Pulte’s proposed U.S. 17 village draws hundreds of residents; commissioners transmit plan for state review but cap density at prior limits

Punta Gorda — The Charlotte County Board of County Commissioners on Dec. 9 moved to send a contested land‑use change sought by homebuilder Pulte Group to state review, after a marathon public hearing in which scores of residents urged denial. Commissioners voted 3–2 to transmit the application for interagency review while restricting the transmittal to the overlay’s historic entitlements rather than the applicant’s larger request.

The proposal, TCP‑24‑04, would have amended the county’s U.S. 17 Rural Settlement Area Overlay District to raise the overlay’s maximum residential allocation from the plan’s existing limit to 8,000 units and increase nonresidential intensity. Pulte says the changes are needed to cover rising infrastructure and design costs and to allow a comprehensive master plan for the 4,900‑acre overlay area. The developer has offered design measures including a pattern book, a sizable greenbelt in places, an affordable‑housing set‑aside for a portion of new units, and restoration and open‑space commitments.

Opponents — dozens of people occupying the commission chamber and more who signed up to speak — described the proposal as urban sprawl that would overwhelm local roads, strain limited water and emergency services, and permanently destroy…