Board approves farm‑to‑table planned development with market and restaurant at Pruitt and Taylor

Hillsborough County commissioners on March 11 approved a planned development to permit a mixed‑use, farm‑oriented project on about 9.22 acres at the southwest corner of Pruitt Road and Taylor Road that will include agricultural operations, a farm‑to‑table restaurant, a curated market and meeting space.

Development Services staff and the zoning hearing master recommended approval; Planning Commission staff found the proposal inconsistent with the Residential‑1 future land use because the commercial/retail portion does not meet the 900‑foot commercial locational criteria and may be incompatible with the surrounding rural residential and agricultural pattern.

Steven Spazad, a planner with Level Up Consulting, described the project as an "authentic, farm to table" development with most of the site preserved as a working farm and a smaller corner pod for a meeting house, sit‑down restaurant and market. Jillian Massey of Planning Commission staff told commissioners the subject property lies in the rural area and in a Residential‑1 future land use category; she said the site does not meet commercial locational criteria and that commercial and retail components raised compatibility concerns. The zoning hearing master found that proposed design elements — including a 75‑foot buffer from residential to the west and 20‑foot buffers with Type B screening along rights of way — would mitigate impacts, and no opposition testimony was filed at the hearing.

The board voted 7–0 to approve the planned development as conditioned; the zoning hearing master’s recommended condition requires commercial buildings in Pod B to be constructed with materials and features consistent with an agricultural aesthetic, and the project record includes buffer commitments intended to reduce impacts on adjacent rural residential properties.