A Leesburg commissioner is urging the mayor and his fellow commissioners to hit the pause button with regard to rapid growth.
“We have to slow down this growth which I think has gotten out of control,” said District Commissioner Jay Connell.
At Monday’s commission meeting, Connell noted that Leesburg High School is at 90 percent capacity and the grade schools are at 80 percent capacity with 30,000 lots approved but not yet built. He also noted that the city has been forced to expand water and sewer infrastructure to handle new growth.
“It seems like every other year we have had to expend millions and millions of dollars to expand our sewer capacity,” he said.
He also noted that the roads are already inadequate for the current traffic let alone the increase that will occur as the 30,000-plus lots are developed.
Connell’s comments came during the first reading of an annexation and zoning ordinance for the Windmill Road subdivision which will be located east of U.S. Hwy. 27 and north of Windmill Road. The proposed 147-acre subdivision would contain 402 lots. All homes would be at least 1,800 square feet with a minimum two-car attached garage.
Mario Nappa who lives on Stoney Brook Drive about a mile north of the proposed subdivision also told the commissioners that the traffic in Leesburg is already “a real safety hazard.” There was a fatality just north of Windmill Road he noted. Nappa told the commissioners that “we do not need another 400 homes when we have 33,000 homes on the books.”
City manager All Minner did indicate that the approved lots are approximately 30,000.
A second reading of the proposed ordinance is set for a public hearing on June 10 at which time the commissioners will either approve or deny the development.
