Pasco approves hockey academy that neighbors say is in the wrong place

Russ Henderson’s first step toward building a hockey academy in Pasco County was purchasing a 10-acre lot in the rural neighborhood surrounded by other large lots on a dirt road in 2019.

His neighbors don’t like the idea and the county commissioner who represents his district doesn’t like the way the project took shape. But on Tuesday that commissioner, Ron Oakley, led a unanimous vote to rezone the site so that Henderson could expand his Nest Hockey Academy to 150 students.

Soon after he purchased the land on McKendree Road, Henderson proposed a skating rink on the site. To get that approved by the county, he sought permission to build an “accessory structure,” permission that assumed it was connected to an occupied home. With the approval from the Planning Commission several months later, he was able to build a two-story, 36,311-square-foot ice rink on the site, along with a 7,500-square-foot classroom building.

But that approval only allowed the building to house 20 people. Thirteen of those were students.

Oakley opened the expansion request discussion Tuesday by saying he questioned the process. He didn’t believe Henderson lived on the site, despite asking originally for an accessory structure. He didn’t like that the County Commission never got a say in the first step. He didn’t believe a residential area was the right location for a hockey academy.

And he worried that, without a higher-level scrutiny, Henderson could have built his rink on top of the proposed road planned for that area that was key to industrial development nearby.

Neighbors said they were blindsided by the project, which will dump much more traffic on their substandard rural road. While resident John Parlapiano said he supported the concept, the school plan was going to negatively impact the neighborhood.

“I’m for my quality of life,” he said.

Parlapiano said he was retired from law enforcement and he also questioned why the county would consider suspending a rule that prohibits alcohol within a certain distance of a school. “I know what happens when you bring alcohol into a neighborhood,” he said.

Sherri Parlapiano said that how the project came about seemed “underhanded.” Henderson bought the residential property because it was cheaper and he never lived at the site, she said.

“He wants to force his business on everyone else,” she said.

Brent Spain, representing Henderson, said, “This area is in transition.” Industrial development has been approved on nearby properties, including the Pasco Town Center, and the zone is considered an area for higher density growth, according to Pasco’s development rules.

He also said Henderson had gone through all of the proper processes. The request for allowing alcohol on-site was related to the fact that the school raises money and might have events where alcohol is consumed on the site. He also showed photos of the first class of students at the Nest Academy, both in the classroom and on the ice rink at the school. Parents and students also spoke in favor of the school expansion.

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Spain also responded to a question by Oakley about whether the program was a Christian school. Spain said it was affiliated with Liberty University and that Henderson hopes for accreditation within three years.

Oakley, who made the motion to approve the rezoning that will allow the school expansion, agreed that the residential neighborhood would be seeing transition in the coming years. There will be more than 100,000 new jobs created at the industrial sites nearby, including the new 1.4-million-square-foot Target distribution center at Interstate 75 and State Road 52, he said.

“Massive changes are coming to that area,” said commission chairperson Jack Mariano. “It’s not going to be like it is now.”

This story has been updated to correct the name of Brent Spain.