Board holds first public hearing on land‑development code changes; opponents warn of reduced public notice

Hillsborough County held the first of two public hearings on proposed amendments to the county’s land development code on Jan. 7, 2025; no adoption votes were taken at the hearing, which the county scheduled to conclude with a final public hearing on Feb. 11, 2025.

Development Services staff presented three primary text amendments. Ramon Santo said one proposal (LEC‑250708) would provide a six‑month time extension for public‑hearing applications that are active when the county declares a state of local emergency; the extension would be added to other allowable code extensions and apply to applications pending as of Sept. 23, 2024. A second proposed amendment (LEC‑0282) would allow applicants to bypass preliminary site‑development review and permit applicants to submit straight to construction review, removing the required county‑facilitated pre‑submittal meeting when that waiver is taken.…