Zoning

Parcel sought for affordable homes

RUSKIN: Homes for Hillsborough, a program that helps low-income people buy houses, has filed a request to rezone 50 acres in Ruskin from agricultural to planned development. The rezoning of the property at 24th Street SE and 14th Avenue SE would allow for the construction of 239 homes. Some of those lots might instead be used for a day care center for up to 150 children, office space for new businesses, retail outlets and, possibly, live/work units, said Homes for Hillsborough Executive Director Earl Pfeiffer.

Homes for Hillsborough allows first-time home buyers to contribute "sweat equity," helping build houses in exchange for a down payment and subsidies on mortgage payments. It's funded by grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Hillsborough County.

To date, the largest Homes for Hillsborough community, which is under construction at the corner of U.S. 301 and Big Bend Road, will provide 72 homes.

The site plan for the proposed project calls for homes designed with front porches. The project would include a clubhouse, swimming pool, recreation area with a softball/soccer field, and playground and wilderness areas.

"The only difference between this community and a community that would be built by a private developer would be the household income of the families that live there. It will have the amenities and appearance of a private sector subdivision of the same size," Pfeiffer said.

Charlie Buzbee and Sons Inc. owns the property, an abandoned citrus grove. They're asking $1-million for it, Pfeiffer said.

A zoning hearing master is scheduled to hear the request on May 19, and the County Commission is scheduled to review it on July 22. (RZ 03-0525)

BRANDON: A new Eckerd Drug store is one step closer to the corner of State Road 60 and Kings Avenue. On Feb. 24, county land use hearing officer Martin Smith recommended approval of a rezoning request from the Sembler Corp. to remove a gas station in the Clayton Plaza shopping center and replace it with a 14,287-square-foot drug store. In his report, Smith wrote that the proposed redevelopment would improve movement of traffic on adjacent roads by reducing the number of access points to the property. The County Commission is scheduled to make a final ruling on the request March 25. (RZ 03-109)

APOLLO BEACH: Today the land use hearing officer will hear a request from Dan Gessner, owner of Apollo Beach Marina Apartments, for a variance from the land development code placement requirements for Dumpsters. The code bars the trash bins from front yards and requires that they be 50 feet back from the right of way. Gessner has been cited by county Code Enforcement and Solid Waste Management for the location of the bins, which are where they have been since 1978. In his petition for the variance, Gessner wrote, "If forced to move the Dumpster 50 feet, it will be in the building," a placement that "would have a direct effect upon my business." Plus, it would result in him being unable to provide garbage service to his tenants. (VAR 03-0309)

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. All hearings before a zoning hearing master begin at 6 p.m. on Mondays or Tuesdays; commission meetings begin at 9 a.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. Both are televised on government access channels. Land use hearing officer hearings, which are not televised, begin at 9 a.m. every third Friday. Basic information about each petition is available online at http://was.hillsboroughcounty.org/pgm_zoning /home.cfm by petition date. For information, call 276-2058.