The committee will meet at 6 pm on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, at 6 pm at the Historic Dade City Courthouse.
The Planning Office of Pasco County has convened a working group of local citizens to help the planners devise recommendations for the Board of Commissioners regarding commercial development in the Northeast Rural Area.
The Northeast Rural Overlay, as it is frequently called, is a section of east Pasco County set aside to remain rural and undeveloped to preserve the wild and unique landscape of the area as well as its dark skies and low-density lifestyle.
The rural overlay is a small section of the county designated to be undeveloped and areas bordering the defined area are called transition areas which are designated to be a slow increase in density with closer proximity to developed areas.
With the passage of the Comprehensive Plan in the late 1990s, land use zoning guidelines were established for the county’s future residential and commercial development county-wide. In the rural area overlay, residential zoning was established, but commercial zoning has been left undefined leaving the county out of compliance.
The working group has been established to recommend what if any commercial development should occur in this rural area.
“As local residents, we are a bit disappointed that any development might take place in the rural overlay area or in the transition areas. We feel that we negotiated years ago in good faith and reached a compromise to let the rural area stay rural in return for the development underway at The Villages of Pasadena Hills. We’ve watched zoning changes and waivers contradict what we worked so hard to establish; and now, the rural area is being chipped away at slowly. We hope that the committee will make sensible and strong recommendations and that the planners — and ultimately the Commissioners — will honor their word and protect this beautiful, rural, and wild area that is so unique in Central Florida,” said Kelly Smith of Northeast Pasco Citizen’s Oversight Committee.
Wednesday’s meeting is open to the public and public comment regarding commercial development in the rural area is encouraged. Each person will have three minutes to speak.
Agendas and maps can be retrieved at https://neruralarea.com.
Media Contact: Kelly Smith, (813) 716-8454