Hillsborough County staff present six land development code amendments; public hearing set for April 10
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Summary
Israel Monsanto, a Development Services staff member, presented six staff-initiated amendments to the Hillsborough County Land Development Code at a Board of County Commissioners workshop, and said a first public hearing is scheduled for April 10.
Israel Monsanto, a Development Services staff member, presented six staff-initiated amendments to the Hillsborough County Land Development Code at a Board of County Commissioners workshop, and told commissioners a first public hearing on the proposals is scheduled for April 10.
The package, staff said, is intended to streamline review processes and reduce conflicts between the county code and other rules such as the Florida Building Code. "This amendment will permit the outdoor storage of recreational vehicles, private pressure crafts, and utility trailers through a plan development rezoning," Monsanto said while introducing the first item. He said the amendment would treat storage of operable recreational vehicles and boats differently from other forms of "open storage," which typically require higher‑intensity zoning.
Why it matters: the proposed changes affect how property owners and developers may store vehicles and boats, split lots that do not currently conform to county subdivision rules, seek rezoning tied to comprehensive plan amendments, and pursue minor administrative changes to approved plan developments. Several items also affect county facility siting and public notification procedures.
Summary of the six proposals
- LDC 250399 — Storage of recreational vehicles, private watercraft and utility trailers: Staff said the amendment would allow outdoor storage of operable RVs, private watercraft and utility trailers as an approved use when authorized through a plan development rezoning. Monsanto said the change recognizes that such storage often serves residential neighborhoods and is different from commercial open storage that includes equipment, truck trailers and metal containers.
- LDC 250400 — Nonconforming lot division recognition: The amendment would create a subdivision procedure to recognize lot splits that cannot currently be recorded because they involve nonconforming lots. Staff said the procedure would not increase density beyond what the applicable future land use designation allows; it would apply only to lots that existed before the cutoff date referenced in the draft amendment.
- LDC 250401 — Concurrent rezoning and comprehensive plan amendment: The draft would let applicants elect to have a rezoning application heard concurrently with a related comprehensive plan amendment for unincorporated Hillsborough County. Staff said any rezoning contingent on a future land use change would be reviewed against the concurrent plan amendment.
- LDC 250402 — Maximum building height definition: Staff proposed updating the county code’s definition of building height to align with the Florida Building Code measurement from the grade plane to the highest roof surface average, to reduce conflicts during building permit review.
- LDC 250404 — Minor plan development modifications: The amendment would expand the administrator’s authority to approve two types of administrative modifications: (1) internal driveway and parking configuration adjustments that do not affect setbacks, buffers, site access, or other approved standards; and (2) conversions of mobile home units to single‑family conventional units. Staff said such a conversion would not change the permitted unit count or density. Monsanto confirmed that the county’s existing provision for temporary mobile homes during construction would remain in place.
- LDC 250486 — Noncommercial communication towers on public use facility sites: The amendment would permit noncommercial communication towers on public use facility sites when the tower is integral to a county facility that provides emergency or protective services and the tower serves only that facility’s communication needs. Staff said the amendment would set a 200‑foot maximum height and make these towers subject to the county’s wireless communication facility standards (land development code section 6‑11‑29(e)(2)).
Commissioner and staff discussion
Commissioners asked questions about scope and public notification. Commissioner Westlaw raised concerns about public comment opportunities that are purely informational: "If we allow public comment for something that the public has no hope of influencing, we simply allow them to comment, and it's a done deal anyway," Westlaw said, urging that any public comment be attached to meaningful discretion.
Adam, a county facilities staff member, said staff would work with facilities partners to craft language for the first public hearing that could require a public‑facility siting meeting or otherwise provide notice and some board discretion. "We will bring back some language, for the first public hearing to to address those comments… and to your point, having some control over, the outcome," Adam said.
Commissioner Boles noted that towers adjacent to stations are relatively uncommon and remarked that the amendment is unlikely to result in every fire station having a 200‑foot tower. "I don't think it's gonna be rampant… Every fire station is gonna have a 200 foot tower next to it," Boles said.
Next steps and procedural notes
Staff set a first public hearing for April 10. Adam and other staff said they will return to the board with revised language for the amendments and with notice/siting procedures for towers to address commissioners’ concerns about public input and board discretion. There were no formal votes or board actions taken during the workshop; the session concluded with the chair adjourning the meeting.
(Reporting note: quotations and attributions are taken from the workshop presentation and discussion.)
