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Planning commission recommends against 40 Ranch Road map change after hours of public comment
Summary
The Hillsborough County Planning Commission voted 8–1 to recommend that HCCPA 25‑37 (40 Ranch Road) be found inconsistent with the county comprehensive plan after a multi‑hour hearing that drew hundreds of residents who raised concerns about water, roads, schools and wildlife. The applicants said the proposed Planned Environmental Community would add protections for wetlands and wildlife corridors but commissioners and staff cited infrastructure and compatibility concerns.
The Hillsborough County Planning Commission voted 8–1 on Feb. 9 to recommend that HCCPA 25‑37 — a privately initiated comprehensive plan map amendment covering the 40 Ranch Road property — be found inconsistent with the unincorporated Hillsborough County comprehensive plan.
Planning commission staff, presented by Jillian Massey, recommended denial, saying the proposed change to a Planned Environmental Community (PEC 1–2) would introduce residential density “significantly out of scale” with surrounding rural land uses, remove long‑designated industrial/mining categories, and put pressure on environmentally sensitive lands, the Hillsborough River watershed and already strained infrastructure.
The applicant, represented by attorney Cammie Corbett of Hill Ward & Henderson, described the property as a long‑held family ranch and argued that converting the site to PEC would impose stronger environmental protections than current designations. “First of all, just to reset this, this is not a rezoning. We’re not asking you to rezone,” Corbett said, emphasizing that…
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