ARC recommends comp plan change to allow hotel at Swan and Magnolia; staff and neighbors warn of scale, traffic and hazard risks

The Architectural Review Commission voted to recommend City Council approve a comprehensive plan amendment that would change about 2.05 acres at the northwest corner of West Swan Avenue and South Magnolia Avenue from Residential-35 (R35) to Community Mixed Use-35 (CMU35), a designation that would allow hotel uses, higher floor-area ratio and broader commercial development.

The project team said the rezoning is intended to enable a boutique hotel with ancillary restaurants and limited residential units on a site that now contains mostly noncontributing buildings and surface parking. "The reason we're in front of you tonight is the ability to ask for hotel as a permitted use," attorney Truett Gardner said during the presentation.

The applicant team told commissioners the development concept would preserve one contributing bungalow on the block, add underground stormwater detention, consolidate vehicular access to limit cut-through traffic on Swan Avenue, and reduce permanent residents at the site compared with one possible residential development scenario. Project architect Steven Smith described a courtyard-centered building with a garage base and stepped upper floors; planner Addie Clark said the planned development (PD) that would follow a favorable comp-plan decision would propose 29 dwelling units rather than the 71 units permitted under the existing R35 designation.

Why it matters: The commission's vote opens a path for the developer to ask City Council to change the land-use map. If Council approves CMU35, the owner could pursue a PD rezoning that will define building height, setbacks, parking and operating conditions. Several commissioners and staff warned that a land-use change is effectively permanent and could allow greater intensity than nearby residents expect.

Staff, the Planning Commission and several neighborhood speakers urged caution. Danny Collins of the Hillsborough County Planning Commission told the ARC that the site is largely within the Hyde Park local and national historic districts and the Coastal High Hazard Area. Collins said the Planning Commission recommended the map amendment be found inconsistent with the Tampa Comprehensive Plan, citing the need for transitions between higher- and lower-intensity areas, concerns about massing and scale, and policies that direct population growth away from the Coastal High Hazard Area.

Dennis Fernandez, the City's architectural review and historic preservation manager, said staff likewise found the requested change inconsistent with Chapter 27 of the City of Tampa Code of Ordinances and Hyde Park design guidelines. "The resulting transition would not be compatible to the existing neighborhood and would not preserve the historical integrity and appearance of the historic district," Fernandez said.

Public input was mixed. Dr. Michael Pobat, president of the Hyde Park Spanish Town Creek Civic Association, urged denial, citing school-safety, narrow brick streets, parking and evacuation concerns. "The proposal would allow more intense use that will negatively impact the area's historic character," he said. Neighboring residents and the Hyde Park Preservation Inc. board said they want redevelopment that fixes flooding and brings quality design but asked that a PD be required so neighbors can negotiate details on massing, traffic, parking and deliveries.

Supporters, including architects and some nearby homeowners, said the block currently is an assemblage of surface parking and noncontributing structures and argued a thoughtfully designed mixed-use project could be compatible and activate the corridor. "This transition is stepping down," architect Keith Kerminger said, calling the site a gateway between the historic district and the urban fringe.

The commission action and limits: Commissioners debated whether recommending CMU35 would create a "Pandora's box" of intensity. The motion the commission passed recommended City Council approve the amendment and included a statement expressing the commission's expectation that the land-use change enable a boutique hotel. City legal counsel Dana Crosby Collier advised the panel that comp-plan amendments are not customarily conditioned on a specific use at the amendment stage; rezoning and PD conditions are the mechanisms that control built form and uses.

Next steps: If Council approves the comp-plan amendment, the applicant must pursue a PD rezoning (or other zoning mechanism) to establish final building height, setbacks, parking and operational rules. Those documents, and any subsequent site plan, will return to the City planning staff, the Planning Commission, this ARC and City Council for detailed review and approvals.

Commissioners split in discussion: commissioners expressed support for redevelopment in principle but said they would expect strict PD-level controls on massing, loading, sight lines and traffic mitigation. Two commissioners cited staff's inconsistency finding as decisive. The ARC's recommendation is advisory; City Council makes the final determination on the comprehensive plan map change.

Votes at the meeting: The ARC vote to recommend approval carried after a voice vote (ayes and at least one no). The motion's text and the staff report will accompany the item when it proceeds to City Council.