ST. LEO — In a unanimous and surprising vote after hours of emotional testimony, the St. Leo Town Commission blocked a proposed 620-home development on the Abbey golf course property, handing residents a rare victory against large-scale growth in Pasco County.
The 4-0 vote May 13, with one commissioner recusal, denied transmittal of a comprehensive plan amendment that would have cleared the first legal hurdle for Mohr’s Crossing, a proposed community of 440 single-family homes and 180 townhomes on the 289-acre golf property across County Road 52 from Saint Leo University.
The vote from commissioners Donna DeWitt, Mayor Vincent D’Ambrosio, Curtis Dwyer and William Hamilton blocks the application from advancing to the state for the required 60-day review — for now.
“It was truly David versus Goliath,” said Wes Bilen, who lives on a small dirt road near the proposed site. Bilen was moved to near tears while taking his turn at the microphone during the meeting, and even afterwards, his voice cracked again.
“It’s just such a beautiful area,” he said. “We’re losing so much of that.”
The decision marked a major victory for Saint Leo University and local residents who argued, sometimes emotionally, that the project would permanently alter the town’s unique character.
Bilen said he hopes the commission’s decision is a tipping point, as developers, residents and politicians continue to butt heads over the county’s massive growth.
The meeting in a town of roughly 2,200 was a reflection of that fight.
The St. Leo Abbey Carpenter’s Shop was standing room only, packed with hundreds of residents. Complaints occasionally drifted in from an overflow room where attendees said they could not hear the proceedings. Some had to stand outside, craning their necks and trying to listen through small windows.
The decision came after more than two hours of public debate from 45 speakers — all but one opposed to the project — while another 10 residents signed up to speak but left before their turn. Roughly 130 petition signatures opposing the development were collected and entered into the record.
St. Leo’s fight seemed to strike a nerve beyond its borders. Speakers came from New Port Richey, Hudson, Wesley Chapel, Land O’ Lakes, Zephyrhills and even Valrico to share their own stories while supporting the small town.
Again and again, residents asked commissioners to protect the rolling, wooded landscape that has defined this small Pasco County community for generations.
“Once this pristine green space is cleared it’s gone forever,” said Mikala Krauss, a Saint Leo graduate and the first speaker of the night. “We cannot build our way out of an environmental loss of this magnitude.”
Ryan Homes, the country’s fourth-largest homebuilder, had spent the last year shaping what it called a “showcase community.”
The proposal promised high-quality construction instead of “cookie-cutter” homes and a density of only 2.2 dwelling units per acre, far below the maximum of four units allowed under the town code.
Plans included enhanced landscaping, trails open to the public and roughly 100 acres of permanent conservation easements and 165 acres total dedicated to green space.
“About 34% of the property is single family detached, 9% is the town home area, and then the remaining 50-ish percent is the open space,” civil engineer Ashley Harris said.
The entry monument, she added, would echo the architecture of both the Abbey and Saint Leo.
Representatives from Ryan Homes appeared to check all the development boxes.
Scott Eckley, division president for Ryan Homes, said the project was also financially necessary.
The Abbey golf course has seen better days, he said. The restaurant burned down five years ago and the ruins, and some caution tape, remain as a reminder. Golf is a business that barely breaks even, and that is thanks to a break on the rent. He said the church is only receiving 25% of fair market value for its land lease, and the facility needs millions of dollars for infrastructure repair that it cannot afford.
And The Order of St. Benedict, which owns the 289 acres the course sits on, voted unanimously to sell it.
“Denying this project requires the church be denied their property rights,” he said.
The arguments failed to sway the crowd.
Speaker after speaker raised overlapping concerns about traffic on what they said was an already strained C.R. 52, strain on water resources during an active drought, loss of habitat for wild animals and mostly, the loss of peace and “rural charm” that they said makes Saint Leo different from everywhere else in the county.
Former Saint Leo mayor Richard Christmas reminded commissioners that the comprehensive plan has been in place since 1979.
“And you are under no obligation to amend it,” he said.
Saint Leo University president Dr. Jim Burkee drew some of the loudest applause of the night when he framed the debate as a question of whether small towns still have the power to shape their own futures.
“Tonight is not simply about a development proposal, it is about whether this community retains the right to decide what kind of town Saint Leo will be,” Burkee said. “Communities matter. Local voices matter. Small towns should not be bullied into abandoning their vision for themselves because someone with deeper pockets threatens lawsuits and to bankrupt them into submission.”
AIC planner Jennifer Malone, representing the university, told commissioners the proposal met the definition of urban sprawl and conflicted with the town’s comprehensive plan goals aimed at protecting rural corridors and open space.
She also argued that Saint Leo has sufficient acres of residential land uses to accommodate the estimated 55 additional town residents by 2045. Any claims that the surrounding area is growing and creating additional pressures on the town to provide housing was false, she added.
“The community told you, through the comprehensive plan, it does not want this,” she said. “It wants its rural character protected and its open spaces preserved.”
During rebuttal, Eckley repeated allegations raised earlier by a former Abbey business and finance manager that the university had its own motivations for opposing the development — so it could eventually acquire the land at a reduced price to build a soccer stadium, to complement its current international soccer program.
“If you truly care about maintaining the character and small-town feel of Saint Leo and approving a beautiful community…that might be a pretty smart move,” Eckley told commissioners. “But if it’s not approved, don’t be surprised when one day you see a 6,000-seat stadium surrounded by 2,000 parking spots on the very special piece of land.”
Burkee just shook his head and scoffed.
Eckley declined to comment any further after the meeting.
Despite the developer’s arguments regarding property rights and the potential for future commercial development, the Commission remain unmoved.
The denial passed with a unanimous roll-call vote, and the 100 or so remaining residents broke out in applause.
But the transmittal denial is likely not the end of the fight. Ryan Homes could reapply or pursue legal remedies under Florida property-rights laws.
For now, though, Wilen said residents should savor the rare victory.
“I have a feeling they’re going to sue and everybody’s going to be in that room again,” he said. “But right now, I’m pretty happy.”