Leesburg growth: Planning commission OKs 402 new houses

The Leesburg Planning Commission approved land-use plans Thursday that will allow up to 402 single-family homes on about 150 acres south of U.S. 27 next to the proposed 1,600-acre, $1.6 billion Whispering Hills project.

Mar-Jo Pines Windmill Sharp Properties applied for the small-scale comprehensive land use change for 48 acres from Lake County rural transition to estate residential north of Windmill Road.

The commission also approved rezoning an adjoining Mar-Jo 147 acres to planned-use development.

It was a unanimous 6-0 vote. The commission is an advisory board for the City Commission.

It is yet another approval for a string of proposed developments that could double the size of the 27,000 city population within a few years.

That includes plans for The Villages, which recently purchased 3,700 vacant acres west of U.S. 27 on the Sumter County border with plans to build 6,800 homes on 1,400 acres. It will bring a total of about 14,000 homes to the city by the mega retirement community.

In other news, the City Commission approved on second and final reading a large-scale land use amendment for the Village Palms 316-acre development on State Road 44 on the Lake-Sumter County line. That project has the potential for hundreds of homes, commercial sites and a hotel.

A divided Planning Commission approved the plan in December. It will be across the highway from the Pennbrooke Fairways community. Some board members had concerns, either about the number of homes on the property and the impact it will have on schools.

Planning Director Dan Miller said it was one of the most complex plans he has seen. It calls for 562 detached single-family homes, 264 townhouses, 134 lots for villas (duplexes), and 300 multi-family apartments — a total of 1,260 residential units.

Village Palms is near The Villages but it is not part of that gigantic retirement community.