Zoning: Christian school eyes 36 acres off Bearss Ave.

LAKE MAGDALENE: A central Tampa private school has big plans for the property now occupied by Idlewild Baptist Church.

The Cambridge School recently submitted a request to develop the 36-acre site off Bearss Avenue with a private Christian school serving up to 1,285 students.

The prep school plans to renovate and expand a two-story church building into 100,496 square feet for elementary school classrooms. It is also asking permission to add a two-story 45,168-square-foot middle school building, two-story 48,288-square-foot high school building, and two-story 34,487-square-foot athletics field house. Architects' site plans also include a track and field, football and soccer stadium, basketball, tennis and volleyball courts, a baseball field and 290 parking spaces.

Idlewild Baptist Church plans to move its ministry to a 900,000-square-foot structure off Van Dyke Road in Lutz in 2004. Cambridge, now on Habana Avenue north of Hillsborough Avenue, hopes to move to its new campus by 2005.

A land use hearing officer is scheduled to hear the proposal Sept. 6 (Petition 02-1144).

CITRUS PARK: Outback Steakhouse of Florida Inc. wants to add floor space to a commercial project planned for the southwest corner of Sheldon Road and Westwind Drive.

Outback envisions a 10,000-square-foot freestanding building that could be used for offices or retail businesses. County commissioners approved the project, but only if the building was limited to 7,000 square feet.

Eventually the property will include a 27,000-square-foot commercial center on the western portion of the property. A 6,000-square-foot Outback Steakhouse now occupies the 6-acre site. A zoning hearing officer is scheduled to hear the modification proposal Oct. 7. (Petition 02-1149)

CARROLLWOOD: The owner of 4.85 acres on the north side of Smitter Road, south of Bearss Avenue, wants county permission to develop a professional office park.

Smitter Lake Professional Park would be built "residential in appearance," according to site plans. It would consist of seven buildings ranging from 2,500 to 5,000 square feet. A zoning hearing master is scheduled to hear the rezoning request Oct. 7. (Petition 02-1148)

TOWN 'N COUNTRY: Quicksilver Printing & Copying were scheduled to ask a land use hearing officer Friday for a sign variance. The business, at 8010 Anderson Road, wants a pole sign 28 square feet larger than the county allows. (Petition 02-0878)

When and where:

Hearings of county zoning hearing masters and land use hearing officers, and land use meetings of the County Commission are held on the second floor of the County Center, 601 E Kennedy Blvd. Zoning hearings begin at 6 p.m., and commission meetings begin at 9 a.m. Both are televised on government access channels. Land use hearing officer hearings, which are not televised, begin at 9 a.m. For information, call 272-5920.

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