Charlotte County commissioners approved preliminary plat plans for two Lennar Homes subdivisions in the Babcock Ranch area and amended zoning for another developer planning two projects in the Burnt Store Corridor area during a Sept. 24 land-use meeting.
Phase 2 of Lennar’s Tuckers Cove development encompasses 116.15 acres and consists of 505 residential lots and seven tracts. The development is located south of Bermont Road, north of Babcock Trail, west of the county line with Glades County and east of State Road 31.
Its second subdivision, Webbs Reserve, also received preliminary plat approval to proceed with its Phase 2 on 58.85 acres and consisting of 142 residential lots and 10 tracts. It adjoins Tuckers Cove in the boundary of the Babcock Ranch Community Development of Regional Impact in East County.
Zemel Land Partners LLC was granted its rezoning application for its Firelight North development so that it would have flexibility in deciding whether to develop up to 1,000 residential units, which was previously approved, or to create a maximum of 100,000 square feet of commercial square footage and reduce residential units to 466. The subdivision is on nearly 350 acres in the Burnt Store Corridor area with the acreage on Burnt Store and Zemel roads.
Zemel also received approval for its Firelight South rezoning request that allows development of up to 273 residential units, a reduction of 86 units from the original plan. The property encompasses 144.84 acres and is north and east of Prada Drive, south of Zemel Road, east of Burnt Store Road and west of Charlotte County Landfill and Weigh Station, in the boundary of the Burnt Store Area Plan and in the Punta Gorda area.
County Principal Planner Jie Shao made the presentation for both Firelight developments and said for Firelight North, Zemel Land Partners is reserving 43.04 acres for wetlands and another 8.78 acres for wetland buffers, thereby preserving 93% of wetlands on the acreage.
Attorney for the developer, Rob Berntsson of the Big W Law Firm, told commissioners that three additional parcels have been added. “We are not increasing density,” he said.
During the public portion, John Fleming who heads the Burnt Store Corridor Coalition comprised of residents in about 13 communities, said he read two county reports that are conflicting and questioned how the Firelight developments would impact evacuation along Burnt Store Road.
“One of the exits will be near Fire Station 5,” he said.
Fleming also questioned whether the county would conduct a hydrology study to determine the developments’ impact on drainage and flooding, as well as a study for traffic implications.
Fleming’s group recently organized a meeting at which officials from Charlotte and Lee counties, Cape Coral and Punta Gorda attended. They discussed a variety of issues and have been asking Charlotte County to fund a $9,000 to $10,000 study.
During the BOCC meeting, Commissioner Joe Tiseo brought the matter up and asked commissioners, “Is it worth $10,000 from the general fund for us to get that information and that feedback?”
Commissioner Ken Doherty said a lot of work and studies have already been done by the county and that he “can’t see justifying” funding the citizens’ study of the Burnt Store Corridor.
The county will be reviewing the 2005 Burnt Store Area Master Plan, which has been considered obsolete since it was designed by developers nearly 20 years ago when the population was sparse.
Doherty said the county’s new review of the master plan will cost “in the six figures.”
