The Villages plan to build nearly 800 new homes north of County Road 466A violates several Wildwood development guidelines and that’s one reason city officials oppose the plan.
Commissioner Robby Strickland said he also prefers a mixed-use development for the site with more businesses, which would provide jobs for the area.
“Twenty years from now, do we want tract houses or something more diverse?” he asked, adding that the area is important because it’s close to Wildwood’s downtown. “If something was presented that followed our regulations, I’d be all for it.”
Discussions about the development are continuing this week between Villages and Wildwood representatives, said Wildwood Assistant City Manager Jason McHugh. A development application has not been submitted.
A mixed-use project called Trailwinds was announced three years ago for the area and now that developer would sell the land to The Villages. Unlike The Villages plan, the Trailwinds project would have included businesses and senior care centers.
“I’m sure they did the best they could to sell the property,” Strickland said of the Trailwinds developer.
He said some specific objections to The Villages plan include:
• The Villages wants a different zip code than Wildwood’s for the area;
• No inter-connectivity would be provided between the development and the rest of Wildwood;
• The Villages wants reduced impact fees; and
• Villages officials want an exemption from Wildwood’s tree ordinance.
The proposed development, which is within Wildwood’s city limits, calls for 785 villa and designer style homes on 222 acres of a 300-acre area known as the Beaumont/Trailwinds property across from Pinellas Plaza and west of the Sandhill golf course.
It would include a golf course, recreation center and a commercial parcel, according to information presented at a workshop earlier this month.
Wildwood would provide water and sewer services as well as maintain some of the roads. The city also would collect more than $3.6 million from the development in tax revenue, water and sewer billing and impact fees for water, sewer, parks and recreation.
Mayor Ed Wolf said last week that the city will reject The Villages plan unless it is amended and that any development must “serve the citizens of Wildwood.”
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