TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: A. Jerome Fletcher II, ICMA-CM, MPA, City Manager
TITLE: A Resolution of the City Commission of the City of North Port, Florida, Approving the Wellen Park Village HL Mixed-Use/Residential Development Master Concept Plan with Two Waivers to the Unified Land Development Code on Approximately 743.512 Acres Located Generally South of S. Tamiami Trail (US-41) and East of S. River Road; Providing for Findings; Providing for Master Concept Plan Approval; Providing Waiver Approval; Providing for Conflicts; Providing for Severability; and Providing an Effective Date. (QUASI-JUDICIAL)
Recommended Action
Option 1: Approve Resolution No. 2026-R-68, Village HL Master Concept Plan with Waivers 1 and 2, subject to staff-recommended conditions of approval, establishing a maximum binding residential cap of 1,875 dwelling units and total non-residential entitlements of 500,000 gross square feet comprising 400,000 square feet of commercial retail & services and 100,000 total square feet of professional office space (Petition Nos. PMCP-25-02757, PWAV-26-01524, and PWAV-26-02061).
City Commission Options
Option 1: Approve Resolution No. 2026-R-68, Village HL Master Concept Plan with Waivers 1 and 2, subject to staff-recommended conditions of approval, establishing a maximum binding residential cap of 1,875 dwelling units and total non-residential entitlements of 500,000 gross square feet comprising 400,000 square feet of commercial retail & services and 100,000 total square feet of professional office space (Petition Nos. PMCP-25-02757, PWAV-26-01524, and PWAV-26-02061).
• Pros:
o Expands and diversifies the local tax base by adding $902.3 million in projected build-out property valuation and introducing 277 targeted high-wage professional office positions averaging $93,808 annually.
o Supports a permanent direct employment capacity of 1,086 to 1,400 jobs and generates an estimated $67 million in annual direct payroll.
o Environmental Protection: Shifts homesites 5 feet closer to the street pavement to eliminate 1.1 acres of driveway impervious surface area, maximizing rear open space for wildlife habitat and jurisdictional wetland protection.
o Sustained Buffer Opacity: Preserves 25,950 linear feet of mature, native wetland vegetation to establish immediate visual screening and land-use separation, completely avoiding the machinery clearing and environmental degradation of constructing artificial dirt berms.
• Cons:
o Reducing the right-of-way width to 50 feet creates a permanent design variance from the standard 60-foot right-of-way width required by ULDC Appendix A, setting a project-specific precedent for the internal residential street segments of this village.
o Long-Term Buffer Monitoring Burden. Relying on 25,950 linear feet of natural wetland vegetation as a development buffer requires City monitoring to ensure the developer maintains proper invasive species control and prevents illegal clearing.
Option 2: Approve Resolution No. 2026-R-68, Village HL Master Concept Plan with Waivers 1 and 2 exactly as submitted by the developer, establishing a maximum binding residential cap of 1,875 dwelling units and total non-residential entitlements of 500,000 gross square feet comprising 400,000 square feet of commercial retail & services and 100,000 total square feet of professional office space (Petition Nos. PMCP-25-02757, PWAV-26-01524, and PWAV-26-02061).
• Pros:
o Expedited Development Timeline: Allows the developer to move directly into the preliminary subdivision and major site and development plan stages with their conceptual site plan without staff conditions of approval.
o Immediate Construction Revenues: Maximizes short-term, one-time city revenue by immediately collecting standard building permit and impact fees for 1,875 residential units.
• Cons:
o Potential Environmental Encroachment: Approves maps using a provisional River Area boundary instead of the official Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) September 23, 2026, delineation, creating a risk of structural design conflicts within the Myakka River Protection Zone.
Option 3: Deny Resolution No. 2026-R-68, Village HL Master Concept Plan with Waivers 1 and 2 (Petition Nos. PMCP-25-02757, PWAV-26-01524, and PWAV-26-02061).
• Pros:
o Eliminates Service Demands: Isolates the city from new public safety and municipal service demands, ensuring no additional Police patrol staffing or EMS paramedics are added to the General Fund.
o Avoids Fiscal Uncertainty: Prevents the immediate introduction of an unverified $3,512,465 operational service delivery budget into the General Fund.
o Environmental Protection: Eliminates any near-term risk of design encroachment or physical clearing within the Myakka River Protection Zone or native wetland networks.
• Cons:
o Stalls Commercial Land Diversification: Postpones the development of the 500,000 square feet of commercial and office spaces, delaying progress on diversifying the municipal tax base.
o Lost High-Wage Positions: Prevents the creation of the 277 high-wage professional office jobs averaging $93,808 annually that were planned within the Town Center node.
Background Information
On June 23, 2025, Kelley Klepper, AICP, of Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. (Applicant), on behalf of Myakka River Club, LLLP and Timber Forest Ranch, LLLP (Property Owner), submitted an application for approval of a Master Concept Plan (MCP) for Wellen Park Village HL (Petition No. PMCP-25-02757).
In accordance with Section 3.4.1 of the 2024 Unified Land Development Code (ULDC), all Village Districts must be governed by an approved Master Concept Plan (MCP). Additionally, ULDC Section 2.2.10.A(2) stipulates that projects requesting design waivers require a mandatory MCP review and binding approval from the City Commission. This application is also subject to the Village review and approval criteria established in the 2024 City of North Port Comprehensive Plan and ULDC Chapter 3, Article IV, Section 3.4.2.
Concurrent Project-Specific Waivers:
Concurrently with the MCP, the Applicant requested two project-specific waivers under 2024 ULDC Section 2.2.19 (Waivers):
• Internal Roadway Right-of-Way Width Waiver (File No. PWAV-26-01524): Requests relief from the design criteria of ULDC Appendix A, Section 1.2.2, to reduce the right-of-way width for internal local roadways from 60 feet to 50 feet across six designated segments.
• Perimeter Landscape Buffer Modification Waiver (File No. PWAV-26-02061): Requests relief from the requirements of ULDC Section 4.3.12 (Landscape Buffers), allowing existing preserved wetland vegetation within conserved environmental tracts to satisfy perimeter landscape buffer standards without installing additional engineered landscape buffering.
Property Characteristics & Location:
• Acreage: Approximately 743.51 gross acres.
• Location: East of South River Road and south of US Highway 41 (Sections 3 & 10, Township 40 South, Range 20 East).
• Future Land Use Designation: Village (V).
• Zoning Map Designation: Village (V).
The subject property has progressed through several legislative actions to establish its Future Land Use and Zoning Designation:
• Annexation: Incorporated into the City of North Port municipal boundaries in the year 2000.
• Comprehensive Plan Amendment: Future Land Use (FLU) designation formally amended to Village (V) via Petition No. CPA-02-83 (Ordinance No. 03-28) on March 22, 2004.
• Official Zoning Map Amendment: Zoning classification changed from No Zoning Designation to Village (V) via Petition No. REZ-15-158 (Ordinance No. 2016-16) on September 13, 2016.
• Historical Conveyances & Legal Entity Updates: On May 28, 2014, Fourth Quarter Properties XXXII, LLC conveyed the acreage to Thomas Ranch Land Partners Village 4A, LLLP and Thomas Ranch Land Partners Village 4B, LLLP (recorded in Instrument No. 2014062920 and Instrument No. 2014062921). On April 21, 2015, the Florida Department of State recorded amendments changing the legal names to Myakka River Club, LLLP and Timber Forest Ranch, LLLP. On January 24, 2025, the City of North Port executed a Warranty Deed to Myakka River Club, LLLP for right-of-way alignments within Section 3, Township 40 South, Range 20 East (recorded under Instrument No. 2025074732).
Master Concept Plan:
The proposed Master Concept Plan (MCP) provides a conceptual framework for a maximum of 1,875 residential units and 500,000 square feet of non-residential development. This non-residential component includes 400,000 square feet designated for commercial retail and services, as well as 100,000 square feet allocated for professional and medical office space.
This conceptual layout incorporates a clustered development configuration featuring diverse housing types-including detached single-family dwellings, attached residential, and multi-family-organized across four distinct village subdistricts:
• Town Center (TC): Town Centers serve as commercial, industrial, and office centers that provide various services and amenities to the surrounding residential uses. Town Centers shall contain a vertical mixing of uses.
• Village Centers (VC): Village Centers are commercial centers of the community located at the intersections of collector streets.
• Neighborhood Centers (NC): Establish smaller service and civic nodes integrated across the village.
• Residential Neighborhoods: Comprise the core living zones of the village, configured around the open space frameworks.
Infrastructure & Open Space Layout:
• Multi-Modal Transportation Network: The proposed Village HL layout integrates a network design that directly accommodates pedestrian, bicycle, and alternative mobility uses. Local and collector streets, protected bike lanes, sidewalks, and a multi-use path system supply up to 15,500 feet of potential trails. These facilities form a fully connected route from individual residential neighborhoods directly to the designated Village Centers and neighboring Villages.
• Open Space Framework: The proposed MCP provides at least 36% open space, exceeding the city's 30% minimum requirement.
• Recreation Potential: The southern portion of Village HL accommodates a potential regional park and related active recreational programming.
Legal Review:
Resolution No. 2026-R-68 has been reviewed by the City Attorney and is legally correct as to form.
Public Notice:
Pursuant to ULDC Section 2.1.4.L(3) Mailed Notice and Section 2.1.4.L(2)c Resolutions (Except Vacations), notices were mailed to property owners within a one thousand, two hundred (1,200) foot radius from the property line of the subject property on September 29, 2026. The City published the notice of public hearing on September 18, 2026.
The Planning & Zoning Advisory Board (PZAB) held a public hearing on October 15, 2026. Due to the timing of the Legistar due dates and the Commission Public Hearing, the PZAB Action Report was not available. Staff will present the PZAB results during their presentation.
Resolution No. 2026-R-68 was submitted to the City Clerk's Office on October 6, 2026, for signature, subject to City Commission approval.
Strategic Plan Pillar
Quality of Life
Economic Development & Growth Management
Environmental Resiliency & Sustainability
Financial Impact
The proposed master concept plan estimates an increase to the municipal real estate tax roll by $902.4 million. An evaluation of the developer’s financial projections and the reasonableness of the underlying assumptions was conducted by the City to assess the estimated fiscal impact of the proposed development (Table 2, page 12 of the staff report). Based on this evaluation, the development is projected to generate $5,792,892 in annual municipal revenues against $5,053,873 in associated service costs, resulting in a positive $1.15 tax-to-cost ratio for the City’s General Fund (001). This exceeds the $1.00 break-even threshold, resulting in a net operating surplus of $739,019 and supporting the City's General Fund.
Procurement
Not Applicable
Attachments:
1. Resolution No. 2026-R-68
2. Staff Report
3. Staff Presentation
4. Staff Proposed Conditions of Approval
Prepared by: Sherry Willette-Grondin, Planner III, Development Services Department
Lori Barnes, AICP, CPM, Deputy Director, Development Services Department
Marcy Krum-Tinsley, Planning & Zoning Division Manager
Department Director: Alaina Ray, AICP, Director, Development Services Department