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Oldsmar planning board approves amendment to allow limited institutional uses in C‑1 zone
Summary
The City of Oldsmar Planning Board voted 6–0 on March 11, 2026 to approve CA‑26‑01, a proposed amendment to the Land Development Code that would allow defined "institutional uses"—such as outpatient medical centers, schools and community facilities—as conditional uses in the C‑1 Commercial Neighborhood district, subject to acreage thresholds and conditional‑use review.
At its March 11, 2026 meeting the City of Oldsmar Planning Board voted 6–0 to approve a text amendment, CA‑26‑01, to the city's Land Development Code that would allow certain "institutional uses" as conditional uses in the C‑1 Commercial Neighborhood zoning district.
Tatiana Childress, Oldsmar's planning and redevelopment director, told the board the change creates a formal definition of "institutional uses"—facilities and services of a public, private or quasi‑public nature, including educational, medical, governmental, civic and religious uses—and aligns C‑1 zoning with the comprehensive plan and countywide rules. "This amendment will contribute to promote the community welfare," Childress said.
Childress said the amendment does not rezone property or displace existing businesses. She identified three parcels currently mapped C‑1—one on Pine Street, one on St. Petersburg Drive (a pet shop), and an undeveloped parcel at Bayview and State Road 580—and said the amendment would add corresponding future land‑use categories and require conditional‑use applications to undergo technical review committee (TRC) review and notice to surrounding property owners under the city's conditional‑use procedures.
Most of Oldsmar lies within a Coastal High Hazard Area (CHHA), Childress said, so full hospitals would not be approved in those locations; outpatient or ambulatory centers could be permitted under the medical conditional‑use category, subject to site‑specific review and any conditions the city attaches.
The amendment was prompted by a pending conditional‑use application from Parth Joshi for an ambulatory use at a Pine Street site, said Craig Taraske, who signed in representing the applicant firm GCGC. "This is a privately initiated text amendment that was prompted by a change of use from a doctor's office to an ambulatory surgery center," Taraske said, noting the proposal would remain a conditional use so the city can require mitigations for noise, traffic and odors.
One board member raised concerns about compatibility, citing a pet shop on St. Petersburg Drive and calling it "almost a nuisance" because of odors; Childress responded that the pet shop is an existing retail use and that the amendment would not change its status.
After discussion the board moved to approve CA‑26‑01. A motion to approve the amendment was made, seconded and passed on a roll call vote of 6–0. The planning board's approval advances the amendment to the City Council for consideration under the city's ordinance process.
Next steps: the planning board's recommendation will be transmitted to City Council, which must adopt an ordinance to change the Land Development Code before the amendment takes effect.
