LPA recommends land‑use and master‑plan changes to allow car wash at East Lake and Tarpon Woods; neighbors raise traffic and flooding concerns

The Pinellas Local Planning Agency recommended approval of two companion cases to change the future land use and to amend the Tarpon Woods development master plan to allow a car wash at 2551 Tarpon Woods Boulevard in the Eastlake community. Staff said the 1.16‑acre parcel is currently designated Residential Office General (ROG) and as a development master plan‑specific bank; the requested change would reclassify the parcel as Commercial Neighborhood (CN) and amend the master plan to replace the site’s limited “bank” use with a broader “commercial” designation.

Scott Swearingen, long‑range planning manager, told the LPA that the site sits at the northeast corner of East Lake Road and Tarpon Woods Boulevard and is "within the Tarpon Woods neighborhood" where commercial neighborhood uses have been established at the intersection. Swearingen said staff finds the change "consistent with the comprehensive plan, including the Eastlake Tarpon Community…