Commissioners Expand Apartment Moratorium Area

With its one-year moratorium on applications to build new multifamily/apartment complexes in parts of the Wesley Chapel and Land O’Lakes areas set to expire in April, the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) voted unanimously to expand the area covered by the moratorium at their meeting on Feb. 7 in Dade City.

The expansion includes a strip that encompasses the area around The Grove at Wesley Chapel area, as well as a wide swath south of the S.R. 56/54 corridor (see map).

The Wiregrass Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI) is excluded from the moratorium, because multifamily developments within Wiregrass Ranch are better integrated into the overall development.

District 2 County Commissioner Mike Moore has spearheaded the need for a moratorium for the past few years, arguing that developers are attempting to rezone property to build more apartments and townhomes, as opposed to using the property for its original commercial purposes.

Moore has stated that there are dozens of parcels in the moratorium area that already have the entitlements to build apartments, which he does not oppose. But, what he is against are applications to rezone property that he believes would be better used for job-creating commercial spaces.

The county has hired a housing market research firm to present a report to the commissioners on whether the area is indeed saturated, and whether entitlements already granted will suffice to meet future demand. That report is expected to be presented to the commission in April.

Only three people who attended the Feb. 7 meeting spoke in opposition to the moratorium area being expanded: Hope Kennedy, the president and CEO of the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce, and two planners who thanked the commission for excluding Wiregrass Ranch, but expressed concerns about the county’s attractive south market and the 54-56 corridor being included in the expansion. 

Kennedy was blunt, telling commissioners that the moratorium, and the expansion of the boundaries, “is absolutely terrible for business.”

Kennedy said the area has a workforce problem and the current housing crisis is directly related to potential residents being able to find affordable housing. Workforce housing is generally defined as being affordable housing for middle-income workers.

District 3 Comm. Kathryn Starkey agreed with Kennedy that the county needs more workforce and affordable housing.

“I get calls all the time, (that) people can’t find a place to live,” Starkey said. “We’re trying to attract companies here, and…where are they going to live? Because there is no inventory out there for someone to be purchasing a house or renting an apartment.”

Starkey, however, voted in favor of the expansion because the moratorium will only be in effect for two more months.

Commissioner Moore, however, explained that the S.R. 54-S.R. 56 corridor is attractive to businesses and companies that may want to relocate to the county, and the land available to them would disappear if it was allowed to be rezoned for apartments. 

“We can’t lose our job-creating sites,” Moore said, “and they want to be along major corridors.”

Moore pointed out that the three speakers in opposition don’t live in Pasco County, and claims that he has not spoken to a single local resident who is against the moratorium. 

“The people in Pasco County are for this,” Moore said, “and I represent the citizens of Pasco County.”