Pasco commissioners vote Tuesday on buying 156.5 acres on Tupper Road for $16 million in four yearly phases to relieve a crowded Wesley Chapel District Park.
Pasco County commissioners will vote Tuesday on buying 156.5 acres of land on Tupper Road for $16 million. The county’s parks department says the land will be used to expand Wesley Chapel District Park, which it says has been over capacity for several years.
The purchase is item R30 on the Board of County Commissioners agenda for Tuesday, Oct. 20. The meeting starts at 10 a.m. at the West Pasco Government Center in New Port Richey.
What the county would buy
The land sits on Tupper Road, northeast of Interstate 75 and Wesley Chapel Boulevard. It is two parcels, of 148.98 acres and 7.52 acres, owned by a family trust. The county’s location map shows mostly open pasture and woods, east of the interstate.
The county would not pay for it all at once. The agenda memo sets out four purchases of about 39 acres each, at $4 million apiece:
- Phase 1 closes by Jan. 31, 2027
- Phase 2 closes by Jan. 31, 2028
- Phase 3 closes by Jan. 31, 2029
- Phase 4 closes by Jan. 31, 2030
That works out to about $102,000 an acre.
Only the first $4 million is committed now. The memo says the county’s obligation to buy phases 2, 3 and 4 depends on commissioners budgeting the money each year. If a future board does not, the county can end the agreement.
Why the county wants it
The Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Department sets park needs by population and by how far people drive, aiming for a park within a 15- to 20-minute drive. “The level of service for Wesley Chapel District Park has been over capacity for several years,” the department said in its memo. “The subject property will be used to address these capacity issues.”
The existing park is at 7727 Boyette Road. Our parks and trails guide has its hours, courts and fields.
Who pays
The money comes from park impact fees, the one-time charges the county collects on new construction. The memo moves $4 million from the “Park Impact Fee East” accounts for the first phase.
It also moves $235,295 for the first principal payment on an impact fee loan for the land, to be repaid over 17 years.
What it does not include
There is no money yet to design or build anything. The memo says funding for design and construction “will be identified and prioritized at a later date” and brought back to commissioners through the county’s capital planning process.
The seller keeps two rights while the phases are bought:
- a permanent access easement along the west side of the property
- use of the existing driveways until park amenities are built or the county closes on all four phases
What it means for you
- Nothing changes at the Boyette Road park yet. A new park on Tupper Road is years away and still needs its own funding vote.
- You can comment Tuesday. Public comment opens at 10 a.m. Speakers get three minutes, in the board room or by Microsoft Teams after registering on the county’s public comment page.
- Watch it live on the county website and YouTube channel, Frontier Channel 42 or Spectrum Channel 643.
- Read the documents. The full memo, contract and maps are in the Oct. 20 agenda packet.
We will report the vote after Tuesday’s meeting.
Have your say