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Planning commission pauses decision on 331‑acre Denton Avenue master‑planned development after hours of public comment
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Summary
Commissioners postponed action on a rezoning request for the Denton Avenue MPUD — a proposal for roughly 832 single‑family homes plus commercial and light‑industrial acreage — after residents raised concerns about traffic, school capacity, water supply and emergency access; the applicant agreed to return in one month with follow‑up materials.
The Pasco County Planning Commission continued a contentious hearing on a proposed master‑planned unit development on Denton Avenue after several hours of testimony from neighbors and questions from commissioners about infrastructure and compatibility.
Staff presented PDE26‑75‑96, a rezoning and MPUD application covering about 331 acres in northwest Pasco County that would allow roughly 832 single‑family detached homes, 75,000 square feet of support commercial space and 440,000 square feet of light industrial space. Staff said the revised proposal reduced intensity from an earlier 1,600‑unit concept and included a binding concept plan showing larger lots along project edges, a linear park and off‑site sidewalk connections.
The applicant described numerous design changes made after four neighborhood meetings, including larger perimeter lot widths (60–70 feet), a 10‑foot multiuse trail, a 20‑foot landscape buffer intended to preserve existing vegetation near adjacent rural properties, and assurances that central water and sewer would serve the development. The applicant’s team said the project meets the land‑use designation and offered to prohibit data‑center uses in the industrial portion by condition.
Neighbors who live on Kitten Trail, Mattis Road and surrounding properties said the proposal is incompatible with the existing rural character. Speakers raised repeated concerns about speeding on Kitten Trail, the safety of children and school drop‑offs, emergency‑response times for the southern portion of the site, potential flooding and water availability during droughts. "You are trying to turn our agricultural peaceful areas into many cities," a resident said, reflecting the tenor of public comment.
Commissioners pressed staff and the applicant for additional information on several fronts: the phasing of density across the site, a clearer plan for emergency access that would not become general vehicular access, precise water‑capacity calculations and school concurrency impacts. Joe Cimino, the applicant’s engineer, described a closed drainage basin approach and said the conceptual design accounts for 100‑year storm storage; a Pasco County utilities representative said the county plans to provide central water and is building system capacity to serve growth, linking to the Tampa Bay Water backbone.
Commissioners expressed unease with the project’s overall intensity and compatibility adjacent to large, rural lots. Several commissioners suggested a plan that stages higher intensity closer to Denton Avenue with lower densities where the project meets existing single‑acre or multiple‑acre parcels. The applicant agreed to return in one month with additional material, and the commission voted to continue the item to allow utilities and applicant follow‑up and possible condition language on crosswalks, buffering and a prohibition on certain industrial uses.
The commission did not take a final vote on the Denton MPUD at this meeting.
