Hartford LLC asked the Zoning Hearing Master to rezone a roughly 3‑acre parcel to AS‑1 restricted to accommodate an existing sod installation business and resolve a county code enforcement citation.

Susan Swift of Fox Engineering represented the applicant and described three decades of on‑site commercial activity, arguing the parcel sits within a three‑mile industrial corridor near the Port and is functionally commercial despite a residential future land use designation. Swift said the applicant met nine of ten conditional‑use standards for a landscape contractor’s nursery and offered to meet the remaining planting condition; the applicant team also proposed options such as enclosing open storage to reduce buffering needs.

Development Services staff summarized the request and noted that, after rezoning, the site would be required to meet landscaping and buffer standards appropriate to a landscape contractor/nursery use and that, if the installation use ceased, AS‑1 uses would apply. Planning Commission staff member Alexis Myers testified that the parcel lies in a Residential‑6 future land use category and is approximately 7,000 feet from the nearest qualifying major intersection, meaning it does not meet the county’s commercial locational criteria. Myers and staff therefore found the request inconsistent with the unincorporated Hillsborough County comprehensive plan.

Hearing Officer Susan Finch questioned applicants about the precise violation stated in the county file; the applicant explained the citation involved accessory use and lot configuration issues. No members of the public spoke in favor or opposition during the hearing. The case record closed and the hearing master will file a recommendation within the time required by procedure.

Ending: The land use hearing officer’s written recommendation will be filed to the record and forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners for a final decision at a later meeting.