Hillsborough County commissioners on July 22 approved a rezoning to allow up to 164 townhomes and one remaining single‑family home on a 17.74‑acre parcel west of North 50th Street, a vote that changed the site’s primary vehicular access from a narrow Kirby Street driveway to a new connection on Porpoise Drive.

The rezoning passed 6‑1, with Commissioner Hagen recording the lone dissent. The board and planning staff said the proposal spreads density across the PD boundary and reduces building height next to established single‑family neighborhoods.

Applicant project engineer Jeremy Couch described the property's zoning history and said the new access via Porpoise Drive provides a safer and more appropriate primary entrance than the narrow Kirby Street drive. “The proposal would be for 164 townhomes … The access from Porpoise Drive is significantly better than the access from Kirby,” Couch told the board.

Planning Commission staff found the proposal consistent with the comprehensive plan and the East Lake Orient Park community plan, noting the project’s density (about 9–10 dwelling units per gross acre) is compatible when considered with the site’s mix of future land use categories. The zoning hearing master and transportation reviewers also recommended approval subject to the conditions in the staff report.

Development services staff raised concerns about replacing a single‑family home to the south with a primary entrance and the visual continuity of the existing neighborhood, but several commissioners favored the improved access and reduced massing compared with the prior multifamily approvals. Commissioner Cohen observed that if the county had not approved prior higher‑density entitlements, the decision would be different, but said the Porpoise Drive access was a materially better outcome than allowing the project to rely solely on Kirby Street.

The approved PD includes standard buffering, a 50‑foot setback along the river, a 15‑foot building separation, and a maximum height of 35 feet; the applicant also requested and received an administrative variance for driveway spacing as part of the transportation review.

The board’s approval requires the developer to meet county permitting and SWFWMD requirements where applicable and to comply with the PD conditions before site‑level permits are issued.

Commissioners said the change reduces the potential for the kind of narrow access and emergency vehicle problems the Kirby entrance would have posed, while retaining the development’s permitted unit count and requiring buffering and other compatibility measures.