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Developer proposes large mixed‑use project in Seffner; residents warn of traffic and flooding
Summary
A Gonzales family‑led plan development (PD25‑0579) would add up to 304 multifamily units and 27,000 sq ft of commercial near MLK Boulevard and Highview Road in Seffner. Applicant offered trip caps, driveway relocations and sidewalks; neighbors oppose the scale and cite persistent flooding and unsafe local roads.
A developer seeking a major plan‑development in the Seffner Mango commercial corridor told the Hillsborough County zoning hearing master on Nov. 17 that the project would revitalize a long‑underused site but include traffic controls and buffers to reduce impacts.
Michael Brooks, representing the Gonzales family, described PD25‑0579 as a mixed‑use redevelopment of multiple parcels that would provide up to 304 multifamily units and as much as 27,000 square feet of general commercial floor area under the proposal. Brooks said the application ties to a prior comprehensive plan amendment and would include restrictions the applicant offered to limit peak trips and improve pedestrian connectivity.
The applicant’s traffic consultant, Michael Yates of Palm Traffic, presented trip‑generation comparisons comparing the prior approved shopping‑center program to the proposed PD and said the project produces a net decrease in evening peak trips and a small decrease in the morning peak. Yates also described a proposed driveway relocation on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to lengthen turn lanes and said the team would add sidewalks and other roadway improvements, some funded or constructed by the developer.
Development Services and Planning Commission staff recommended approval subject to conditions, including enhanced buffering along residential edges, a trip‑generation cap and off‑site turn‑lane improvements. Development Services noted the applicant requested a residential density bonus and that certain design exceptions and minor modifications would be resolved during site plan review.
But multiple residents urged the hearing officer to deny or tighten the request. Grace McComas, representing the Seffner Mango Community Plan area, said the project’s intensity and building heights would be out of character with parts of the neighborhood and told the panel: “Highview is probably the worst road in Seffner.” Other neighbors showed photographs and cited flood and drainage concerns along Bullfrog Creek, and one speaker said local road segments narrow to the point that additional traffic would pose safety risks.
Opponents asked the county to require stronger guarantees for off‑site roadway work and to ensure stormwater controls would prevent increased runoff into nearby residential areas and wetlands. The applicant said the PD includes an expanded buffer, cross‑access to adjacent developments and a design intended to direct the most intensive uses toward the corridor and away from single‑family homes.
The hearing master closed the public hearing on PD25‑0579 and will file a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners within 15 business days. The board will consider the hearing officer’s recommendation and the record when it votes on the application.
