Zoning

Rezoning of prime property may add to nursery's allure

APOLLO BEACH: The real estate agents and developers can stop knocking on Lee Kim's door.

Kim, the owner of Kim's Nursery on U.S. 41, isn't listing his property for sale.

Yet.

Kim recently filed a request with the county to rezone his prime 72 acres to planned development. The land, where Kim has operated a nursery and waterfall design business for nine years, currently is zoned for six homes per acre.

"He's positioning himself for the near future," said Linda Hitchcock, a spokeswoman for Kim. "Like three, four, five years. We don't know how fast MiraBay's going to pop open. He wanted to be in position to take advantage of that."

Kim's parcel is on the northwest corner of U.S. 41 and Leisey Road. MiraBay, the much-talked-about 2,000-home waterfront community going up in Apollo Beach, plans to build its town center on the southwest corner of the intersection.

Papers that Kim filed with the county propose two options.

One is a mixed-use community with a 175,000-square-foot town center; 145,000-square-foot retail/office development with up to 55 live/work units; and 225 single-family or multifamily units. This alternative would embrace principles of a traditional neighborhood development; it would integrate commercial and residential areas and be pedestrian-friendly.

The second option suggests 175,000 square feet of retail space and 252 single-family or multifamily residences.

Hitchcock said real estate agents and developers have been beating down Kim's doors for years. The rezoning application upped the activity a notch.

A zoning hearing master is scheduled to review the request Jan. 13. (Petition 04-0057)

RIVERVIEW: Burcaw and Associates has filed a request to rezone 41 acres west of U.S. 301 and south of Simmons Loop to planned development. The parcel is zoned for one home per five acres. The developer wants to build 245 single-family homes on the site. A zoning hearing master is scheduled to consider the request Jan. 12. (Petition 04-0056)

BRANDON: Lutheran Services of Florida has asked to rezone 4.69 acres on the northwest corner of Kingsway Road and E Morgan Street from business/professional and residential to planned development. Lutheran Services wants to build a 57-unit apartment building for low-income elderly people on the site, which is adjacent to Apostles Lutheran Church. A zoning hearing master is scheduled to consider the request Jan. 12. (Petition 04-0053)

BRANDON: County commissioners at their land use meeting Tuesday denied a request from F. Wayne and Charlotte Lynch to modify the regulations of one acre on the northeast corner of Parsons Avenue and Morgan Street. The Lynches wanted to allow access to the property from James Street and eliminate access from Parsons Avenue; permit a medical equipment sales and service business; and alter a screening requirement.

The site is currently approved for three separate buildings oriented toward Morgan Street and Parsons Avenue, which requires tearing down the three single-family homes that exist on the land. Instead, the Lynches wanted to use the existing buildings as office space and provide limited access to one of the buildings from James Street.

Commissioners were sympathetic to community members who opposed the plan because they don't want commercial traffic on James Street, a residential road. (Petition 03-0765)

Also on Tuesday:

GIBSONTON: Commissioners approved a request from Rubesha Consulting Services to rezone 52 acres on the northwest corner of Symmes Road and North Street from agricultural rural to planned development.

Rubesha plans to build 181 single-family homes on the parcel. The land, currently used as a tropical fish farm by EkkWill Waterlife Resources, allows one home per 5 acres. The site plan allows the fish farm facilities to remain. (Petition 03-0874)

RIVERVIEW: Commissioners okayed a request from Khan Enterprises to rezone 5 acres on the northeast corner of Boyette and Bell Shoals roads.

Khan wants to build 28,000 square feet of office space in five buildings and up to 6,000 square feet of retail space including a 2,000-square-foot restaurant. The heavily wooded property is zoned agricultural rural, which allows one home per 5 acres.

Located 2 miles east of FishHawk Ranch, the corner already holds a Walgreens, Eckerd drugstore and a convenience store with a gas station.

Next to the Walgreens on the southwest corner of the intersection, offices for Bloomingdale Medical Associates are under construction. Across the street, 15 acres surrounding the Citgo station are zoned for a shopping center. (Petition 03-0976)

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.