The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners on July 22 approved a modification to the Mirror Bay/Compass Point planned development that allows single-family detached homes on 84 previously platted lots, a vote that commissioners said will reduce the visual massing compared with the townhome buildings originally approved.

The change was approved 7-0 after a day of testimony, presentations from the applicant team and extended public comment from residents who asked the board to protect neighborhoods at the community entry and to address drainage and potential rental ownership.

The applicant's attorney, Michael Brooks, said Stanley Martin Homes acquired the remaining platted lots and proposed modified development standards so a detached single-family product would fit on the existing lots without increasing the number of units or the project's density. “This PRS will not result in an increase in the number of units in Compass Point or in the Mirror Bay project above and beyond what's already approved,” Brooks told commissioners.

Residents told the board they fear the look and character of the entrance to Mirror Bay could be damaged and that changes in lot coverage could worsen flooding. “I worry about grading or the water flow, and that is gonna cause flooding issues, which is, again, at the entrance of the community,” a resident said during public comment. Several speakers urged conditions that would prevent large institutional ownership of the new homes and asked for assurances about stormwater controls.

Project engineer Jeremy Couch said the parcel is governed by a master stormwater plan and an existing Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) permit; he told the board the proposed detached product is “less intensive than what the permit allows” and that erosion and runoff issues observed during earlier construction were tied to the site not yet being stabilized. “Once it gets going, those issues will be resolved,” Couch said.

County planning and development staff said the proposal includes required reviews and that the Mirror Bay drainage system will be managed under the project's master drainage permit and the Community Development District (CDD). County staff also said they would review revised construction plans to ensure no post-development exceedance of previously approved runoff thresholds.

Several commissioners emphasized limits on local authority. Commissioner Wolstol said state law preempts local regulation of the design of one- and two-family homes and that the county cannot impose rules preventing owners from renting single-family lots. “There is a preemption in state law from regulating 1- and 2-family homes and the design and the design elements of this house,” Wolstol said. The applicant confirmed the developer is not proposing a build-to-rent product: “This is not planned for a rental community,” Michael Brooks told the board.

Supporters of the change, including planning staff and the Mirror Bay Architectural Review Committee, said the detached product would be consistent with the established Florida Traditional Design (FTD) patterns in adjacent subdivisions and would provide more visual separation than multiunit townhome buildings. Commissioners who spoke in favor said the modification reduces massing at the community entry and preserves the overall unit count and infrastructure commitments.

The board approved the request with conditions recommended by development services. The applicant and staff will continue with technical reviews required under the master SWFWMD permit and county permitting before vertical construction begins.

The decision resolves a long-running entitlement for the Compass Point portion of Mirror Bay; the property was platted and partially developed in the 2000s and has unused horizontal infrastructure, the applicant said.

Residents seeking additional guarantees — such as enforceable limits on future rental ownership — were told state law limits the county's regulatory tools and that the project team will follow county and SWFWMD permitting requirements.

Commissioners said the project reduces the scale and visual mass that had concerned neighbors under the previously permitted townhome concept and that the county will monitor technical stormwater reviews as building permits are filed.