Hillsborough County staff outline infrastructure needs, costs and timing tied to proposed urban service area expansion

Hillsborough County officials presented a cross‑department briefing to the Hillsborough County City‑County Planning Commission on planned infrastructure to support proposed expansions of the urban service area, saying the changes will require coordinated capital investments and careful timing to avoid service shortfalls.

Greg Bridal, Deputy County Administrator, said the Board of County Commissioners transmitted plan amendments in March and asked county staff to explain how utilities, fire rescue, public works and parks would plan for growth. "We have for years been wrestling with how, when, where to expand the urban service boundary," Bridal said, and the county wants to avoid getting "behind the 8 ball" on roads, water, sewer and other services.

The briefing gave commissioners estimates of scale and a range of likely outcomes. County staff described the RP‑2 study area as about 23,000 acres in total, which the presenters said reduces to roughly 16,000 acres when already‑included urban land (FishHawk, existing PDs and conservation areas) are removed. Staff said the mapped area between the highlighted parcels contains an estimated 6,200 acres, and that an estimate of developable land after excluding many small parcels was about 4,500 acres. County staff presented a range of dwelling‑unit outcomes based on those assumptions: a lower bound of roughly 8,100 units and a high‑end theoretical figure near 13,500 units; staff repeatedly emphasized those are estimates and depend on parcel consolidation, market choices and how infrastructure and open space are configured.

Fire Rescue: capacity and stations

Jason Ockney, Hillsborough County Fire Chief, summarized current coverage and plans. "We have seven existing stations currently that are fully operational," Ockney said, and listed existing facilities he identified as Lithia, Summerfield, Sundance, Wyomama, Sun City, Fishhawk and Rodin (as named in the presentation). He said three of those stations were placed since 2018. Based on department planning and NFPA guidance cited by the chief, staff used a planning ratio of about 18,000 residents per fire station and said several stations are funded or proposed in future Community Investment Tax (CIT) cycles; the chief stressed station timing depends on roadway and other infrastructure being in place.

Roads and transportation

Josh Belotti, Director of Engineering and Operations for Hillsborough County Public Works, said the RP‑2 expansion area contains about 95 lane miles of county roads; roughly 20 lane miles were identified as being in poor condition or substandard. Belotti said preliminary county estimates for pavement and substandard‑road repairs and related safety or bike/pedestrian enhancements in that area are on the order of $12 million. For the WVR‑2 study area staff listed about 33 lane miles and an approximate $5 million estimate for similar work. Funding sources named in the presentation included gas tax, ad valorem receipts, the Community Investment Tax (CIT), mobility fees and occasional grants. Belotti noted mobility fees cannot be used for maintenance of existing infrastructure.

Water and wastewater timing risks

Lisa Ray, Director of Water Resources, said current system flows and project schedules create a timing risk: the county is planning a new water treatment plant scheduled to come online in 2029 and a new wastewater treatment plant that staff estimated could be about an $800 million project (with roughly $60 million already approved by the board toward design). Ray said the utility currently files model projections and that a key near‑term concern is pressure and fire‑flow during the gap before the new plant is operating. "We have a new water treatment plant that we anticipate coming online in 2029," Ray said. She reported that roughly half of potable water use in the dry season is for irrigation and urged increased reclaimed‑water use and conservation measures during the interim period. Ray said water and sewer funding sources include user fees, impact fees and AGRF (developer‑paid up‑front fees).

Parks and open space impacts

Rick Valdez, Director of Parks and Recreation, said the proposed plan amendment areas fall within the county's Park South impact‑fee zone. He reported an estimated additional population of about 54,545 residents under the plan amendment packet forecasts and said staff calculated a need for roughly 158 acres of additional active parkland (typically in minimum 10‑acre increments) and about 3.3 miles of active trails. Valdez said park impact fees plus possible CIT proceeds (the presentation cited about $53 million in an anticipated CIT renewal allocation countywide) are expected to fund park expansions.

Policy, fees and land‑use mechanics

Presenters and Planning Commission staff discussed options to align development approvals, developer proffers and public investment. County staff described mobility fee alternative satisfaction agreements (MUFASAs) as a tool to have developers program mobility fee payments toward nearby capacity projects and gave examples where such agreements funded intersection or school access projects. Adam Gormley of Development Services explained the county’s existing policy that new lots and developments in the urban service area must connect to public water and wastewater; he said the board and staff are discussing whether exceptions for small lot splits or very large parcels might be necessary so that minor lot divisions do not force owners to pay costly off‑site extensions before they seek development.

Commissioner questions and next steps

Commissioners pressed staff on how traffic, local road capacity and FDOT coordination would be managed; staff said regional congestion points (for example state highways outside the expansion boundary) are where capacity constraints are most likely to appear and that intersection or operational improvements may be needed as development proceeds. Commissioners also asked whether the county coordinates with Tampa Bay Water and the Tampa Bay desalination facility; Ray said Tampa Bay Water owns and operates the desalination plant and that it is back in service after major maintenance. Several commissioners urged stronger policies on reclaimed‑water use and water‑conservation landscaping.

Why this matters

County staff told the commission the board transmitted the plan amendments to allow coordinated capital planning rather than piecemeal, privately initiated expansions. Presenters emphasized the principal risk is timing: building permit approvals, subdivision construction and developer activity will only be able to proceed where adequate roads, water pressure, wastewater capacity and other public infrastructure exist or are scheduled. Several department directors said funding and project delivery will require a mix of impact fees, CIT, mobility fees, user fees, ad valorem revenue and grants.

The county said staff will return to the Planning Commission with additional details as they refine project lists, costs and timing. Commissioners asked for follow‑up information on the transportation modeling for local roads and for more complete lists of planned road projects tied to potential new schools and station sites.