WESLEY CHAPEL - The first piece of the Wiregrass Ranch development has cleared the first major hurdle.
The Pasco County Commission agreed Tuesday evening to rezone for residential development 1,056 acres of fields and orange groves a mile north of State Road 56 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.
The rezoning paves the way for Pulte Home Corp. to build 1,999 homes, including about 400 or 500 as part of a "traditional neighborhood development," a stroll-friendly community with front porches, rear alleys and detached garages.
Construction won't start just yet; Pulte still needs county approval of its site plan, a more detailed blueprint of the neighborhoods.
The homes will cover about a quarter of the Wiregrass Ranch, with other areas slated for shopping centers and the county's tennis stadium.
