The Tampa City Council has voted 4-3 against transmitting a sweeping land-use amendment for Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus to state officials.
The vote blocks a planning change needed for a proposed Tampa Bay Rays ballpark and mixed-use district from advancing through the state review process.
The decision does not approve or reject the ballpark, public financing package or a binding master plan. But it prevents the amendment from going to FloridaCommerce and other reviewing agencies, eliminating an anticipated state review and September adoption hearing.
Council Member Lynn Hurtak moved not to transmit the amendment after questioning whether the proposed land-use category was appropriate for the surrounding area. Council Member Charlie Miranda seconded the motion.
Hurtak, Miranda, Bill Carlson and Guido Maniscalco supported the motion not to transmit, while Naya Young, Luis Viera and Council Chair Alan Clendenin voted against it.
The decision surprised the applicant and Clendenin, who had repeatedly described transmittal as a typically routine administrative step.
“That means it doesn’t get transmitted,” Clendenin said after Shubin Law Group attorney Jim Shimberg — who represents Hillsborough College — asked what the vote meant. “For the first time, probably in history, we have not transmitted a comprehensive plan.”
Still, details prepared for the proposed state transmittal reveal the scale of redevelopment plans and identify unresolved questions. The records show that planners scaled back intensity along Lois Avenue, plans may require a new elementary school campus, Dale Mabry already operates at a Level of Service F transportation rating, and part of the property remains a brownfield awaiting cleanup.
The property is currently designated public/semi-public, which limits it largely to colleges, schools, government buildings, transportation facilities and other public or institutional uses. The amendment would divide it between two mixed-use categories intended for intensive residential, commercial, office and entertainment development.
About 115 acres would become Regional Mixed Use-100 (RMU-100), while a 6-acre strip along North Lois Avenue would become Urban Mixed Use-60 (UMU-60).
The RMU-100 portion could accommodate up to just over 11,500 dwelling units or approximately 17.5 million square feet of residential or nonresidential development. The smaller UMU-60 section could allow another 370 units or roughly 875,000 square feet.
Hillsborough College originally sought RMU-100 across the entire property, but Planning Commission staff worked with the applicant to add the lower-intensity strip along Lois Avenue to help buffer the residential neighborhood immediately west of the campus.
Hurtak questioned why Hillsborough College was seeking RMU-100 for most of the property rather than the less-intensive UMU-60 designation across the entire site. Planning Commission staff said applying UMU-60 throughout the property could still allow just over 7,300 residential units, or approximately 17.2 million square feet of development.
Shimberg said officials involved in the broader stadium negotiations had emphasized that allowing more development could generate additional tax revenue. He acknowledged there was not a significant difference between the two categories’ maximum square footage but said he would need to consult with his client before agreeing to a change.
Hurtak said the amendment would permanently change what could be developed on the property regardless of whether the Rays project ultimately moves forward.
“I think it’s a waste of time to send it to the state if I’m just going to vote against it,” Hurtak said before making the motion.
Miranda also questioned how the amendment was advanced outside the normal cycle and whether Council members had been notified earlier in the process. Planning Commission staff said Tampa’s adopted procedures allow publicly initiated amendments to run out of cycle and that the city’s Legal Department requested expedited processing after Hillsborough College agreed that the comprehensive plan designation needed to change.
An analysis from Hillsborough County Public Schools highlights the potential effect of development based on the amendment’s maximum residential capacity.
Under that scenario, the District estimated the property could generate nearly 2,400 elementary students, over 1,000 middle school students and nearly 2,000 high school students for a total of more than 5,000 students altogether.
Those figures would place significant pressure on local schools. Alexander Elementary would reach a projected utilization rate of over 400%, while Pierce Middle would reach 153% and Leto High would reach 151%, according to the county documents.
The district found additional capacity in surrounding attendance areas at the middle and high school levels, but not at the elementary level. It concluded that an additional elementary school site would be needed if reality were to match those projections.
Transportation records also identify existing limitations. The section of Dale Mabry Highway bordering the campus currently operates at Level of Service F, below its adopted Level of Service D standard. Tampa Bay Boulevard operates at Level of Service B.
The site can be accessed from Dale Mabry, Tampa Bay Boulevard, Lois Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, but the review identifies gaps in the surrounding pedestrian and bicycle network.
Tampa Bay Boulevard has no bicycle lanes beside the property. MLK Boulevard has no sidewalk directly along the campus frontage and no bicycle infrastructure in the area. Two proposed bus rapid transit or guideway services along Dale Mabry also remain unfunded.
The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority has asked for future coordination on transit stops, passenger amenities, sidewalk connections and access during major events.
The Environmental Protection Commission has also identified the property at 4014 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard as the W.T. Edwards brownfield site, which remains listed as “awaiting cleanup.” The packet does not provide an estimated remediation cost, cleanup schedule or explanation of who would be responsible for the work.
The failed land-use transmittal came as negotiations continue separately over the definitive agreements needed to build and finance the Rays project.
Tampa and Hillsborough County previously approved a nonbinding memorandum of understanding outlining the proposed financing framework. But the final agreements remain unfinished, and the Tampa CRA has now delayed consideration of its proposed $100 million contribution beyond August.
Hours before the land-use vote, the Tampa CRA voted 5-2 to remove the Rays discussion from its Aug. 20 agenda, leaving no scheduled date for the agency to consider its proposed $100 million contribution. The vote did not reject the contribution or remove the CRA from the deal, but board members said the item should return once the team has directly negotiated with the CRA Board, which is composed of all Tampa City Council members.
CRA board members argue that negotiations conducted by Mayor Jane Castor on behalf of the city do not substitute for direct negotiations with the CRA as a separate legal entity.
During the morning meeting, CRA Board Member Carlson said officials are considering a home-rule tax increment financing district that could replace the Drew Park CRA after it expires. Carlson said the alternative would still involve city money and require more City Council votes, not fewer, indicating the team will need to engage with City Council members regardless of the approach.
Because Council declined to transmit the amendment, state agencies will not review it under the anticipated schedule and it will not return for September adoption hearings envisioned by Hillsborough College. Negotiations over the separate stadium funding agreements may continue, but the Rays project now faces uncertainty on both its land-use amendment and the CRA’s proposed contribution.