HUDSON, Fla. — A 123-acre stretch of county-owned land in Hudson could eventually become a large Pasco County government operations campus, but a group of environmentalists is fighting to keep it undeveloped.
The group, known as Green Guardians, wants Pasco County to preserve the property near Nottingham Road and Hudson Avenue as conservation land.
“Because there is nothing left. It’s all developed,” said Jasmina Forcan.
WATCH: Group fights to preserve 123 acres as Pasco considers site for new facility
Forcan says she has watched development transform this part of Pasco County and does not want to see more green space disappear.
“It’s unbelievable how much it’s changed. Everything is developed or being developed or going to be developed.”
Pasco County is evaluating the 123-acre property as one possible location for a new public works facility.
According to project information compiled by Green Guardians, concepts for the property have included an approximately 82,000-square-foot office and warehouse building, a nearly 21,000-square-foot fleet building, fuel and wash facilities, support structures and about 800 parking spaces.
The proposed campus would consolidate county public works, engineering and fleet operations.
Hudson Avenue already has several newer subdivisions, with additional homes under construction nearby.
“We are not talking hundreds; we are talking thousands of homes that are already on the map," said Jan Johnson.
Johnson lives on 11 acres just down the street and says she has watched traffic and development increase around her.
“We don’t need any more people on this road. It is a straight raceway right now as it is. I’m certainly not against growth and development, but since I’ve been here it’s changed dramatically.”
Green Guardians' concerns go beyond additional development and traffic.
The group says the property contains connected forest, wetlands, ponds, and upland habitat that could support a variety of wildlife.
One of its biggest concerns is the gopher tortoise, which is listed as threatened in Florida.
Green Guardians says preliminary scouting by residents identified about 50 apparent gopher tortoise burrows on roughly one-quarter of the property. The group acknowledges those observations are preliminary and are not an official Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission survey.
Members are calling for comprehensive wildlife, rare plant, wetland and hydrological surveys before the county makes a final decision about the property.
Dan Callaghan has spent years fighting to preserve environmentally sensitive land in Pasco County.
Tampa Bay 28 first interviewed Callaghan in 2018, when he was trying to protect wetlands in the Serenova Preserve from the Ridge Road extension.
“We worked for 19 years to keep the government at bay as far as putting a highway through that pristine wilderness and we failed, but for 19 years we kept them at bay.”
Now Callaghan and Green Guardians are turning their attention to the Hudson property.
The group says developing the site would eliminate a large area of natural habitat. Instead, members want county officials to pause consideration of the property, investigate already developed or underused sites for the government facility and consider turning the Hudson land into a conservation park or preserve.
“What we are seeing now is Pasco County is becoming Pinellas, where, in fact, it’s all pavement, concrete, and houses, so while we can, we are trying to save what we can," said Callaghan.
According to information compiled by Green Guardians, an Environmental Resource Permit application has been publicly noticed for approximately 2,000 feet of access road and drainage improvements covering 14.25 acres.
The group says it wants the county to avoid clearing, grading or other irreversible work while the future of the property is being considered.
Pasco County says no final decision has been made on where to build the Public Works facility.
In a statement to Tampa Bay 28, the county said the proposed facility near Nottingham Road remains in the planning and site-evaluation phase.
The county is evaluating both the Nottingham Road property in Hudson and another potential site near the Public Infrastructure Administration Building in Land O’ Lakes.
Site evaluations are underway, according to the county, with a final location decision expected later this year or in early 2027.
For Green Guardians, that means there is still time to make the case that the Hudson property should remain undeveloped.
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