New Shopping Center Planned For Yontz Road

BROOKSVILLE - Brooksville residents will soon have more places to shop.
County commissioners on Wednesday voted 5-0 to rezone 27 acres on the southwest corner of Yontz Road and U.S. 98 for a new retail center.
Representatives of the developer, Brooksville Commons, don't have any confirmed tenants yet, but they told commissioners they are anxious to get the required permits and start building.
County Commissioner David Russell said it makes sense to have more shopping alternatives at that intersection, about one-half mile from the Brooksville city limits.
Because of the possibility that Florida Crushed Stone Company will soon be mining limerock near that intersection, Russell suggested one of the new stores should be a car wash.
One of the hurdles the developer had to overcome was proving there was a need for retail at that intersection, northwest of the city.
Cynthia Tarapani, with New Port Richey-based Florida Design Consultants, came armed with population statistics showing there are enough people living nearby who would support the shopping center and seven outparcels.
About 7,300 people live within two miles of the intersection, she said. Expand that out to five miles and there are 18,000 people, she said.
Currently, most people who live outside the city limits must travel 8 to 9 miles for groceries in downtown Brooksville, Tarapani said. Not only will this retail center be more convenient for them, but it will also stimulate economic development in that area, she added.
The developer started the rezoning quest with one major strike against him.
County planners had recommended project denial because they believed it was too intense for the surrounding area and that expansion of the commercial node along Yontz Road is inconsistent with the county regulations regarding development trends.
But last month, planning and zoning commissioners disregarded their own staff's findings and voted 5-0 to recommend zoning approval.
The P&Z board can recommend, but it is ultimately up to county commissioners during their monthly land use hearing to make the final determination.
Commissioner Diane Rowden said Wednesday that she usually is hesitant to go against planning staffers' recommendation and that it would require solid reasons to persuade her.
Joseph Tew, another representative of the developer, gave her two of them: one of which was a firm commitment that his client intended to proceed with plans to build the shopping center and not "flip" the property just to make a buck.
The other reason: Florida Crushed Stone Company's intention to use 157 acres near that same intersection for limerock mining, which made the commercial rezoning more compatible.
Rowden said she has seen too many times when developers came before the board to obtain zoning and ended up selling the property without ever completing the project.
Tew assured Rowden his client has already purchased the property and intends to proceed with the project as soon as he can get the necessary permits.
"He intends to do it," Tew said.
Planning Director Ron Pianta said he still had reservations about the rezoning but agreed that Tew presented logical reasons for the project.
The developer will be responsible for making any road improvements at the site, should a traffic study show any need. To facilitate traffic, there will also be a frontage road along U.S. 98 across the property.
In a separate move, commissioners voted 5-0 to transmit to the Florida Department of Community Affairs an amendment to the county's future land use map that would change 157 acres south of Yontz Road and west of U.S. 98 from residential to mining.
Florida Crushed Stone plans to use six parcels to mine hard and soft limerock.