. Engineering representatives said the applicant will dedicate 29 feet of right‑of‑way (their half) so the sidewalk installed along the project frontage will be located at the back of the future right‑of‑way and, according to the applicant’s engineer, “we are backing it up as far as we can to the extent of our right‑of‑way dedication, so we’ll never have to move it from that location.” County engineers stated the 124‑foot typical section provides room for both the eventual widening and the multiuse path and said the project‑scale sidewalk would not necessarily need to be removed in future widening.

After discussion the commission moved to recommend approval. The motion passed on a voice vote; the record indicates affirmative votes but does not list a numerical roll‑call tally in the transcript. The staff conditions of approval adopted with the recommendation include the off‑site sidewalk to Shady Hills Elementary to be constructed before the final building inspection for the first residential unit and other standard infrastructure, buffering and design provisions noted in the zoning conditions.

Why it matters: the rezoning replaces higher‑density multifamily entitlements with a lower‑density townhome plan while requiring on‑site and off‑site pedestrian improvements and partial right‑of‑way dedication to facilitate an eventual Shady Hills Road widening. Residents told the commission those measures are not sufficient substitute for a corridor‑wide safety solution; staff and county engineers said corridor design and widening will follow separate county capital‑project processes and are expected to take multiple years to study, design and construct.

What’s next: The Planning Commission’s approval is advisory; the petition and associated comprehensive plan amendment (where applicable) proceed to the Board of County Commissioners for final action and any required permitting and design reviews must be completed before construction can begin.