Dade City commission approves Saint Joe No. 2 final plat despite residents' runoff concerns

Dade City commissioners approved the final plat for the Saint Joe No. 2 subdivision by a 3–2 roll call vote after residents urged the commission to delay action over repeated construction-related stormwater runoff.

The vote was taken after more than an hour of public comment and staff and developer testimony about temporary erosion-control failures during recent heavy rains. The measure passed with Commissioners Shive, Church and Mayor Black voting yes and Commissioner Cosentino and Mayor Pro Tem Woodard voting no.

Neighbors said runoff associated with the Summit View/Saint Joe development has occurred repeatedly during construction and that sediment, clay and debris crossed Saint Joe Road into private yards. Mary McKnight, a resident at 36210 Saint Joe Road, told the commission she has lived in the area 50 years and that she had “never seen this kind of runoff,” and that photographs presented showed conditions she said did not approximate predevelopment flows as required by the city land-development regulations, LDR 6.7 0.4. “It seems to me that the LDRs have been violated and is not in compliance,” McKnight said.

Margaret Woods, a resident at 36332 Saint Joe Road, described a May storm that she said sent about 6 inches of water across Saint Joe Road and into yards and garages. She said the development removed at least 20 feet of hill and left nearby homes downslope at greater risk. “If that water stormwater management is not done well we are all going to be having floodwaters…