Cone Farms is inching closer and closer to becoming the master-planned community Varrea.
Representatives from Stantec, on behalf of the landowner Walton International Group, made a presentation to the City of Plant City Planning Board Thursday, June 11, revealing more plans for the development that will resemble neighborhoods such as Walden Lake, FishHawk and Lakewood Ranch, in Manatee County.
“We are excited to be part of the community,” Mark Jacobson, senior planning and development manager for Walton’s Southeast district, said. “Our goal is to build a community that will stand the test of time.”
The 1,008 acres of pastureland north of Knights Griffin Road and west of Charlie Taylor Road was once owned by Bob Graham. The Robert G. Graham Family LP and the David J. Tozlosky Family LP sold the land in October 2013 for $18.1 million to Calgary-based Walton in what was one of the largest land deals in Plant City’s history.
At the Planning Board meeting, a modification was proposed to change Cone Farms Community Unit to the Varrea Planned Development District to better fall in line with the traditional neighborhood development designation.
The modification would ensure that the traditional neighborhood designation would reflect a walkable, compact design between the homes and businesses that are built as part of Varrea. The community is approved for 2,640 single- and multi-family dwelling units, 345,000 square feet of commercial and 50,000 square feet of office uses. There will be nine neighborhoods connected by trails, waterways and sidewalks.
“The site is gorgeous,” Katie LaBarr, a project planner with Stance said. “It’s surrounded primarily by agriculture … with a creek, wetlands, meadow. … It has that unique old Florida feel we all know and have certainly come to love.”
THE DETAILS
Midway Road almost cuts the development in half. A “Village Center” is planned to be located in the central areas of Midway Road, and will contain 229,785 square feet of commercial development and 535 multi-family dwelling units.
Another area on the eastern half of Knights Griffin Road has also been designated for mixed uses, including 115,251 square feet of commercial development and 165 multi-family units.
A maximum of 50,000 square feet of office uses may be developed within these two areas.
Planners said a these commercial and office spaces can range from cafes to churches, schools to shops.
There has been 322 acres planned for open space, such as the integrated park system and trails with wetland buffers. Development is not allowed to occur in areas designated as natural preservation.
The remaining 772 acres are residential villages. There will be about 2.6 dwellings per acre with nine deed-restricted neighborhoods. Garage entrances will be located in the back of the homes with access to the driveways through back alleyways.
This proposed development pattern is consistent with the adopted build-out scenario of the Plant City Area Northeast Master Plant. The population in Hillsborough County is projected to grow to 600,000 more people and add 400,000 new jobs by 2040. The Northeast Master Plan is designed in anticipation of that growth.
TRANSPORTATION REPORT
A transportation analysis was performed in March 2015 by Stantec, and a peer review by the city was conducted by Kimley-Horn Engineering. The analysis identified seven intersection improvements that will be needed from projected traffic.
The improvements will be phased over time as the development occurs, after the PM peak hour threshold is met for each intersection.
The intersection projects include: the addition of a northbound left turn lane at Knights Griffin and Wilder roads; addition of a left turn lane at Knights Griffin and Charlie Taylor roads; signal installation and addition of a southbound right turn lane at Sam Allen and Wilder roads; signal installation at Wilder and Midway roads; signal installation at Wilder and Lampp roads; addition of an eastbound turn lane at Charlie Taylor and South Frontage roads.
Walton would be responsible for paying a proportionate share of the cost of improvements. The excess would be paid by Plant City, Hillsborough County or the state, whichever is the governing entity of each road.
It’s too early to project when, or if, Knights Griffin Road will need to be widened, according to Plant City Principal Planner Phillip Scearce. The funding to widen it will come from mobility fees collected as development occurs.
Walton will most likely be required by Hillsborough County to make improvements at Varrea’s entrance points along Knights Griffin Road, as well as dedicate the necessary right-of-way to accommodate the possible widening.
“In most cases where a road widening is proposed there is a process of right-of-way acquisition or purchasing the necessary right-of-way from adjacent landowners,” Scearce said. “The costs are based on fair market value, but if the owner does not agree with the acquisition costs then it usually goes through remediation (e.g. the court system).”
Charlie Taylor Road is not proposed to be widened in the future but will need enhancements, such as wider shoulders, bike lanes and sidewalks.
As for Midway Road:
“Midway Road was projected to need widening by the Northeast Master Plan, but its need for widening is so far out in the future that it was put in a “Phase II” list of projects,” Scearce said. “Therefore, it was not identified as a project in the mobility fee analysis, and will not be funded under the current mobility fee ordinance.”
With a long schedule of construction ahead, residents like Robert Bush are curious how traffic will be affected on these roads.
“Traffic on Midway Road is very minimal,” Bush, who lives on Midway, said to the Planning Board. “Sunday morning (from Midway Baptist Church) is the big traffic day.”
Jacobson said it was too early in the process to forecast how construction traffic will affect residents, but he said it will be taken into consideration with the neighboring homeowners in mind.
GROWING PAINS
The new development is consistent with the city’s vision, and others hope to capitalize on the opportunity.
Clayton Jenkins, of Jenkins Construction, lives on Midway, and he said he welcomes the development.
“I hope you use the residents of Plant City that have professional capabilities (when building),” he said.
But not everyone sees the coming development as a positive.
Marsha Spivey lives on Fraiser Lane. She said the development will destroy the country feel of the surrounding area.
“It’s beautiful out there where I live,” Spivey said. “That’s why I bought my home there because I love the country. Now instead of opening my front door and seeing a beautiful pasture, I’m going to see a concrete city.”
She has concerns about the wildlife and aquifer. Walton will be responsible for extending water, sanitary sewer and reclaimed lines to the site. Potable water facilities will be operated by the City of Plant City. In anticipation of growth in the northeast quadrant of Plant City, the city has been working on a water main, a wastewater force main and reclaimed water main to run east along South Frontage Road.
“In the comprehensive plan it says, ‘preserving the past’ … but how can you preserve it by building it up,” Spivey said.
The use of the land was originally approved in 2007 and modified in 2011.
“At this point, it looks like it is moving forward with development in regards to consideration of the residents,” Bonnie Carr, Planning Board chair, said.