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County eyes properties for offices

More than 15 pieces of property are considered for development in a revised land use plan.

By GARRETT THEROLF
Published December 8, 2005

A potting soil mine and 15 other unheralded properties would become a solution to Pasco County's struggle to produce high-paying jobs under a plan being considered by county commissioners.

In its $2-million rewrite of the land use plan, the county is starting to put its dreams for the properties on paper. Still to be determined are whether the properties actually are for sale and what it would take to lure builders to the projects.

"We're looking for some nice big office employment centers," said Commissioner Ann Hildebrand. "That's been one of the big criticisms of our county, that we don't have them."

Indeed, 46 percent of the county's working residents commute to other counties for their jobs, draining revenue and crowding roads.

To stem that exodus, 10 locations were unveiled this week in a proposal from the county's consultant on the land use revamp: Glatting-Jackson of Orlando. Many of the properties center around intersections of major roads and Interstate 75 or the Suncoast Parkway.

The 10 sites would be in addition to another six already classified in land use documents as ready for a major office park.

But Commissioner Ted Schrader's firsthand experience with at least one of the seemingly most tantalizing sites, a 2,000-acre site at I-75 and State Road 52, sparked a conversation among commissioners this week that hinted at problems as they move forward.

Schrader said that despite the consultant's work to exclude wetlands from the target sites, the peat mine property was "very, very wet".

"I certainly don't want to throw cold water on the plan, but I just didn't want the commissioners to have this idea to approve 2,000 acres, because that's truly not the case," Schrader said.

Also unverified at this point is whether the owners of the identified lands are willing to sell.

And a majority of commissioners were cool to the consultant's suggestion that they draft very clear ordinances laying out financial incentives, such as breaks in charges for water and sewer to developers bringing projects that would yield high-paying jobs.

In place of such incentives, commissioners said they instead support agreements to put such projects on an expedited schedule for permitting, or possibly allowing them to build taller or denser buildings.

"These are the type of incentives I'd like to focus on," Schrader said. The plan will undergo a whole series of changes and public hearings well into next year.

[Last modified December 8, 2005, 00:50:19]