Time to Follow the LDC

Let's talk development.

Yesterday, we saw the PDC recommend denial of the Pulte Group's housing project that included 667 homes across roughly 266 acres and resort style amenities. The PDC said that the project was too intense for the area and many of them cited the Impervious Surface Ratio as the reason... we will get into what this means in a moment.

One thing we hear from the County Commissioners is that growth is coming and that people have property rights for the property they own. That is all true. The question becomes... how do we get "smart" growth and what exactly is "smart" growth?

Most would say that guiding growth to the areas it was planned for (the Planned Service Area) is a start. The PSA is the area in which the county plans to expand/provide utilities like water and sewer.

Here is the map of the PSA.

Most would suggest, that is where the growth should be... the area where the county has planned for utilities and whatnot. That is one reason why a project like Cabot Farms proposed a couple of months ago was questionable. It was south of the PSA.

Ok.. so we can agree that smart growth is growth being in the areas that the county planned to service. But what else is there to help determine what smart growth looks like.

We have things like the Comp Plan and the Land Development Code (LDC). The Comp Plan is an overall plan for the county. It is currently being worked on by consultants we hired to do it. I expect to see the draft around September/October.

The LDC also guides development and what that looks like. Most would agree that if a project follows the LDC, then it should be allowed to be done. I do not have an argument against that.

But is that what is happening here today?

Not exactly. You see, every project that comes before the BOCC comes to them for a reason. Most of the time it is because they want deviations from the LDC. This could be reduced setbacks, larger signs, higher density than what is allowed... and so on.

If these projects were being done "by right"... meaning what is allowed within the current zoning and current LDC, then they would not need approval from the BOCC and they just start applying for building permits.

For instance, let's look at a 100 acre development in Low Density Residential zoning. Assuming they follow all of the LDC and do not deviate from it, they can build 200 homes on those 100 acres. They would not need BOCC approval for that. They have the right to build that many homes.

The problem comes when they want 300 homes... or 600... or some other deviation to the LDC. That is what many (most) of these projects entail. That is where many residents in this county have issues with the BOCC and the growth we are seeing. It is not the growth per se... it is the deviations that allow more intense growth than what was planned for previously and what people bought into.

Let's look at Impervious Surface Ratio (ISR) and how that can change a development.

As mentioned, the PDC heard the Pulte Group's application yesterday. They originally wanted a site wide ISR percentage of 65%. They agreed to reduce it down to 50%.

The problem here is that in Low Density Residential (LDR), the ISR is capped at 35% per the LDC. 50% is allowed in the Medium Density Residential (MDR) zoning district. Basically, the developer wanted the standards of MDR zoning, but in a LDR zoning.

Why is ISR an important element of the LDC? Because it factors into how much ground is covered by surfaces that cannot absorb water... think concrete, asphalt, etc. Things like homes, driveways, AC pads, garages, sidewalks, roads, etc. All those things are impervious surfaces that block water from seeping into the ground.

35% ISR means that a lot only has these types of surfaces on 35% of its area. That means for the lots proposed that are 40' by 110' (4400 sqft), only 1540 sqft would be covered by one of these surfaces. Place a 1540 sqft house on it and that would not allow for a driveway, garage, etc.

That is why they wanted the higher ISR percentage... it allows more concrete. At 50%, that 1540 sqft house would allow an additional 660 sqft of concrete... say a driveway.

But the problem is they would not commit to a per lot ISR rating. They wanted it site wide. Why is that important? Because it allows higher densities due to the open space requirements and buffer requirements. It would allow them to squeeze more impervious surface into a smaller area. Again, this is NOT allowed by the LDC, so they asked for a deviation.

Remember that next time we hear... "But this area was approved for X number of homes". That may have been true back when they were approved, but they would have to follow the current LDC... which may not allow for that many homes.

Take Betz Farm for instance. That parcel was approved for 1500 or so homes back when the DRI was created... and you will hear them say those are the approved number... but what would be allowed under the current LDC once they include setback requirements, ISR requirements, etc. I am willing to bet no where near 1500 homes, yet, they are asking for 1477 I believe.... again... going against what would be allowed by right.

We will see what happens when that comes forward.

One more quick thing. It is time to get rid of the ability for developers to include the drainage retention areas (DRA) in the open space calculations. That was added to the LDC back in 2022 I believe after Dicks asked for it for the Rock Crusher development project. It was brought to the BOCC as a LDC amendment to allow the DRA to be included in the open space calculations.

Prior to that, the open space requirements were to be met by using land on the property, not counting the DRA. That forced developers to build less intense housing projects because they needed more open space. Since that has been changed, it allows more houses to be built in each project.

My next mission is to get that reverted back to the old policy. If we want to say we want "smart" growth and we want to protect what makes Citrus County so great (open space), time to require them to meet the open space requirements without counting drainage areas. That will lead to less intense developments.

Hope you all have a great day!