Commission recommends rezoning to PD for 325‑unit project at 1605 Waters Court with design conditions

The Barrio Latino Commission voted to recommend that City Council approve a rezoning from YC‑2 to YC‑9 (a planned development district) for the 3.33‑acre site at 1605 Waters Court, advancing a design and review framework for the applicants' proposed 325‑unit multifamily project. Megan Smith (applicant team) described a wrapped structured parking garage, terracitas, tiered stepbacks and two requested loading waivers; staff emphasized adherence to Ybor design guidelines and the 45‑foot datum for the four‑story street wall.

Developer Ricardo/Ricardo "Ricky" DeCamps said the team reduced units from 344 to 325 following neighborhood input, and the architect explained design moves intended to break the massing into smaller facade segments and to mute the fifth floor through setbacks and color. Project facts presented by the applicant: 325 units, a proposed FAR of 2.9 (about 420,000 square feet), a courtyard and structured parking wrapped with residential units. Commissioners pressed the team on upper‑floor massing, the 3‑foot ground‑floor setback proposed on 7th Avenue, overhead utility lines (TECO) and the possibility of increasing the 7th‑Avenue stepback to 20 feet; staff proposed that City Council include a note allowing the Barrio Latino Commission to adjust setbacks/height by up to 10% during the certificate of appropriateness process. The motion recommending rezoning included explicit conditions on height, massing, stepbacks, and rhythm/alignment and passed 4–0.