TEArticle.htm   May 15, 2006

New Home Development Planned for Trilby

 By Richard K Riley

A 95 home development on 342 acres south of Trilby is making its way through the Pasco County permit and zoning process and was reviewed and passed by the Pasco Planning Commission on Wednesday of last week.

 Trilby Estates is the name of the new subdivision and the developers envision a mix of 2 to 3.2 acre "Community" lots, 3.2 to 3.4 acre "Estate" lots and 5 to 7 acre "Manor" lots, the majority (63) being the Estate size (3.2 to 3.4 acres).  It will be on the land presently planted with pines at the corner of Christian Road and Powerline Road.

 According to Attorney Clarke Hobby and Planner King Helie, representatives of the developer, plans for this MPUD (Master Planned Unit Development District) development have been in progress for the past year and a half.  It will consist of five internal roads, an exit to Powerline Road and one to Christian Road.  This will not be a gated community. 

According to Hobby, this development will not have homes built on the lots for sale, but will be lots only, with roads, power and communication utilities available.  Buyers will have to put in their own wells, septic and contract with their own builder.  Some lots may be sold to builders who will develop the home sites for the sale of custom homes.  Architectural review standards will control development.  Maintenance of the development and neighborhood park(s) will be through a homeowners association.  Buyers will have approximately half of each lot dedicated to "open space."  This designation prohibits the new landowners from building residential structures on that portion of the land.  It can still be used for agricultural and other non-structural purposes.

 One of the features of the development design is a 100' wide existing tree barrier on Christian Road and Powerline Road.  There is also a multi-purpose trail area being proposed by the County along the road right-of-ways of Christian Road and Powerline Road.

During the public hearing on May 10, in Dade City, several residents of the area spoke against approval of the proposal as submitted for a variety of reasons.  Many felt that the lot sizes were too small, that the additional population would put a burden on the existing roadways, the homes would put a burden on the water level in the area, and that notice (given by the County) was too short.  One resident, Richard Riley, urged the preservation of an abandoned rail bed behind the development.  He suggested that a trail be designed to go around the east and south edges instead of the north and west.

 The Planning Commission discussed the objections, listened to the reply from Hobby and Helie, reviewed the proposed layouts, and voted 5 to 0 to recommend the plan for approval.  It will next be heard by the Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday, June 16.

Representatives of the Developer, will be at the Trilby House Community Center at 37452 Trilby Road (across from the Trilby Post Office) from 6:30 to 7:30 on Wednesday, May 31^st.  Local residents are invited to see a presentation on the development and will have an opportunity to ask questions.

In a related activity, the County will be upgrading and paving Christian Road from the intersection of Powerline Road and cutting directly to US 301.  Right of way is being finalized and plans are for it to be started and completed this year.

 Trilby and the Tri-Community area including Trilacoochee and Lacoochee have had several new developments in the past half-century.  They are the Trilby Manor HUD area built in the 1970s (41 homes), the Peachtree area platted in the 80s (21 one-acre lots), Trilby Trails, platted in the early 90s (43 five and ten-acre lots) and Hunter Hill, also platted in the early 90s (12 ten-acre lots).  There is also the Pasco County Housing Authority (45 multi-family units) and Patti Road Development (50 homes) which were built in the 70/80s next to the Lacoochee Elementary School and the old Cummer Cypress Mill.

Ed Note:  The author of this article, Richard K Riley of Trilby, is involved in the public process of this development and has spoken both for and against portions of the proposed Trilby Estates plan.