Pasco property owner suing county for zoning rules

MansonBolves says its client F.A.K. Enterprises Inc., which owns commercial property along Mitchell Boulevard in Pasco County, is suing the county claiming it has placed unreasonable and unconstitutional conditions on the development of the property.

The property in question is near the proposed intersection of Mitchell Boulevard and Pemberton Road. The county wants the landowner to connect the roads and complete intersection improvements, which is estimated to cost around $1 million dollars.

The lawsuit alleges that the county is improperly leveraging its police power to coerce any future developer to construct the road that the county would otherwise have to pay for itself.

“Pasco County can't demand that property owners donate right of way for roads,” Brian Bolves, the attorney for property owner, says in a press release. “Likewise, the county can't make you build off-site improvements not related to your project. It's a matter of property rights. What Pasco County is doing is not just unlawful, it has a chilling effect on business investment.”

MansonBolves says that as the property owner tried to sell the site, the county repeatedly told prospective buyers that its demand to construct the road and improvements would be a condition of any development.

The lawsuit is seeking a ruling that Pasco County's Zoning requirements are unlawful and is requesting compensation for the county's interference with the owner's property rights.