In the year of COVID-19 and with so many new residents fleeing big cities to take up residence in sunny Florida, Hernando County is proving itself a winner among the state’s 67 counties.

While places like Tampa, St. Petersburg, Miami and Orlando get most of the attention when people think of Florida, crowding, traffic, and higher home prices and higher property taxes are making those places a little too much like the crowded, pricey cities around the country many are trying to get away from.

Comparatively, land is more affordable in Hernando. Impact fees for new homes and taxes are lower. Traffic snarls common in Pinellas and Hillsborough, and even neighboring Pasco County, are virtually non-existent. In a red-hot real estate market where everything listed sells in short order, it’s selling even faster in Hernando and builders are struggling to keep up.

But they’re doing what they can, as fast as they can and builders and real estate pros predict big things for Hernando in the way of larger residential development.

“They’re already here,” said Walter “Buddy” Selph, broker/owner of Brooksville-based Tommie Dawson Realty, referring to national builders like D.R. Horton, M/I Homes, Adams Homes and Lennar Homes. “We’re going to see more builders leaving places like Hillsborough (County) to come to Hernando.”

There are a “combination of reasons” Hernando is becoming so attractive to buyers and builders, said Selph, but price is the biggest among them.

“The same house at State Road 54 in Pasco is $100,000 more than the exact same house in Brooksville,” said Selph. “It (building) just keeps marching north for lower costs.”

Selph said large Hernando residential projects in the offing include a 200-acre parcel under contract near the Hernando County Fairgrounds. Another is 65 acres just off Commercial Way north of Weeki Wachee near Centralia. Nearby is Lake Hideaway, an 850-acre residential community zoned under a Development of Regional Impact designation 3.5 miles north of Cortez fronting Commercial Way at Royal Highlands.

It’s lower land and impact fees that allow builders to offer homes for less, said Bob Eaton, owner and founder of Artistic Homes, which has been building in Hernando for four decades. At a time when the available home inventory is at a record low in the region, he and other builders are working hard to keep up with demand.

Areas of the county with the most potential for home building include Royal Highlands, said Eaton, who’s built several homes there.

“There are literally thousands of lots there,” he said. Residents there approved having road paving added to their annual property tax bills, which has made the mostly undeveloped area more attractive as lime rock roads are replaced with fresh blacktop.

There’s plenty of room to grow in Ridge Manor, east of Brooksville, said Eaton. It also has a number of unpaved roads and a paving plan like the one implemented in Royal Highlands is all that’s needed to “make it take off.”

One of the more ambitious projects on the drawing boards is a proposed master-planned community designated Spring Center. If it happens, a 450-acre tract of woodlands extending north from Northcliffe Boulevard and bounded on the east by Mariner and the west by Deltona boulevards would bring 3,000 new homes to Spring Hill. A unique feature would be a “downtown” area with shops and restaurants. Traffic studies, compliance with environmental regulations and compliance agreements between developers and the county will be needed, according the county planning department.

Selph said much depends on how hot the housing market will remain going into 2021. But with inventory of homes so low, he suspects builders are going to be busy for some time.

“We normally have six months of inventory on hand but now it’s only a month,” he said, adding there’s a lot of catching up to do to meet demand.

BROOKSVILLE — Ridge Manor residents had prepared for months to present their case against a man who wanted to run a machine shop and truck repair business on Treiman Boulevard, close to their homes, where such intense commercial land uses are not allowed.

On Tuesday, they filled several rows at the Hernando County Commission hearing on the matter, waving purple signs urging a no vote on a rezoning of Arnoldo Naranjo Rivero's 1.8-acre site.

They expected Rivero to ask for another delay to give him more time to clean up trucks and structures he had placed on the land against the existing commercial zoning rules. Instead, they got a quick resolution.

With county planner Omar DePablo translating for Rivero, who does not speak English, the applicant pulled his rezoning request on Tuesday. Commissioners offered no comment.

Rivero promised to clean up his property, where he had hoped to run a lathe, do welding and repair diesel equipment, as well as place a mobile home for himself and his family.

In addition, he told commissioners that once he addresses the county code violations, he will find a business to conduct on the site that meets his current zoning category.

The application was controversial from the start and brought to light concerns over a deeper, countywide issue.

The county planning staff and the county Planning and Zoning Commission both recommended approval of the Rivero application. Residents had made familiar arguments against the rezoning, pointing out that it didn't fit the neighborhood. The business would have put heavy commercial uses next to residential lots at entrance roads into the Ridge Manor community.

Nine months ago, county code enforcement officials began documenting items on the property — semi trucks and other vehicles, structures, tarps and equipment — not properly fenced or allowed under the existing zoning.

Citations followed, but as recently as last month, an inspection showed that Rivero had not removed the items.

Code enforcement documents indicate that a relative of the applicant reported that Rivero, because of his language barrier, thought the citation required him to clear the property of trees and brush, rather than the vehicles and other debris. Even after he was given an extension before his County Commission hearing, he had not fixed the violations.

The case brought to a head concerns that county officials were using the rezoning process to cure code violations.

"It is my understanding that, rather than being required to bring the enterprise into compliance with the existing code, the owners have been encouraged and coached by our county officials about a process — a zoning change request — that would allow them to circumvent requirements of the existing comprehensive plan,'' wrote Ridge Manor property owner Saybra Chapman.

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"Not requiring compliance with the existing code and comprehensive plan is completely unacceptable on the part of the Planning Commission, zoning officials and elected members of our County Commission,'' Chapman wrote.

"How can a person who clearly ignores county rules and regulations be allowed to move forward in his quest to make unbelievable changes?'' asked nearby resident Cathie Moore. "I was always under the assumption that laws, rules and regulations in the county were set up for each and every one of us to abide by and follow. We can't pick and choose what we want to adhere to.''

Lynn Gruber-White, president of the Ridge Manor Property Owners Association, raised the same issue with the County Commission in May.

After Tuesday's hearing, she said she was pleased that Rivero pulled his application, but that he still needs to clean up his property. She plans to attend Thursday's special magistrate hearing where she hopes Rivero must pay the penalty for his continuing code violations.

Gruber-White, who also is a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission, said she is concerned that some people are allowed to violate the code while others make honest mistakes and are held to a strict standard. She wants to see the county create a more level playing field.

"I think that we need to continue to have this conversation, and I think we have a sitting commission that is listening to this conversation,'' Gruber-White said. "Hopefully this will mean that we see some changes.''

Contact Barbara Behrendt at bbehrendt@tampabay.com or (352) 848-1434.

BROOKSVILLE — The cost of running the Hernando County landfill is going up, and property owners are going to foot the bill.

County commissioners on Tuesday voted to raise the solid waste assessment to pay for three projects. They include expanding the county landfill by opening a new cell, finding a new way to dispose of storm water that flows through garbage at the landfill and building a fund for future storm debris removal.

The fee hasn't gone up for more than 15 years. While it will rise a bit in the next year, the fee could jump in future years.

The current fee for single family homes is $63.05. It will go to $69.40 on tax bills that come out later this year. The notice mailed to property owners said the fee would not go beyond $95 in future years — a 50 percent increase from the current fee. The commission's vote on Tuesday covered only next year's increase.

County staff members said they included the eventual higher number so they don't have to spend approximately $30,000 on mailings each time rate increases are proposed. But that public notice didn't sit well with residents or commissioners.

Commissioner Steve Champion said it was clear that county staffer want fees eventually to increase to $95 and that the notice was misleading. He was the sole no vote on the smaller increase and said he plans to vote no on all increases to property taxpayers this year.

The notices to property owners generated a wave of opposition. In letters to the County Commission, some suggested that the garbage pick-up fee they pay to trash hauler Republic Services should cover the landfill fees. Others complained about the recent proposed increase in garbage collection fees, which are separate from the annual fee every property owner pays for the landfill.

"I'm a retired widow on a limited income and find it difficult to maintain myself financially,'' wrote Spring Hill resident Darla Comshaw. "Is there an exemption for folks in my position?''

"The customers in Hernando County are getting ripped off, and our commissioners are not doing anything to stop it,'' wrote Spring Hill resident Elina Davis. "Why did we elect any of you if you just sit around and do nothing? We, the customers, are paying you to represent us, not stick it to us.''

Others appeared at the hearing to voice their unhappiness.

Lynn Gruber-White, president of the Ridge Manor Homeowners Association, called the notice "completely deceptive,'' because it seemed to be about a $6 increase when the county intends to increase the fee much more.

A consultant hired by the county to analyze the county's solid waste operation gave a detailed report on costs and future needs. The existing landfill cell will be filled by 2028, it said, and a new cell will cost $19 million to engineer, permit and build. The new cell would last the county another 20-30 years.

Other rising costs include recycling, which does not pay for itself, and the need for a new composting program to dispose of yard waste and other materials. Add to that the cost of sending construction debris to another facility, because the county's separate landfill for those materials will be full next year.

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Commissioners in a separate vote agreed to raise tipping fees for commercial trucks that dump construction debris from $20 per ton to $45 per ton.

The county also needs to put funds away for storm debris removal, said county utilities director Gordon Onderdonk, including $300,000 next year. The county spent more than $2 million to dispose of debris after Hurricane Irma in 2017, but has been reimbursed only $148,000 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to Jeff Rogers, county administrator.

Onderdonk also sought $317,000 to send the leachate — storm water that washes over trash at the landfill — to a separate facility for treatment. Previously, the county's nearest wastewater treatment plant handled that job, but state rules about the county's nitrate levels will prevent that in the future.

The many extra costs prompted a lengthy discussion by county commissioners already facing the potential of raising property tax rates to get out of a $10 million financial shortfall. They discussed how Hernando County's trash collection and landfill fees compare with other places, whether incinerating garbage might be in the county's future and whether privatizing the landfill made sense.

In the final analysis, they stuck with the choice before them, the small increase for next year's landfill fee.

At the next regular commission meeting on July 30, commissioners will consider an increase in fees charged by their waste hauler, Republic Services. After Tuesday's discussion, and hearing nearly daily complaints about Republic's service, they anticipate another robust conversation.

Several commissioners said they want to talk about the increase in more detail, even though the Republic Services contract includes a small, annual cost-of-living increase.

RIDGE MANOR

In the days since Hurricane Irma swept across Hernando County, Barbara Schmidt has developed a new ritual. She drives every day to the entrance to her neighborhood on Cyril Drive, off State Road 50, to see if the floodwaters have gone down enough that she can get to her house.

On Monday, they hadn't. She couldn't even get far enough down the road to see her house, much less get inside to assess the damage done by the swollen Withlacoochee River, which her home backs up to.

Schmidt, 61, and most of her neighbors whose homes sit along the winding river have been out of their homes since county officials issued voluntary evacuation orders as waters began to rise following the storm.

After reaching its fifth-highest crest ever — 17.67 feet at the Trilby gauge — the river began to recede back into its banks late last week, allowing some residents to return to their homes, and others, like Schmidt, to regain hope they'll be able to soon.

At midweek, the river was at 14 feet, just below what is considered moderate flood stage. Waters are expected to steadily fall through Sunday, when the level will drop below flood stage, which is 12 feet.

"I can't know what to do until I can get there and see the damage," Schmidt said. "I feel like I'm just numb. ... It's a mess for everyone back here."

Some residents who did not evacuate, or who returned home after the hurricane despite flooding, parked their vehicles at the front of neighborhoods, where floodwaters did not reach, and used jon boats to get back and forth to their homes.

"Every freakin' day we paddle out and paddle back in, and I'm 70 years old," said Cyril Drive resident Ralph Cocchi, sitting in a canoe with his daughter, Tiffany Cocchi, 36, who is his neighbor. "I look at Puerto Rico and think I am way better off compared to them. ... But I can't help but recognize my own situation."

•••

While most residents on Cyril have electricity now, many others along the river do not. The county has been working in partnership with the Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative to decide where it is appropriate to reconnect power based on the flood's impacts, said Jim Friedrichs, the county's building official.

"We're slowly but surely drafting a list and sending it out to (the cooperative) as we get addresses,'' he said. "It's a joint decision'' where to restore power.

Friedrichs said he has mobilized teams to begin assessing property damage as waters go down, but "it's just proving to be very problematic to perform damage assessments on the river." He was not sure when assessments would be completed, but county officials have said dozens of homes along the river may have to be condemned due to the damage sustained in the flood.

As many residents grapple with living without electricity and running water or struggle to afford everyday necessities atop relocation costs, Eastside Elementary School has come to their aid.

The school enrolls about 60 students whose families are victims of the flood, some of whom assistant principal Mike Lastra said came to school with bug bites, as floodwaters have brought increased populations of mosquitoes near their homes.

"This is happening in our own back yard," Lastra said. "Many of our families have lost everything, and now they are coming here to get everything back."

Last week, the school opened up a free store stocked with donations such as clothes and food. The week before, officials took students on a bus ride to flooded areas, and they passed out supplies to residents.

Cyril Drive resident Keyon Thompson, 38, who has four children enrolled at the school, called the store "a blessing." School office clerk Kathy Deese, who is responsible for checking families into the store, said about 50 families have visited so far.

•••

Schmidt said regardless of what she finds when she is finally able to make the drive down Cyril and return home, where she has lived since 1985 after inheriting the house from her parents, she plans to move elsewhere. She said she and her husband, who is terminally ill, have seen waters rise around their home too many times.

"We can't come back here. ... I can't deal with this again," she said, standing near the start of the flood waters on her street. "I am just very emotionally and physically exhausted."

Staff writer Barbara Behrendt contributed to this report. Contact Megan Reeves at mreeves@tampabay.com. Follow @mareevs.

BROOKSVILLE — Plans for a new Dollar General store in Ridge Manor got a push forward Monday, despite concerns from apartment dwellers who will be displaced.

The store was one of several applications that sparked discussion before the Hernando County Planning and Zoning Commission.

Teramore Development LLC applied for a rezoning that would allow construction of a Dollar General store on 2 acres on the south side of Cortez Boulevard west of Treiman Boulevard. The site is in a commercial corridor, and a retail store at that location would be appropriate, applicant representative Todd Pressman told planning commission members.

But Aubrey Lopez, a resident of Ridge Manor Garden Apartments, located on the site, disagreed.

"We don't need another Dollar General store,'' Lopez said, pointing out that there are two other Dollar General stores just a few miles away. He said the apartment complex, where eight other tenants also live, is sturdy and that the apartments are available at a cost he and the others could afford.

Lopez noted that the tenants include an 80-year-old woman on government rent assistance, a retired veteran and a disabled woman.

"There are not that many low-income places to go in this area,'' he argued.

Pressman pointed out that, although the displacement of residents would be a difficult situation, it was outside the responsibilities of the planning commission. He and a representative of the developer said they would be sure that the landlord was urged to be in touch with his tenants to help out in whatever ways possible.

Planning commissioners agreed unanimously to recommend the rezoning to the County Commission.

• • •

In other action, a divided commission approved a special exception use permit to Charlotte Furey, allowing for the construction of a kennel on her 2 1/2-acre agricultural residential property at Orchard Way and Christine Lane in southern Spring Hill.

The kennel would be on land adjacent to the home she shares with David Hitchcock, where a garage currently is located. The facility would house up to 40 large dogs, 20 small dogs and 10 cats.

Next-door neighbor Stephen LaFrance had urged denial, citing concerns about his property value falling, increased traffic and barking dogs.

Planning Commission members John Scharch and Thomas Comunale voted against the permit.

"Seems to me that it could be quite noisy at times, given the number of animals,'' Scharch said.

Also gaining approval for a special exception use permit was an application for a place of public assembly and a substance abuse rehabilitation facility sought by the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States.

The facility, once used as a mental health facility by Baycare Behavioral Health, is on 9.6 acres off U.S. 98 north of Brooksville.

(Brooksville, FL) – Hernando County Emergency Management continues to monitor Hurricane Ian.

Evacuation Orders and Public Shelter Openings Mandatory Evacuations have been issued for all areas west of US 19, which includes evacuation zones A, B, and C. All residents living in coastal and low-lying areas, as well as manufactured homes county-wide, are included. Residents are advised to seek safe shelter with family or friends that reside in a safe structure. If this is not a possibility, a public shelter will open at 9 a.m. today Tuesday, September 27, 2022 at the below address for residents in these areas.

Challenger K-8 – Special Needs 13400 Elgin Blvd., Spring Hill, FL 34609

***If you are needing the Special Needs Shelter and have a pet, transportation from either your house or shelter location for your pet is done through Animal Control with Hernando County Sheriff’s Office. Please call Hernando County Public Information Center at 352-754-4083 to arrange pick up.***

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The Mining Association Enrichment Center – General Population and Pet Friendly 800 John Gary Grubbs Blvd., Brooksville, FL 34601

Explorer K-8 – General Population and Pet Friendly 10252 Northcliffe Blvd., Spring Hill, FL 34608

Pet Friendly Shelter Tips: Hernando County Animal Services tips for Pet Friendly Sheltering during declared emergencies. Our citizens and their animals are housed in separate sections of the designated shelter(s). Designated shelters are typically Hernando County Schools. Animals will be housed in crates in a different location than where general population is located. If you need to seek shelter with your pet during a declared emergency the following list will help you be prepared: Bring your own appropriately sized crate (County resources are limited) Bring all your dogs required medications Bring several days’ worth of your animals’ food Ensure your dog is current on all vaccinations Bring your own leash and collar. Ensure your dog is trained to walk on a leash Bring any toys and/or bedding that will make your animal comfortable. If your animal is fearful or shy, bring sheets to cover the crate while still allowing airflow. If you bring a crate place something unique on it to distinguish it from others. Understand that your animal will not be housed in the same section as you; however, you will have access to your animal. Do not buy different snacks or food for the animal that they are not accustomed to, this will often cause the animals to have digestive issues; particularly when they are already stressed. If your animal has any propensity to bite animals or humans, please obtain and utilize a muzzle. Bring spray cleaner, paper towels etc., to be able to clean your animal’s crate.

Sandbag Locations:

Linda Pedersen Park 6300 Shoal Line Blvd. Spring Hill, FL 34609

Anderson Snow Park 1360 Anderson Snow Rd. Spring Hill, FL 34609 *Enter through the service road between the park and the gymnastics place, the sand is located at the end.

Ridge Manor Community Center 34240 Cortez Blvd. Ridge Manor, FL 33523

City of Brooksville DPW 600 S Brooksville Ave. Brooksville, FL 34601

These self-serve sandbag sites will remain open until weather conditions begin to deteriorate. This is a self-serve sandbag site ONLY, please bring your own shovel.

Hernando County Government’s Office of Emergency Management continues to monitor and inform our community about storm impacts. Visit the following web and social media sites for more information.

For the latest local conditions and a complete list of news alerts go to www.HernandoCounty.us/em Sign up to receive weather alerts at www.AlertHernando.org Follow us on Facebook @HernandoCoGov Follow us on Twitter @HernandoCoGov

Stay tuned as more information becomes available. Visit the Hernando County Emergency Management website at www.HernandoCounty.us/EM for all storm-related notices.

For questions or more information, please contact Hernando County’s Public Information Center at (352) 754-4083.