Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
University of Florida seeks zoning update for Gulf Coast research farm, requests relief from road and buffer conditions
Summary
The University of Florida requested a major modification to a 473-acre planned development to modernize research facilities, add lab/office space and limited graduate housing, and sought relief from conditions requiring long-distance road improvements and a continuous landscaped buffer along County Road 672.
The University of Florida asked the Hillsborough County Zoning Hearing Master on May 19 to approve a major modification to the Gulf Coast Research and Education Facility PD that would expand research and educational space and permit limited on-site graduate housing.
The university’s representative, Jerry Deidenbach, said the amendment would update a PD approved in 2003 to reflect current uses and the county comprehensive plan and would increase office and laboratory square footage and agricultural support facilities while allowing up to seven dormitory buildings for graduate researchers. “It is financially impracticable to think that the state university system or others would be able to improve 7 miles of roadway,” Deidenbach told the hearing master when explaining why the applicant has filed an administrative variance to a road-improvement condition.
Why it matters: The proposal affects a large, mostly rural site in southeastern Hillsborough County used for long-standing agricultural…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
