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P&Z Scales Back Townhome Project

By MICHAEL D. BATES

Published: February 11, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - BROOKSVILLE -
The project engineer for a mixed residential community said he will have to ask his client whether it would be financially feasible to move ahead after planning and zoning commissioners Monday slashed the number of units for the proposed development by 50.
Engineer Nicholas Nicholson has been working to get the zoning approved on this project since September. But planning staffers and commissioners had previously asked him to tweak the density to conform more to the rural aspects of the area, protect the sensitive lands and reduce the potential traffic hazards to nearby schools.
The community is proposed for Emerson Road and Cortez Boulevard, which backs up to Moton Elementary School to the west and Hernando Christian Academy to the east.
Nicholson has tweaked the project three times -- from the original 372 units, down to 216 and then to 200.
But acting on a recommendation from planning staff, P&Z commissioners voted 4-1 to whittle it down to 150 homes: 134 townhomes and 16 single family homes.
And instead of being allowed 4 units per acre, which is what Nicholson sought, planning commissioners agreed on 3 units per acre.
Nicholson said the townhomes would sell for $150,000 or less, making it ideal for teachers, government workers and working people in the area.
Planning Director Ron Pianta said he is concerned with protecting the sensitive environment near that area and, because part of it is within a flood plain, there is the potential for large amounts of water coming through there.
Resident Doug Davis told commissioners he was against the destruction of trees in that area, part of the Chocachatti hammock and also the birthplace of the Seminole Indian nation.
Davis said too much of the wooded region is already being destroyed by development and he didn't want to see more trees come down.
"Are we just going to bulldoze down all our trees and build houses in Hernando County?" Davis asked.
Nicholson, who is representing Rhema LLC, will get another shot when county commissioners – the final authority on zoning cases – consider the project at their March land use hearing.