WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — While many people say growth is good, one Pasco County resident is concerned with overdevelopment in the county. 

What You Need To Know

  • A resident says she is concerned about overgrowth in Wesley Chapel

  • Plans for a new town center have been approved on McKendree Road

  • Commissioners recently approved the expansion of a hockey academy in the area

Judith Horvath has owned a plot of land on McKendree Road in Wesley Chapel for the past 10 years, operating her nonprofit Angel of God Equine Sanctuary for horses.

“When we came in 12 years ago, there was nothing here,” Horvath said. “I mean, this was just an open land as well.”

She says she is worried about the development of property north of her where a new Wesley Chapel town center will be built, which will include restaurants and homes.

While Horvath says development has the benefit of bringing more traffic to her nonprofit, it could also be bad for the environment.

“If we destroy that, we destroy our ecosystem, which then destroys our livelihood," she said. "We won’t have good pastures because we’ll be eliminating some of the other nature that is required to have bird droppings and things like that. Yes, I think we should have some nature."

Commissioners also just approved the expansion of nearby hockey academy that will allow more people in the facility.

“Once there’s development, literally one property over, that will change the dynamics of the area," Horvath said. "And people will be frequenting restaurants, hotels, or living there. They will definitely be taking McKendree Road down to do a shortcut over the back."

Construction of the town center was meant to break ground in January, but those plans were pushed back.