EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Meeting Date: January
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Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Meeting Date: January 9, 2012 Planning Commission Public Hearing Agenda Item: Tampa: Text Amendment-Seminole Heights Flex Provision - TA/CPA 11-03 SUMMARY The Planning Commission will be reviewing and making a recommendation to Tampa City Council on a proposed text amendment that will become part of the Tampa Comprehensive Building Our Legacy, A Livable City. The Planning Commission is required to make recommendations to The Tampa City Council on all proposed amendments to the Tampa Comprehensive Plan, pursuant to Florida Statutes.. BACKGROUND The Plan amendment request is specifically a text amendment, in the form of a policy, initiated by the City of Tampa Land Development Coordination Division. The amendment request would recognize existing properties in the Seminole Heights area brought into conformity via the use of the “flex provision” during zoning conformance process conducted in 1987. During the neighborhood/stakeholder meetings for the Greater Seminole Heights Vision Plan, Community Plan and new Seminole Heights Zoning Districts, staff assured property owners that the development potential on their property would not be reduced as a result of the code changes. The proposed text amendment will facilitate the implementation of the Greater Seminole Heights Vision Plan via the use of the newly adopted formed based codes for the Greater Seminole Heights Area, consistent with Objective 23.3 of the Tampa Comprehensive Plan. RECOMMENDATION Staff finds TA/CPA 11-03, Seminole Heights Flex Provision, CONSISTENT with the Tampa Comprehensive Plan: Building Our Legacy A Livable City, and recommends the amendment be furthered to Tampa City Council for adoption consideration. 601 E. Kennedy, 18th Floor Prepared by: T. Garcia, AICP Date Prepared: December 20, 2011 P.O. Box 1110 Tampa, FL 33601-1110 813/272-5940 FAX 813/272-6258 FAX 813/272-6255 [email protected] A consolidated city-county agency serving the cities of Tampa, Plant City, Temple Terrace and the County of Hillsborough www.theplanningcommission.org An Affirmative Action-Equal Opportunity Employer RESOLUTION PAGE 2 Tampa: TA/CPA 11-03 August, 2011Cycle January 9, 2012 Policy 23.3.4: The City shall establish specific Seminole Heights zoning districts in conformance with the Vision Plan and Comprehensive Plan. Any property within the Seminole Heights Urban Village that was zoned and considered conforming under the Flex Provision (see Chapter 9), may be rezoned to a specific Seminole Heights zoning district of similar density/intensity, and maintain its conforming status. WHEREAS, the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission staff has reviewed the proposal, has considered existing and expected future development patterns and community facilities in the respective area, as well as consistency with the adopted goals, objectives and policies of the Tampa Comprehensive Plan Building Our Legacy A Livable City as stated in the staff report as follows: Objective 23.5: The future of community planning will utilize form based code initiatives to assist in the development of a Vision Plan and creation of a community-specific Form Based Code for each Community Planning area. Policy 23.2.2: The City shall create area specific Vision Plans, based on the Community Planning method, for the Greater Seminole Heights, Tampa Heights, and 40th Street Community Planning Areas by 2015, that clearly document and describe community assets, opportunities and challenges, community, character, conceptual street cross-section designs, and basic building forms for residential, non- residential, and mixed use. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission finds the proposed Plan Amendment TA/CPA11-03, Seminole Heights Flex Provision, CONSISTENT with the Tampa Comprehensive Plan: Building Our Legacy A Livable City and forward this recommendation to Tampa City Council for adoption consideration. Tampa Comprehensive Plan Building Our Legacy: A Livable City Comprehensive Plan Amendment Report TA/CPA 11-03 Seminole Heights Flex Provision Text Amendment Plan Amendment Description The Tampa Comprehensive Plan establishes policies calling for the development of form based community plans and subsequent regulating plans. The proposed TEXT amendment request will further the intent of the Comprehensive Plan by incorporating a policy into the Tampa Comprehensive Plan, Building Our Legacy: A Livable City, for the purpose of facilitating the implementation of the Greater Seminole Heights Area Vision Plan via a form based codes approach. • See Attachment A for proposed text amendment • See Attachment B for Department and Agency Comments Tampa Comprehensive Plan Context Tampa’s Comprehensive Plan Building Our Legacy: A Livable City was adopted in February, 2009. The Plan articulates a vision for how Tampa will accommodate the growth of the city to include 92,000 additional residents and 132,000 new jobs over the next 20 years, while promoting the values of its citizens: LIVABILITY (Tampa is a place where diverse people find it easy, safe and enjoyable to live.) PROSPERITY (A Tampa that is focused on the quality of life for all its people must be a Tampa that is economically healthy, with a broad mix of good jobs.) RESPECT (The living systems which support us are taken care of and passed on to future generations in better shape.) RESILIENCE (The systems that support our day to day living can deal with uncertainty and cope with the shifts and shocks we face in the future.) The Plan’s growth management strategy organizes the City into Planning Districts encouraging most new growth to locate in places designated as Business Centers, Urban Villages or Mixed Use Corridor Villages. Seminole Heights Flex Provision Text Amendment Tampa CPA 11-03 – August 2011 Cycle Page 1 Each Business Center and Urban Village has a secondary plan indicating the amount of growth the City is planning in the next 20 years. The Plan includes policies describing how the City intends to serve this growth with mobility options and other infrastructure facilities. Overall Context: The “Big Picture” Tampa Vision Map: The proposed text amendment is consistent with the overall guiding strategies for creating a Livable City as defined in Chapter Two of the Tampa Comprehensive Plan. The strategy calls for redevelopment, infill, and new growth to be targeted into compact, mixed-use, and walkable villages that are connected to a regional transit system. • Strategy 1: Organizing Planning Districts – Getting Transit Ready • Strategy 2: Strengthening our Diverse Neighborhoods • Strategy 6: Building on our Assets • Strategy 7: Growing Economic Prosperity Strategy 1: The Districts Objective 1.1: Designate 5 planning districts: University, Central Tampa, Westshore, New Tampa and South Tampa as an opportunity to build a livable and sustainable city. Policy 1.1.2: Foster a vibrant urban lifestyle through mixed use development with entertainment and cultural facilities. Policy 1.1.3: Protect and build upon the heritage assets found in the diverse neighborhoods in the district. Policy 1.1.11: Encourage transit oriented, pedestrian-friendly mixed-use development in the Westshore, Central Tampa and University planning districts. Seminole Heights Flex Provision Text Amendment Tampa CPA 11-03 – August 2011 Cycle Page 2 Central Planning District The area represented by the Text Amendment is located within the Central Tampa District Central District The Central District closely resembles Tampa’s pre-World War II city limits. The District stretches from the Hillsborough River on the north, wraps around the Port of Tampa, to Swann Avenue on the south, Himes Avenue on the west and to the City limits on the eastern edge. The District’s center is the Central Business District/Downtown, which is the economic, governmental and cultural center of the region. The District also includes significant clusters of historic Urban Village neighborhoods including Tampa Heights, Ybor City, Davis Islands, West Tampa, Seminole Heights and East Tampa. These neighborhoods are ethnically, racially and economically diverse, and are all places of Heritage that add character, appeal and interest to the City. These neighborhoods play a vital role in the Plan’s growth strategy (the Compact City form) by providing diversity of neighborhood choice for residents of the City. Seminole Heights Flex Provision Text Amendment Tampa CPA 11-03 – August 2011 Cycle Page 3 Opportunities within the Central District • Improving Mobility • Attracting Private Investment • The District’s Historical Character • Providing Needed Infrastructure to Support Redevelopment • Stable single family neighborhoods that enhance the District’s housing choices. Copies of agency responses are included in Attachment B of this report. Agencies/Departments that responded to the proposed amendment are as follows: City of Tampa – Land Development Coordination The Environmental Protection Commission (EPC) Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Hillsborough County School Board Relationship to the Comprehensive Plan The Greater Seminole Heights area has many properties that were zoned through the Zoning Conformance Process in 1987 utilizing the “flex provision”. During the neighborhood/stakeholder meetings for the Greater Seminole Heights Vision Plan and the new Seminole Heights Zoning Districts, staff assured property owners that the development potential on their property would not be reduced as a result