Transition from farmland to townhouses up for okay
By JAY CRIDLIN
Published October 8, 2004
RIVERVIEW: Nearly 200 townhouses could be coming to a landscape of farmland and mobile homes off U.S. 301 in Riverview.
A Hillsborough County zoning hearing master has recommended approval of a request by Stacy Wilson to rezone 33 acres near U.S. 301 and Cone Grove Road from agricultural rural to a planned development, paving the way for up to 195 townhomes.
The approval hinges on several conditions, such as a traffic impact study and the construction, if necessary, of sidewalks, turn lanes and a larger retention pond.
The county has received several letters in support of the project. The County Commission will consider the request Oct. 26. (Petition RZ-0973)
GIBSONTON: A zoning hearing master has recommended that the County Commission rezone 26.5 acres in Gibsonton to accommodate up to 238 single-family residential lots.
Camden Field LLC has requested that the county rezone the land northeast of the intersection of S 78th Street and S 49th Avenue in Gibsonton to accommodate up to nine residential single-family conventional homes, rather than just six.
The rezoning boosts the allowable number of homes on the parcel by about 80. But county staff has noted that it might be difficult for Camden Field to maximize the number of homes on its land, because of environmental, utility and stormwater setback requirements.
The County Commission is scheduled to consider the recommendation Nov. 9. (Petition RZ 04-1620)
RIVERVIEW: A zoning hearing master has recommended approval of a request by M/I Homes to rezone 30 acres in Riverview from a classification that allows one single-family home per acre to a planned development.
M/I Homes hopes to construct up to 124 homes and possibly community support buildings, such as a church, school or child care facility, on the land, which lies north of Bloomingdale Avenue and south of Watson Road.
The subdivision would be known as Watson Glen II. The zoning hearing master's approval is subject to M/I Homes meeting certain traffic, lighting and setback conditions. The County Commission is scheduled to consider the recommendation Nov. 9. (Petition RZ-1478)
BOYETTE: A zoning hearing master has decided against recommending a rezoning that would allow 150 single-family homes on a 45-acre planned development south of Rhodine Road and east of Balm Riverview Road.
Lawyers at Bricklemyer, Smolker and Bolves had hoped to rezone the land to planned development from a classification that allows one agricultural single-family home per acre. But the zoning hearing master ruled that the proposed housing density - about 3.3 homes per acre - would be "uncharacteristic of the surrounding area."
The County Commission is scheduled to hear the law firm's request Nov. 9. (Petition RZ 04-0978)
When and where
Hearings of county zoning hearing masters and land use hearing officers, and land use meetings of the County Commission are 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 www.hillsboroughcounty.org/pgm/zoning/ hearings.html. For information, call 276-2058.
