Column

No cookie cutters in this plan for future

By ANDREW SKERRITT
Published June 24, 2007

In the grand scheme of things, Pasadena Hills was on its way to becoming like Land O'Lakes or, God forbid, Wesley Chapel.

Situated between Dade City and Zephyrhills, Pasadena Hills was the last geographic area in central Pasco that had no overall development plan.

With its 22, 000 acres of small residential neighborhoods, orange groves, pasture, horse barns and other equestrian facilities, Pasadena Hills was a blank slate.

Much of the land is owned by more than half a dozen families: Smiths, Kirklands, Pittmans, Evans and Prices. Most of them have been there for generations.

Still, locals were afraid that developers would show up and get what they demanded. They could foresee only more cookie-cutter neighborhoods emptying onto backed-up highways.

After all, Pasco is still the place that grew too fast for the people who ran it. It's still the place where county commissioners didn't learn to say no to developers until it was too late.

Then something happened. An unprecedented collaboration among landowners, county staff and residents came up with what may be a blueprint for Pasco's future.

The aim was to put together a plan so that when the inevitable development arrives, it will do so in a sane, common-sense way. It was a departure from the kinds of development so common in places like Collier Parkway in Land O'Lakes.

The plan calls for 11 village centers linked by a grid network of two-lane roads. When completed - and it could take until around 2050 - this area could have 45, 000 homes, rivaling the size of Wesley Chapel but without the chaos.

It's designed to be anti-sprawl, to encourage folks to walk from home to shops and other businesses. It's a major departure from the old way of doing things.

But visionary steps like that don't happen by chance.

"It takes interest; it takes a champion; it takes money - all of those things exist in Pasadena Hills, " said Jennifer Seney of Pasco Wildlife, who took part in the Pasadena Hills discussions. She and other longtime central Pasco activists were tired of the haphazard development and the worsening traffic. They couldn't resist the chance to try to do things right.

County Commissioner Ted Schrader, who represents the area, gets some of the credit.

When some of the large landowners wanted to amend the comprehensive plan to maximize their profit, Schrader said no. That's uncommon in the decades-old dialogue between Pasco commissioners and developers.

Of course, Schrader took some heat and made some enemies. But he used his clout to move things in the right direction.

Fortunately, the large landowners understood that planning was better than piecemeal. Those same landowners chipped in with money to join with the county to create the private-public partnership required in order to plan Pasadena Hills right.

In 30 years we may be proud of what they accomplished. That's the good news. Now, can Wesley Chapel and Land O' Lakes still be saved?

Andrew Skerritt can be reached at 813 909-4602 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 4602. His e-mail address is askerritt@sptimes.com.

[Last modified June 23, 2007, 22:41:36]