Hernando County Commissioners Unanimously Deny 18.89-acre County Line Road Rezoning

The Hernando County Board of County Commissioners voted 5-0 on Feb. 17 to deny a rezoning request from Arsany 66th Street, LLC for an 18.89-acre parcel on the north side of County Line Road, just west of Suncoast Boulevard, stopping plans that called for four single-family homes, 170 townhomes, 15 apartments and 23,500 square feet of commercial space. The unanimous decision came after commissioners and nearby residents raised traffic, flooding and compatibility concerns.

Commissioner Brian Hawkins moved to deny the rezoning, citing traffic density and compatibility with surrounding land use as decisive factors. Commissioner John Allocco said “the plan is not a bad design, but he feels the location is wrong,” and fellow commissioners agreed, producing the 5-0 result that removes the requested change from AR-2 (Agricultural/Residential 2) to multiple planned development categories.

The application would have concentrated 189 housing units on 18.89 acres, an effective density of about 10 units per acre, and included a neighborhood park and commercial space integrated with the multifamily units. The developer sought deviations from county standards including a reduction of the required County Line Road buffer from 125 feet to 75 feet and an increase in maximum lot coverage for single-family homes from 35% to 60%.

The rezoning first cleared a narrow recommendation at the Hernando County Planning and Zoning Commission on June 9, 2025, where the P&Z voted 3-2 to recommend approval with deviations. The county commission twice postponed action in 2025, once in August to allow discussion of County Line Road impacts and again in October to finalize recommendations based on the road’s current level of service, before the Feb. 17 hearing that ended in denial.

Residents of nearby Rainbow Hills Estates submitted an array of written protests to the county, citing traffic congestion on County Line Road, insufficient buffering and setbacks, stormwater and flooding worries, wildlife impacts and threats to the community’s “quiet, rural lifestyle.” Those concerns featured prominently in public comment and in commissioner deliberations about whether the site was compatible with its surroundings.

The parcel is associated with an older, unrecorded subdivision referred to as “El Pico” and lies north of County Line Road and south of Pot O' Gold Lane, roughly 1,000 feet west of the County Line Road and Suncoast Boulevard intersection. County-produced maps showing the property outlined in yellow were used in commission materials.

Under county rules the petitioner may bring a modified application back to the Board within one year. For now, the denial removes the proposed mixed-use project from the county’s immediate development pipeline and leaves infrastructure and environmental questions tied to County Line Road and nearby neighborhoods unresolved.