Planning commission backs Tampa future land-use rewrite, adds Rocky Point to coastal development area

The Tampa Planning Commission voted to find TACPA 24-04, a wholesale update to the future land-use section of the Tampa Comprehensive Plan, consistent with the comprehensive plan and forward the recommendation to Tampa City Council, and amended the motion to include Rocky Point in the city's coastal development areas map. The amended motion passed 6-2.

The update is a broad rewrite that staff said aims to direct growth to 'place types' such as regional activity centers, transit-supportive areas and transit-ready corridors, simplify mixed-use categories, and add stacked density bonuses for affordable housing, transit proximity and green-building measures.

Jennifer Malone, planning commission staff, told commissioners the draft is the product of a visioning process that began in 2022, stakeholder outreach and consultant analysis. "We are back after April 7 where we received some direction from this board," Malone said, and described changes including new place-type guidance, a new industrial-preservation map and a missing-middle proposal to allow townhomes and duplexes in selected Residential 10 parcels that meet locational and compatibility criteria.

Melissa Dickens, planning commission staff, said staff revised the draft after additional stakeholder meetings. She said some numerical definitions for vertically integrated mixed use were moved to the Land Development Code (LDC), the prohibition on plan amendments in parts of the CHHA was removed so applicants can apply, and Westshore was established as a coastal development area.

The draft retains a limit on increasing density inside the CHHA: "no plan amendments for parcels within the CHHA should increase the maximum residential density or intensity beyond what is currently allowed by the FLU category," Malone said, while noting limited exceptions where staff said a public benefit or a funding mechanism exists.

Public commenters expressed a wide range of views. Carol Ann Bennett urged the commission to find the draft inconsistent, saying South Tampa "does not need increased capacity," while representatives of the development community, including Michael Marino of Western Alliance and Eric Garduno of the Bay Area Apartment Association, urged approval and noted the draft's incentives for resilience and housing production. Several neighborhood residents, including Lindy Ellet and Bill Bertolino, raised concerns about traffic, missing sidewalks and a lack of individualized notice to some property owners.

Multiple commenters sought clarity on…