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Developer seeks townhomes on East Lake Orient Park site; neighbors and staff split over access via Porpoise Drive
Summary
An applicant asked to rezone a 17.74-acre parcel east of the Hillsborough River to allow fee‑simple townhomes and reduce an approved multifamily density. Transportation staff said Porpoise Drive has capacity; nearby residents and county staff raised safety and character concerns about routing project traffic onto a neighborhood street.
A developer asked the Zoning Hearing Master on March 24 to rezone roughly 17.74 acres in the East Lake Orient Park community to allow a fee‑simple townhome project with about 164–180 units, reducing an existing multifamily approval. The applicant said the revised plan would lower density to about 9.3 dwelling units per acre with no flex and replace a previously approved 204‑unit apartment approval.
Planning and applicant materials, the developer told the hearing master, show the requested townhome plan is “more compatible” with adjacent single‑family neighborhoods than the prior multifamily approval. Kevin Riali, representing the applicant, summarized the change: “The proposed project today is for 164 townhomes … The density would be reduced to 9.3 dwelling units per acre with no flex requested.”
Transportation and land‑use conflict was the core dispute. Development Services staff and Planning Commission staff each found the land‑use change could be compatible in principle, but staff raised a specific objection to the applicant’s proposed primary access location on Porpoise Drive. Sam Ball of Hillsborough County Development Services told the hearing that staff’s opposition focused on the access configuration and how the proposed entrance would “significantly alter the visual continuity of the long established single family neighborhood.”
Transportation reviewers and the applicant’s traffic expert disputed the characterization of impact. Richard Perez of the county’s Transportation Review Section said his team “did find this supportable with conditions of approval,” and consultant Steve Henry testified the road would continue to function as a local street if the project used Porpoise Drive. Henry said the upgraded road and access design would leave the roadway “function[ing] at the level of service” expected for a local street.
Two neighborhood residents who live on Porpoise Drive and nearby told the hearing they oppose the proposed access and fear an increase in traffic and safety risks. Watts Humphrey, a Porpoise Drive resident, said the development would increase the number of homes using the street from roughly 70 to more than 250 and urged routing project traffic to Kirby Street instead. “I object to that, quite strenuously,” Humphrey said, calling the proposed alignment a “single choke point” for the neighborhood.
The applicant said it had negotiated property acquisitions and engineering changes to provide a wider, gated access on Porpoise Drive and submitted a neighborhood meeting survey showing some adjacent residents preferred the new access location. The applicant also pointed out that the previously approved apartment plan would have sent traffic to Kirby Street under the earlier entitlement.
No final decision was made at the hearing. The Zoning Hearing Master will file a written recommendation within 15 business days for the Board of County Commissioners, which will make the final decision. The transportation review, final alignment of the proposed North‑South connector and any required offsite improvements were identified as outstanding items that will be resolved by permitting or by conditions if the rezoning is approved.
