BROOKSVILLE — A plan to put a mix of single-family homes and apartments on about 24 acres off Emerson Road near Cortez Boulevard failed again after the property owner refused to give up the multifamily piece.
The Hernando County Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-0 on Aug. 17 to deny a rezoning to a Combined Planned Development Project that would have allowed both single-family and multifamily uses, along with a list of deviations from county development standards.
In a separate 4-1 vote, the commission approved a small-scale comprehensive plan amendment changing the future land use designation on the 23.8-acre site from commercial to residential.
Don Lacey of Coastal Engineering, representing the owner, said his client wanted flexibility with the property. Under the proposal, the site would have been developed with 80 single-family units while retaining the existing vesting for 180 multifamily units. The revised master plan also would have eliminated the office professional and assisted living uses now allowed there.
Late in the discussion, commissioners asked whether the owner would simply commit to single-family homes. Lacey conferred with him and came back with an answer: no. The owner wanted to keep the flexibility that came with the multifamily option.
After that, no one on the board was willing to support the plan.
Commissioner Mike Fulford said the number of deviations being sought was among his concerns.
It was the second rejection for the property in about 15 months. On May 6, 2025, the County Commission voted 5-0 to deny a request to rezone the site for a 215-townhome community, citing intensity, environmental impacts, school capacity and trip generation, according to agenda documents.
Two residents spoke against the latest proposal. A woman who lives near the site, and who said she learned of the meeting only the night before, cited traffic on Emerson Road, a two-lane road she said has been “worked on” but never widened. She also raised concerns about safety, compatibility with nearby housing and the number of people who would be living close to Moton Elementary School and Hernando Christian Academy. Bob Morgan also spoke in opposition.
Busy chambers
A late filing cost several people who came to the meeting a wasted day.
At issue was a special exception use permit for a place of public assembly — a special events venue — on the west side of Sam C Road, north of the intersection with B W Stevensons Road.
Development Services Director Omar DePablo said the applicant submitted new information after the close of business Aug. 14 and staff needed more time to review it. Commissioners voted 5-0 to postpone the item to a date not yet set, with the cost of readvertising and public notice to be paid by the applicant.
In other action
Fulford accepted congratulations from fellow commissioners on his appointment to the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Photos by VINCENT F. SAFUTO/Hernando Today
Image courtesy of HERNANDO COUNTY COMMISSION
HT-HCPZ1-08262026 – The piece of property whose rezoning was rejected on Aug. 17 is shown.
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