WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — Some Pasco County residents are raising concerns over a proposed development and its potential impact on local neighborhoods and schools.
What You Need To Know
- The Pasco County Planning Commission is set to vote on zoning for a new development on Thursday
- If the Bailes/Wildcat Groves Project gets approved, the school impact analysis shows the zoned schools will all be overcapacity
- Pasco County resident Tonya Riddlesworth is one of many neighbors who are concerned about the plan’s impact
They say if the Pasco County Planning Commission approves the Bailes/Wildcat Groves Project off I-75 and Overpass Road in Wesley Chapel, the school impact analysis shows the zoned schools will all be overcapacity — with Wesley Chapel Elementary potentially at 166%.
One of those families says they want the county to reconsider plans.
“(If you) come on out here, the proposed development would be right across this fence line, I want to say that’s maybe 30 feet,” said Tonya Riddlesworth as she showed where a 1,275-unit apartment complex is slated to be built.
“The connected city is a great idea, and it’s supposed to be this novel concept of building from the ground up, and keeping everybody in mind and building cohesive community,” she said.
Riddlesworth said she has concerns, specifically, where all of these new families’ children will go to school.
“When you already have schools that are overcrowded, and now you’re adding 1,275 homes and that’s just this one proposed development next to me, and then there’s numerous other developments that are happening, that’s just unacceptable,” she said.
Riddlesworth said her family has lived on the property for 10 years. She and her husband have two kids, and while they’ve enjoyed the growth in Wesley Chapel, they also enjoy their rural lifestyle, something she hopes doesn’t end.
“We are here and we’re residents, and we just like our voices heard and we want a plan that works cohesively with the county,” she said.
Neighbors with concerns said they plan to attend Pasco County’s Planning Commission meeting on Thursday where commissioners are set to vote on re-zoning the area to allow for the development. In addition to the multi-family units, plans call for the addition of hundreds of thousands of square feet for retail space, a hospital and hotel.
