Neighbors press Tampa council over dumpster, traffic and density in West Swan rezoning; ordinance approved 5–2

Neighbors of a planned townhome development at 3807 and 3811 West Swan told the council Thursday they still had unanswered concerns about traffic, density and the location of a trash enclosure even after an applicant revised the site plan.

"They don't have respect for the community that they're barging into," neighbor Kyle Ross said, citing past approvals on the block and arguing the new development would overload an already congested corridor. Ross and other neighbors had argued council should require a traffic study and move a dumpster that originally abutted private yards.

Applicant representative David Mechanic told council the team submitted a revised, certified site plan before the second reading that relocated the dumpster to the northeast corner of the parcel "as far into the corner as we could get." Mechanic said the revised site plan is the official plan of record and the applicant will be bound to build to that plan.

"We moved the dumpster to the Northeast Corner," Mechanic said, showing the plan on the chamber screen. Multiple neighbors, including Steven Alt and Ryan Canelis, said they understood the dumpster had been moved but worried it remained visible from Swan Avenue and would be the first feature drivers encounter.

Applicant son‑in‑law Trey Weingart said the project now generates less traffic than earlier allowed uses for the site. "The blue bar reflects the use that was originally on the site... the green bar is what we are proposing today," Weingart said, showing a traffic comparison prepared by the applicant.

Council considered staff revisions and the certified plans before voting. The ordinance to rezone the two parcels from PD to PD (allowing residential single‑family attached) passed on second reading with a recorded 5–2 vote; Councilmembers Clendenin and Hertek voted no.

Councilmember Hertak reiterated neighborhood concerns during debate, saying the scale and form of the proposal were incompatible with the rest of the street and that the council had repeatedly seen projects developers argued were "too dense for too little property." The applicant and his representatives responded that the plan reduced traffic compared with prior approvals and complied with staff conditions.

The plan of record filed for second reading will be the document staff expects to enforce during permitting and construction, city staff said. The council did not remand the project for further study; the rezoning stands with the two recorded no votes.

Next steps: applicant must meet site plan and permitting requirements and construct according to the certified plan on file; neighbors may pursue any available administrative remedies during permitting.