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Safety Harbor commission approves site plan for eight-home subdivision on Enterprise Road
Summary
The Safety Harbor City Commission voted 5-0 to approve a site plan for eight single-family detached dwellings on a 3.6-acre vacant parcel at the northeast corner of Enterprise Road and the CSX right-of-way, with conditions including tree mitigation and homeowner association maintenance of private utilities.
The Safety Harbor City Commission approved a site plan 5-0 on Oct. 6 for a subdivision of eight single-family detached homes on a roughly 3.6-acre vacant parcel at the northeast corner of Enterprise Road and the CSX railway.
The proposal, submitted by Baker Bay Remodels and Design LLC, follows earlier approvals that had allowed up to nine units; the applicant proposed eight lots and will construct a private roadway, two stormwater ponds and private sewer infrastructure including a new lift station. Utilities will connect to the city water main; water main ownership will remain with the city, and the future homeowners association will be responsible for maintenance of private road, sewer and stormwater systems.
City planning staff told commissioners the site plan meets the development-agreement limits on height and density and that detailed building footprints will be reviewed again during building permit review. Senior planner Cecilia Chen said the application proposes required landscape buffers — 25 feet along the northern property line and 15 feet along the eastern property line — and meets tree-replanting obligations by proposing 21 replacement trees after removing 13 protected trees (seven of those were marked hazardous and one was already dead).
Chen and other staff noted one large 26-inch live oak (identified in the plans as tree 1545) sits outside the proposed buildable area but may conflict with grading required for drainage. The planning recommendation added a condition asking the applicant to make a “reasonable effort” to preserve that tree if feasible; project engineer Chris Mears told commissioners the site’s grading (higher elevations at the tree, ponds at the south) makes preservation uncertain but that the owner will attempt to save the tree where possible.
Engineering-related conditions attached to the approval require the applicant to obtain an Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) major modification from the water management district before construction-plan approval, provide any revised drainage reports to the city engineer, obtain permits for water and wastewater from the appropriate authorities, and submit operation-and-maintenance plans for the lift station, sewer and stormwater systems. Staff also required city arborist-approved tree barricades before any work that could affect protected trees.
The commission motion to approve the site plan included the conditions laid out by staff. Commissioners asked about potential noise and proximity to an adjacent pet-boarding facility; staff said the required buffers and preservation of existing vegetation were included in the development agreement and that additional plantings would help screen the development.
The approval carries multiple conditions that staff will enforce during permit review and requires the developer to meet tree mitigation and stormwater requirements before final plan approval.
Commissioners voting in favor: Mayor Joe Ayub, Vice Mayor Carlos Diaz, Commissioner Jacob Messer, Commissioner Nancy Burnett and Commissioner (Steingold) — vote 5-0.
Outcome: site plan approved with conditions; applicant must secure required permits and provide operation-and-maintenance agreements before final plan approval.
