After more than a year of debate since it was first introduced to local residents last fall, the Connected City project slated for northeast Wesley Chapel has passed its first test and is moving forward.
At the October 13 Pasco Development Review Committee (DRC) meeting in Dade City, concerns over some of the wording in the Connected City’s comprehensive plan were addressed, changed and then approved by a unanimous vote. It was the first vote held for the project, with many others yet to come.
The members of the DRC — comprised of county administrator Michele Baker, assistant county administrators Heather Grimes (internal services), Cathy Pearson (public services) and Flip Mellinger (utility services), vice president of the Pasco Economic Development Council John Walsh and Chris Williams of the Pasco District School Board — were satisfied with the changes made in the Connected City land development code, which proponents say will help expedite construction and eliminate unnecessary and costly delays in building, while attracting industry to the project.
The Connected City project was created by a Growth Management Bill (SB 1216) in 2014, which speeds up the process for creating city-connected corridors. Metro Development Group of Tampa, currently the only developer involved and owners of 30 percent of the land in the grid, is leading the planning for the project.
Pasco County — namely the Wesley Chapel area running north from Overpass Rd. in Wesley Chapel to S.R. 52 in San Antonio, and west from I-75 to Curley Rd. — was selected as a 10-year pilot program, although the build-out of the 7,800 acres is expected to be a 50-year project that could bring 37,000 homes and attract as many as 100,000 new people to the primarily rural (for now) area.
Bigger hurdles still await the Connected City, as the financial, master roadway and utility plans will be presented for approval on Thursday, November 10. Ultimately, the Pasco Board of County Commissioners (BCC) will have the final vote on the project.
The changes in land development code gives additional leeway to developers, but Ernie Monaco, the assistant planning and development administrator for the county, says there will still be oversight from the BCC. Monaco sees the new comprehensive plan revisions as a chance to try new, and possibly more efficient, ways to develop.
“Please keep in mind, this is a pilot program,’’ Monaco told the DRC. “We have the freedom to do things that we can change later. We a have better code that works for the (Connected City), but there are some elements that, if they work, can ultimately be carried over to the (entire) county.”
A key component of the project is an Expedited Greenlight Process, which creates a new process for fast-tracking construction approvals. The county already has an expedited process, but the new one written into the Connected City land development code will have incremental reviews and approvals, which will create timeframes for review that are shorter (due to less information in each increment).
Monaco said the incremental review process would save 4-5 months by allowing developers to begin on multiple portions of their projects that have been approved while waiting on other approvals that might normally need to be secured first.
“We have to experiment,’’ he said. “If it is more efficient and faster, we should consider extending it to the rest of the county.”
The Connected City promises to be an engine for economic and technological development in Wesley Chapel as the first-of-its-kind, built-from-the-ground-up gigabit-internet connected community in the country. There will be an emphasis on alternative transportation and integrated roadways, and the Connected City will feature amenities such as the first-ever man-made crystal lagoon in the U.S.
Part of the project already is under construction. Metro has begun work on a $100-million, 2,000-home residential development called Epperson of Wesley Chapel in the Epperson Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI), as well as a 4,000-home community called Mirada on the former Cannon Ranch property at I-75 and S.R. 52.
There was little public disagreement with any new land codes, but a few Wesley Chapel residents were on hand to express their displeasure with the project in general.
Jennifer McCarthy, who lives on Kenting Rd. in the south central part of the proposed project grid, expressed frustration that the parcel of land she had hoped to live on and ride her horses on for the next 50 years will soon undergo an urban transformation.
McCarthy also voiced her concerns at the Sept. 15 hearing. Other concerns by other residents have been raised in the last year as well, mostly concerning urban sprawl encroaching upon their rural lifestyles, people potentially being forced to sell property that has been in their families for decades, the potential for sinkholes during construction of the 8-acre crystal lagoon and the loss of nature.
The DRC noted that existing residents located within the proposed project overlay don’t have to join the Connected City corridor, but cannot enjoy all of its benefits if they choose not to participate.
