Tampa City Council on Thursday asked city staff to draft an ordinance to let certain homeowners affected by last year’s storms pay the prior sidewalk in-lieu fee rather than the higher rate adopted in April.

The motion, made by Councilman Charlie Carlson and seconded by Councilmember Michael Miranda, instructs staff to return with draft language by Nov. 6 and to present an ordinance that would allow homeowners whose houses suffered at least 51% damage from Hurricane Helene or Hurricane Milton to be “grandfathered” into the old $29-per-linear-foot in-lieu rate through Dec. 31, 2025.

Why it matters: Several constituents told council that they were rebuilding after storm damage and, because of permitting or insurance timing, missed the April change that raised the in-lieu fee. Council members said they did not intend to penalize disaster victims who were mid‑recovery when the fee changed.

What council directed: Legal staff and department representatives were asked to return with draft ordinance language and with data showing how many permits and fees might be affected if the change were made retroactive. Council also asked mobility staff to prepare a separate review of the code provision that lets applicants claim there is “no connecting sidewalk” as a reason to pay the fee rather than construct a sidewalk.

Staff context and next steps: City legal counsel (Emma Gregory) explained how the city’s sidewalk requirement is written in code (chapter 22), and city permitting staff (Abby Feeley) described how storm-related permitting and fee-waiver windows affected applicants. Mobility staff (Brandon Campbell) was asked to bring maps and programmatic data to help prioritize where sidewalks should be built and to show how many in-lieu payments have been used since the code change.

Council members emphasized the limited scope of the request: the draft ordinance should address owners rebuilding after the specified storms and should not rewrite the city’s long-term sidewalk policy. Council voted unanimously to ask staff to return with draft language by Nov. 6.

Notes and limitations: The council’s directive was procedural — it sent staff back to prepare draft text for council review. No ordinance was adopted at the meeting, and the change would require a subsequent council vote to take effect. The motion did not waive fees for future storms or broader permit classes.