Hillsborough County Planning Commission Regular Meeting – June 8, 2026

The Hillsborough County City County Planning Commission convened at approximately 2:00 PM on June 8, 2026, with Commissioner Sink leading the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance. Roll call established a quorum of six commissioners. The meeting addressed the consent calendar, three action items, a major discussion on the urban service area, and briefings on eight comprehensive plan map amendments. No public comments were received during the meeting. The regular session adjourned at 5:41 PM to reconvene for public hearings at 6:10 PM.

Consent Calendar

• Approved the minutes of the April 13, 2026 (regular and public hearing on unincorporated County plan amendments) and the minutes of May 11, 2026 (regular meeting and public hearings on City of Tampa and unincorporated County plan amendments). All minutes were approved unanimously.

Discussion Items

• 4A: Urban Expansion Area Planning Study – I‑4 Corridor & Little Manatee South Update – Staff presented status findings from Phase 2 of the study. Little Manatee South encompasses approximately 10,213 acres with about 8,860 residents; the I‑4 Corridor covers roughly 37,000 acres with about 31,000 residents. Key existing conditions: environmental sensitivity (Little Manatee River, creeks), limited infrastructure (no county water/wastewater in Little Manatee South, pockets of service in I‑4), and market demand (residential in Little Manatee South, industrial/employment in I‑4). Public survey priorities in Little Manatee South were protecting natural resources (rank 1) and maintaining agricultural land (rank 2); in the I‑4 corridor, maintaining agricultural land ranked first. Commissioners asked staff to provide future breakdowns of rural vs. urban land use categories and to consider the costs of infrastructure expansion. No action was taken; staff will continue scenario development.
• 4B: Urban Service Area Options for Next Steps – Staff outlined three timing options (now, after Board of County Commissioners direction, or after completion of the Urban Expansion Area studies in early 2027) and four approach options (facilitated commission discussion, facilitated stakeholder focus groups, public participation workshop, or attending UE study meetings). After extensive debate—commissioners expressed a range of views on urgency, scope, and the need to refine key issues—Commissioner Cardanas moved to proceed with timing option B (at this time) and approach options A (facilitated consensus‑building among commissioners to crystallize topics such as agriculture, infill/redevelopment, affordability, and development patterns) and B (facilitated stakeholder interviews with developers, agricultural interests, and rural residents). Motion carried 6‑0.
• Briefings on Comprehensive Plan Map Amendments (Items 5A‑5K) – Staff presented (without votes) eight privately‑initiated and publicly‑initiated plan amendments:
  • 5A/5B (Williams Road & Bessie Dix Road): 81.9 acres seeking USA expansion and land use change from Res‑1 to Res‑2/Res‑4.
  • 5C moved to July 2026 cycle.
  • 5D (Durr Road): 1.12 acres, Res‑1 to Res‑2.
  • 5E (Carlton Lake Road): 9.57 acres, AR 1‑5 to AE 1‑2.5.
  • 5F (Front Street): 0.26 acres, Res‑4 to Res‑12.
  • 5G (22nd Street): 13.83 acres (Villas at Unison senior living), Res‑20 to Res‑35.
  • 5H/5I/5J (Causeway Boulevard Sub‑areas A, B, C): publicly‑initiated from an FSU capstone study, totaling ~195 acres. Sub‑area A: Res‑6 to NMU‑6; Sub‑area B: Res‑9 to CMU‑12; Sub‑area C: Res‑9 to Res‑20.
  • 5K (Dale Mabry Highway): 121.73 acres (HCC Dale Mabry campus), from public semi‑public to UMU‑60 and RMU‑100. Questions from commissioners included requests for more detail on transition zones, potential school impacts, and the rationale for category changes.

Key Outcomes

• Motion on Temple Terrace LDC (Stormwater Easements) – Forwarded to Temple Terrace City Council a finding that the proposed amendment (Section 12‑827) is consistent with the Temple Terrace Comprehensive Plan. Unanimous.
• Motion on Temple Terrace LDC (Recovery Residences) – Forwarded to Temple Terrace City Council a finding that the amendments to Sections 12‑40 and 12‑81 (reasonable accommodation for certified recovery residences) are consistent with the comprehensive plan. Unanimous.
• Motion on Planning Commission Policy Revisions – Approved revisions to the PC policies removing the “Diversity in Contracting” section, deleting quarterly diversity reporting but retaining monthly contract reporting from the executive director, and updating protected‑classes language while adding a small business enterprise focus. Unanimous.
• Motion on Urban Service Area Next Steps – Directed staff to proceed with timing option B (pursue further examination at this time) and approach options A and B (facilitated commission discussion and facilitated stakeholder focus groups). Carried 6‑0.

Other Business

• Executive Director Melissa Zornita reported on Senate Bill 686 (agricultural enclaves) which permits certain properties to bypass comprehensive plan and zoning requirements, with a sunset in 2028. She noted that the Board of County Commissioners requested monthly updates on enclave applications. Commissioners asked staff to monitor potential conflicts with community plans.
• The Future Leaders in Planning program will present their capstone projects on Friday, June 12 (11:00 AM–12:30 PM) in the same room.
• The deadline for Planning & Design Award entries is July 17, 2026.
• A regular meeting is scheduled for July 13, 2026, and a special Temple Terrace meeting on August 17, 2026.
• Old business (structured public comment time limits) was deferred to the next meeting.
• Committee report: Commissioner Joseph reported that the TPO board approved the FY 2027‑2028 Unified Work Program and the FY 2028‑2032 Priority List at its May 13 meeting. The next TPO meeting will be a public hearing on the Transportation Improvement Program.