Commission recommends revised Ariana Estates (Verona Park) master plan with conditions after debate over 45-foot lots, buffers and school capacity

The Hernando County Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of a major master-plan revision and rezoning for the Ariana Estates / Verona Park area — a 314-acre project proposed at the southeast corner of Kettering and Dashback within the I-75/SR-50 Planned Development District — after extended public comment and discussion. Staff and the applicant presented the proposal as a revision that would bring additional agricultural lands into a combined plan development project and allow a mix of single-family, multifamily and villa products totaling up to 988 potential dwelling units; commissioners attached conditions addressing minimum lot widths and locational limits for smaller lots.

Betsy Jolley, AICP planning manager with Coastal Engineering, and Don Lacey, representing the applicant, described the project as a reconfiguration of previously approved components in the I-75 PDD, keeping many larger single-family lots on the southern edge to buffer adjacent rural properties, adding villa and townhome products, and providing park space and amenity areas. Jolley noted buffers generally of 30 feet to the north and west and 60 feet to the south; she said the plan increases buffering from an earlier approval and adds a…