Developer Not Taking No For An Answer On Seven Oaks Apts.

After failing to convince Pasco County commissioners to accept one of their proposed projects in Seven Oaks, SD Wesley Chapel and Stock Development, LLC, are appealing the decision under the state’s Land Use and Environmental Resolution Act.

At the Feb. 22 Pasco Board of County Commissioners (BCC) meeting, county attorney Jeffrey Steinsnyder told commissioners that SD Wesley Chapel and Stock Development are claiming the 3-2 vote against their project was “unreasonable and unduly burdensome.”

Steinsnyder said the appeal was rare. “It’s been a while since we had one,” he said.

SD Wesley Chapel and Stock Development LLC want to rezone a 10-acre parcel (S-19) at the southern portion of Seven Oaks (just north of S.R. 56; see map above) currently zoned for commercial and retail so it can build a high-end 320-unit apartment complex as part of a vertical mixed-use development.

The proposed apartment complex would include a pool, a dog park and open space for gatherings in the southern portion of the complex.

Steinsnyder said the developers and county have agreed to meet with a special magistrate, David Mechanik, who is a Florida Supreme Court-certified mediator.

While a site for that meeting hasn’t been chosen, the public is invited to attend, especially those who are affected by the proposed development. If a resolution can be reached, another public hearing would be held and the BOCC would have to vote on the project again. 

Pasco’s Planning Commission originally voted down the plan to rezone the 86,000 square feet of retail and office space in September due to a number of concerns.

After the developers amended their original plan, the BCC voted 3-2 against it at the Jan. 11 meeting, with District 2 commissioner and Seven Oaks resident Mike Moore joining District 1 commissioner Ron Oakley and commissioner Jack Mariano of District 5 in opposition.

The Seven Oaks application was submitted prior to the BCC’s current apartment moratorium.

At the exceptionally long Jan. 11 meeting, dozens of Seven Oaks residents showed up to speak against the project.

Gary Lemberg, the president of the Seven Oaks Property Owners Association, told commissioners at that meeting that he hadn’t talked to a single Seven Oaks resident that favored the project. “Our board is definitely against it,” he said.

 The arguments against the project varied, from traffic concerns on Ancient Oaks Blvd. (a major north-south route through Seven Oaks) to the effects on school capacity to general compatibility.

Opponents of the project, including attorney Chelsea Waller-Douthard of Waller Law, mentioned the number of apartment complexes already in that area.

Windsor Club at Seven Oaks to the east has 240 units on 14.7 acres, and the Colonial Grand at Seven Oaks rental community to the west has 318 units on 20 acres.

In addition, the Enclave at Wesley Chapel has 312 units on 43 acres, and Bonterra Parc has 264 units on 26.3 units. Both are located across the street from Seven Oaks, on the south side of S.R. 56.

The proposed project “is double the density of any apartment community in Seven Oaks, and two-and-a-half times the density of other apartments in the area,” Waller-Douthard said, adding that it was more of a fit for South Tampa or Orlando than Wesley Chapel.