Hernando County commissioners deny rezoning request for Lockhart Road property

The Hernando County Board of County Commissioners voted 5-0 Tuesday to deny a rezoning petition (file H2520) to change a parcel on Lockhart Road from agricultural to C-2 (highway commercial).

The petition, submitted by Casey Caine, sought commercial zoning for a property on the west side of Lockhart Road roughly 680 feet south of Cortez Boulevard. Caine told commissioners the area is being reconfigured by recent and planned commercial and industrial activity nearby and said his intended use included vehicle and boat storage and possibly light mini-storage. “We are the end user,” Caine said during his presentation, adding that a planned substation across the street and an approved industrial project nearby changed the neighborhood’s long-term outlook.

Commissioners and nearby residents pushed back. Planning staff and the Planning and Zoning Commission had recommended denial after the planning panel found the C-2 district’s permitted uses too broad for the parcel and concluded the application lacked a specific development plan. Several commissioners described the proposal as “commercial creep” into an established residential corridor and said approving C-2 at that location would set a precedent for pushing commercial uses deeper into agricultural and single-family neighborhoods.

Resident Diana Preston, who lives next door to the parcel sought for rezoning, told the board she was told by the petitioner one message at a previous zoning hearing but later received texts outlining other proposed uses. She said potential industrial or hazardous uses raised health and safety concerns and that neighbors had not been given clear development details. She said, “We could have biohazardous products, we could have flammable products, and I don't think it's good for the humanity,” and urged denial.

Commissioner Champion moved to deny the rezoning; Commissioner Hamzler seconded. The motion to deny carried unanimously 5-0.

Why it matters: Commissioners said the proposed C-2 zoning would allow intense, open-ended commercial uses (including drive-throughs, heavy vehicle activity and other high-intensity operations) that are incompatible with the transition to residential and agricultural parcels to the west and south of the site.

What the decision does: The denial preserves the parcel's existing agricultural/residential future-land-use pattern. The applicant may return with a more limited planned development proposal or other land-use requests, but the board’s vote blocks a straightforward Euclidean C-2 rezoning at this location.

What’s next: The petitioner and nearby stakeholders discussed potential follow-up options during the hearing, including filing a planned development (PDP) with clearly bounded uses. The board record shows no immediate county approvals tied to the site following the denial.