Housing Project Too Intense

BROOKSVILLE - Too dense.

That was what planning and zoning commissioners thought of a multi family home project proposed for Emerson Road and Cortez Boulevard.

A developer planning a combination apartment, town home and single-family house project on a 50-acre site there was asked to come back in February with a new plan showing no more than three units per acre, more in line with existing county regulations on housing density.

Engineer Nicholas Nicholson said he would try to tweak the plan to satisfy P&Z commissioners' safety concerns.

In their 5-0 vote to table the project, the board stressed that they like the idea of the proposed community because it would be close to Moton Elementary School to the west and Hernando Christian Academy to the east.

That would allow teachers, parents and students to live within walking distance of the schools, they said. Nicholson is also exploring the idea of a pedestrian bridge to safely allow students to cross busy Emerson Road.

But commissioners were stymied because the plan now calls for 5.4 units per acre, which exceeds the range allowed by the county's comprehensive plan.

"It's a good fit but we just need to make it work," Planning Commissioner Robert Widmar said.

The proposed project would include 216 apartments, 38 townhomes and 16 single-family homes.

Nicholson is proposing four-story apartment complexes, which is almost certain to be reduced to three stories if the project passes muster in February. The townhomes would be two stories.

Nicholson stressed that having tighter density allows for more green open space, an idea that resonated with Planning Commissioner Kenneth Smith, who said he would have voted in favor of the project as is, but knew he did not have the support of his colleagues.

Planning and zoning staffers are concerned so many homes on that little property would be too intense for the area and is inconsistent with the county's adopted comprehensive plan and incompatible with surrounding land uses.

Planning and zoning commissioners will again consider the housing development at their Feb. 11 meeting at the Hernando County Government Center, 20 North Main St. in downtown Brooksville.