Stop overdevelopment

By John Labriola - As the push for overdevelopment threatens to destroy Citrus County's small-town conservative character, the Citrus County Commission will meet this Thursday to consider a developer's request for a zoning change to more than double the amount of housing allowed in an area of Homosassa – potentially setting a bad precedent for the rest of the county. 

The meeting to discuss the proposed development will take place at 5 p.m. May 11 at the Citrus County Courthouse, 110 N. Apopka Ave., Inverness, FL 34450.

Sweetwater Homes of Citrus is requesting approval to rezone 49 acres in Sugarmill Woods' Oak Village community in order to build up to 250 rental units on land currently designated for a maximum of 95 single-family houses. 

Residents from the surrounding area have come out strongly against the project. They argue that such overdevelopment will lead to more traffic congestion and crime and higher taxes to pay for more schools and other infrastructure needed to support the influx of new residents. A petition drive to stop the project has gathered hundreds of signatures from Sugarmill Woods homeowners, who have also expressed their opposition in emails to county officials. 

"Our area of Florida is already seeing increases in families moving in, but there is no need to add to that by allowing such dwellings in already established single-family communities," wrote David L. Beebe. "If we allow this variance of use once, it seems likely to cascade and take on a life of its own. Are we to wake up one day in the not too distant future to find we do not live in the same type of setting...?"

William Burden agreed: "We are from Atlanta and have seen the results of this kind of profit-driven neighborhood change time after time. Going from single-family homes to multifamily ALWAYS crashes property values. This is a quiet, clean, low-crime neighborhood, but those qualities will disappear if this rezoning takes place." 

Many residents are upset that the developer concealed the fact that the project would be 100 percent rental until late in the application process.

"NO ONE HERE wants apartments where you introduce renters who have ZERO interest in the community and to be blunt have no skin in the game," wrote James Briggs. "I lived in Clermont; it is now littered with apartments, crime and insane residential traffic." 

Residents who can't attend the meeting can contact commissioners at the email addresses below:

Rebecca Bays <rebecca.bays@citrusbocc.com>, Diana Finegan <diana.finegan@citrusbocc.com>, Jeff Kinnard <jeff.kinnard@citrusbocc.com>, Ruthie Schlabach <ruthie.schlabach@citrusbocc.com>, Holly Davis <holly.davis@citrusbocc.com>

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