Planning board tables Highland Trails Phase 2 preliminary plan after affected-party concerns; staff had recommended approval

The Dade City Planning Board voted unanimously to table the Highland Trails Phase 2 preliminary plan, which would add 513 lots and extend the internal road and bike-path network to Morningside Drive, after adjacent property owners asked the board to require several conditions and after staff and the applicant agreed to further discussion.

Why it matters: The preliminary plan establishes a general layout and entitlements for later construction documents. Tabling delays the board's formal recommendation to the City Commission and gives staff, the applicant and affected property owners more time to resolve issues that include right-of-way dedications, utility stub locations and a pedestrian/bicycle connection.

What staff presented City planner Catherine Ralston summarized the preliminary plan and noted corrections to the staff report (scrivener errors on unit counts and page references). Staff's review found the phase 2 preliminary plan generally consistent with the PDH-1 zoning and the city's subdivision LDRs. Ralston recommended approval to the City Commission with a condition that unified ownership be shown at final plat.

Applicant presentation and engineering context Ryan McCaffrey, representing the applicant (Hamilton Engineering and Surveying), reiterated that the plan removes townhomes previously shown in the 2005 zoning exhibit and now proposes single-family lots — 180 40-foot lots, 323 50-foot lots and 10 55-foot lots — for phase 2. He said recent traffic and access analyses submitted to county and state permitting agencies support required off-site turn lanes and that an ERP from the water management district has been obtained for phase 2. McCaffrey emphasized that construction documents and detailed drainage design would be reviewed by the city's third-party civil engineer and by SWFWMD during the construction-permit phase.

Affected-party requests and staff responses Peter Pensa, an AICP planner representing USA Merchandisers (an adjacent landowner), and attorney Adam McAdams presented a written request and asked the board to add three conditions to any favorable recommendation: (1) require any Old Lakeland Highway right-of-way dedication required by Pasco County be reserved or dedicated at construction phase; (2) clarify that water and sewer mains be extended (stubs provided) to the Old Lakeland Highway right-of-way so adjoining parcels can be served; and (3) provide an 8-foot paved bike/pedestrian pathway around a pair of lakes with a pedestrian stub to the adjacent property to enable non-vehicular access to a future commercial parcel.

Staff and applicant responses Ralston said the right-of-way dedication issue is handled during construction-document review and by the county; she said the zoning's requirements already call for certain utility stubs to the corner parcel at Road Q. McCaffrey said the applicant would comply with corridor-preservation or right-of-way requirements as required by the road's owning jurisdiction and indicated flexibility on the first two requests but raised engineering limits on gravity sewer provision and force-main connections. "If it is Pasco County right-of-way and subject to Pasco County corridor preservation, we will have to get a right of way permit for the connection to Old Lakeland Highway from Pasco County," McCaffrey said. He added that providing sewer depends on feasible engineering and the force-main connections located on Morningside Drive.

Board action and rationale After the applicant and affected-party representatives discussed potential solutions and staff said the suggested conditions do not change the staff recommendation, a motion was made to table the preliminary plan to allow applicant, staff and affected parties more time to coordinate on the three requested items. The board voted 6-0 to table the item; the hearing will be brought back at a future planning board meeting.

Tapered details Staff reiterated that preliminary-plan approval is not binding for final engineering: construction documents will be reviewed by third-party engineering consultants and by SWFWMD; any required right-of-way dedication, off-site utility work, and drainage revisions will be addressed during that phase. The applicant and staff agreed to continue coordination with the affected property owner; staff also said it would provide the utility-service-agreement record referenced during the hearing to the affected-party representative.