By Matt Wiley
A proposed development in New Tampa is one step closer to becoming a reality, as the Tampa City Council has initially approved the annexation and rezoning of the land that community will be constructed upon into the city limits, following the ordinance’s first public hearing.
On November 14, the City Council members heard a presentation from representatives of developer Taylor Morrison about annexing 148 acres of New Tampa-area land from unincorporated Hillsborough County — property located east of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. behind Paul R. Wharton High and bordered by West Meadows to the south and the Hammocks townhome community to the north — into the City of Tampa.
Busch Junction Enterprises, the owner of the land, asked the City for voluntary annexation, part of a deal with Taylor Morrison, which would buy the land to develop a yet-to-be-named single-family-home community of up to 425 units on 170 acres.
The unanimous vote to annex the 148 acres moves all of the land to be developed into one jurisdiction, the City of Tampa. The annexation passed unanimously. However, access to the new development will only be possible via the intersection of County Line Rd. and Royal Hampton Blvd.
The community would be marketed toward “empty-nesters,” or those living in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel who have raised their kids and no longer need a large house, but still want to remain in the area. The development also will feature a community center and parks, city records state.
In addition to the annexation, the hearing also addressed the rezoning of the land for development from both the city’s zoning district of PD-A (planned development alternative) and the county’s zoning designation of AS-1 to solely the city’s PD-A (residential, single-family attached, detached and semi-attached) zoning. The development will feature 2.5 units per acre.
“The (Hillsborough City-County) Planning Commission (HCPC) staff found that the proposed plan would allow for development that is comparable and compatible to the existing surrounding develop- ment pattern,” said David Hay of HCPC at the hearing.
As part of the annexation and rezoning negotiations with the city, the developer has indicated that it will install a traffic signal at the intersection of County Line Rd. and Royal Hampton Blvd. within two years of the final Certificate of Occupancy being issued (or when the development is finished) or when the City of Tampa Transportation Department determines that current traffic warrants the signal. The developer also will install street lights at the intersection.
Although no one spoke out against the annexation of the land, the traffic signal itself and the absence of any plans to install sidewalks along County Line Rd. drew most of the concerned comments from residents.
Jeffrey Blank, treasurer of The Hammocks Homeowners Association (HOA) and chairman of the Hammocks Community Development District (CDD), said that making turns onto County Line Rd. at the Royal Hampton Blvd. intersection makes New York City driving seem easy.
“Cars come out (of the intersection) and make a left,” Blank explained at the hearing. “It is almost impossible, but they do it. I watch near-misses and hits almost every single day.”
He also expressed concern about the addition of construction vehicles to the already-busy two-lane road that also includes school bus stops.
“(Now there will be) construction trucks going down (Royal Hampton Blvd.) morning, noon and night, with kids standing on the corners waiting for school buses,” Blank explained.
Grand Hampton resident and former Tampa City Council member Joseph Caetano voiced concerns about the lack of sidewalks along County Line Rd., which definitely will have an influx of traffic when the development is completed.
“Every day, there already are people walking along County Line Rd.,” he explained to the Council. Caetano described one recent incident in which he spoke with a woman pushing a stroller with her 13-month-old baby along the side of the road on her way to the New Tampa Regional Library, located about five miles to the southeast on Cross Creek Blvd.
“I am not against the development,” Caetano said, adding that, “I just don’t want to see the money made from the development’s property taxes get spent in other parts of the city.”
The second and final public hearing about the as-yet unnamed community was on Dec. 5, which was after we went to press with this issue, although it’s unusual for the Council to change its initial vote upon second reading. Be sure to check NTNeighborhoodNews.com for the outcome.
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