BROOKSVILLE — Calling the idea of building more housing in Hernando County “insane,” several residents urged the County Commission on Oct. 6 to reject a proposed development on Emerson Road.
Commissioners instead approved a land-use change for the property and postponed a decision on the companion rezoning until Nov. 10. They also approved two rezonings for Melton family land near Interstate 75 and gave a property owner who fell for a scam a second hearing.
Emerson Road
The 23.8-acre site on Emerson Road south of Cortez Boulevard has been before the commission before. On May 6, 2025, commissioners voted 5-0 to deny a rezoning request there.
This time, Coastal Engineering, representing Emerson Capital Group, sought to revise the property’s master plan and expand its existing entitlements to allow more flexibility. The plan called for 80 single-family homes while keeping existing vesting for 180 multifamily units. It would eliminate the office professional and assisted living facility uses now allowed on the site and included several requested deviations from county standards.
Before taking up the rezoning, the commission reordered its agenda to first hear a related item: a small-scale comprehensive plan amendment changing the property’s future land-use designation from commercial to residential.
Commissioner John Mitten said the change made sense because land set back from a main road such as Cortez Boulevard isn’t viable for commercial use, making residential a better fit.
Residents opposed it anyway — and, to the frustration of Cliff Manuel of Coastal Engineering, kept calling it a rezoning rather than a comprehensive plan amendment.
Speakers were vocal and sometimes emotional in opposing any development of the land. One cited traffic and safety concerns on Emerson Road; others lamented the loss of trees and wildlife habitat.
“They don’t need all these houses,” one speaker said. “It’s too much.”
A woman who said she moved to Florida from Maine, lived in St. Petersburg and then moved to Spring Hill because it made her happy spoke with her voice breaking.
“I’m just so tired of seeing all the trees torn down,” she said. She also cited drainage problems and air and water contamination. “I just want it to be a better place for my kids so they aren’t forced to leave as well.”
After lengthy debate, the amendment passed 4-1, with Commissioner John Allocco dissenting.
The rezoning drew the same arguments against growth.
Commissioner Steve Champion noted that many of the people now complaining about growth had moved to the area themselves — and that longtime families, including his own, hadn’t wanted them there either.
Champion also said the developer could build what the property’s current entitlements already allow. He said he didn’t want that, and other commissioners might not either. Working through the rezoning, he and other commissioners said, would let the board keep control over the final product, push the builder to make changes and possibly get a better project.
Development Services Director Omar DePablo said the petitioner had submitted new paperwork, including new deviations and changes to buffers, lot sizes and unit dimensions. The petitioner also handed commissioners new materials at the meeting.
Given the new information, the commission voted 5-0 to continue the item to its Nov. 10 land-use meeting.
The I-75 corridor
The Melton family sought rezonings for two properties near I-75: Ginny Grove, on Lockhart Road, and Black Jack Ridge.
Both requests included numerous deviations, drawing objections from opponents who said agricultural land should be preserved.
Both sites lie within the I-75/State Road 50 Planned Development District, where the county aims to direct growth in eastern Hernando and can collect higher impact fees.
Opponents argued the area needs jobs, not houses. Converting commercial and agricultural land to housing, they said, reduces tax revenue, strains infrastructure and could turn the area into a bedroom community for people who work in other counties.
The developer countered that the county has been expanding roads and other infrastructure there in anticipation of growth.
Commissioners approved both rezonings 5-0 with changes and conditions.
On second thought …
A Spring Hill property owner who missed her first hearing because of a scam got a second chance, but the outcome didn’t change.
The owner had asked the county to vacate a utility and drainage easement. The request was filed in September 2025, and the supporting paperwork filled 44 pages of the agenda packet.
On July 7, the commission denied the petition 4-0 after the applicants failed to appear. Staff later learned the applicants had received a scam email with an invoice asking them to wire money and telling them that once it was paid, they wouldn’t need to attend the hearing. They paid it and stayed home, according to the agenda packet.
DePablo said it was only fair to hear the item again, and it returned to the commission Oct. 6.
Before the applicant spoke, commissioners reminded residents that county employees will never ask for money in exchange for an outcome on a request. DePablo said other counties are seeing similar scams, and the ones he has seen targeting Hernando residents carry county logos and even the signatures of county staff.
Champion moved to approve the vacation, which would have accommodated a carport on the property. Then a neighbor came forward with an opposing view — and photos of the carport.
That changed the minds of Champion and other commissioners, who cited the carport’s size, its closeness to the property line and the fact that it was built without a permit.
“It’s an eyesore,” Champion said, “and it’s encroaching on the neighbor, and unfortunately it’s going to cost you money to do something about this.”
The commission denied the request 5-0.