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Board pauses Sunrise school‑site acquisition, directs staff to decline offer
Summary
After reviewing a 120‑day due‑diligence plan, Hernando County School Board members raised concerns about a Sunrise parcel adjacent to a wastewater treatment plant, truck traffic and limited developable acreage and directed staff to have counsel draft a letter declining the site offer.
District facilities staff presented a timeline for the Sunrise school parcel that included negotiating a property access license and a 120‑day due‑diligence period (with an optional 90‑day extension) to complete survey, geotechnical and environmental work, an appraisal and a title review.
Brian Reagan, director of facilities and construction, explained the due‑diligence steps and the need for an appraisal to determine the land’s value and the equivalent impact‑fee credits a developer would provide if the district accepted the parcel.
Board members raised multiple substantive concerns: the parcel borders a wastewater treatment plant that county staff have discussed expanding, it sits near a large distribution center and an active mine with heavy truck traffic, and the site’s topography and possible floodplain issues could reduce developable acreage to roughly 40 usable acres — a size staff said would be comparable to the district’s McKithan property and likely suitable only for an elementary or K–8, not a high school.
Staff estimated initial assessment costs at roughly $20,000 plus about $5,000 more for geotechnical testing (roughly $25,000 total), and noted that the appraisal will determine impact‑fee credit calculations. Trustees also cautioned that the 120‑day schedule may be optimistic for complex environmental and title work.
After extended discussion of costs, site conditions and alternative parcels (including a separate Opal Farms parcel that staff said was being offered at about $150,000 per acre), trustees coalesced around not pursuing due diligence on the Sunrise parcel. The board directed the district attorney to draft a formal letter declining the site offer and said staff should present the proposed language to the board.
Next steps: staff will ask the district attorney to prepare a decline letter for the board’s review; the team will also check on Opal Farms’ current offering and continue evaluating alternative sites and district‑owned options.
