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Business Outlook 2006

As county seat grows, so do housing and retail

With growth in mind, the City Council adopts landscape, design and tree regulations.

By MOLLY MOORHEAD
Published February 19, 2006

DADE CITY - Growth that has blossomed across Pasco while eluding the county seat is beginning to materialize within the city limits.

Dade City leaders approved a slew of annexations in recent months, and the stage is set for some of the area's first large-scale housing subdivisions.

Notable among them is Summit View, a 125-acre project west of downtown at Happy Hill Road and Abbot Charles Road. The neighborhood is zoned as a planned unit development, or PUD, which allows developers flexibility in design, lot size, use of open park space and density of homes. According to plans, the community will have 306 houses and 100 townhouses.

Commercial development is appearing on the horizon too. The Big Lots shopping center south of downtown on U.S. 301 sold last year. The new owners plan to spruce it up and court some new tenants.

City leaders say the sale represents the emergence of the 301 corridor as an up-and-coming retail district. The city has annexed several parcels along the highway.

Hotel developer Piyush Mulji is moving ahead with a new Hampton Inn in that district. The 64-room hotel has been delayed at several stages, but is still targeted for completion next year.

To prepare for the expected growth, the City Commission has adopted several measures to govern how the new development will take shape.

A landscape ordinance outlines requirements for new commercial developments, the entrances to neighborhood subdivisions and industrial sites, setting requirements for buffers between developments and suggests types of trees and shrubs for developers to use.

A tree protection ordinance specifies a list of protected trees and requires a permit before they can be removed. It also loosens slightly the requirements for replacement of trees cleared to make way for buildings.

Another measure sets architectural design and landscaping standards on commercial developments of more than 25,000 square feet. Known as the "big box" ordinance, it requires beautified building facades and sets tougher landscape rules, such as tree islands to break up vast parking lots.

Upon their approval in January, city attorney Karla Owens called the collection of new regulations "the single most important thing the city of Dade City has done in a long time.

"(The ordinances) are going to govern all development in the city," she said.

[Last modified February 19, 2006, 01:09:21]