Three property owners want permission to build closer to wetlands on residential lots near Lutz and Land O' Lakes. Their requests were among nine variance and special-use applications affecting unincorporated Hillsborough County properties heard Monday, Aug. 10, by the county's Land Use Hearing Officer.

The hearing officer's rulings are final unless appealed.

Decisions are expected within 21 days of the hearing under standard LUHO rules. Six additional cases were pushed to the Sept. 14 session. The full hearing agenda details every applicant and address.

Wetland-setback variances

Three applicants asked to encroach into county-required wetland buffers:

  • Sean Jones, 601 Chastain Rd, 1.3 acres, RSC-4 zoning, Rural service area. Continued from the July 13 hearing.
  • Darrell Curts, 13914 Levinson Rd, 1.76 acres, RSC-4 zoning, Urban service area.
  • Shane Garvey, 1005 Willis Rd, 0.44 acres, RSC-6 zoning, Rural service area.

Each seeks to place structures closer to wetlands than the county land development code allows.

School and group home

Todd Pressman of Pressman & Assoc., Inc. filed a special-use application (SU-SCH 26-0795) for a school at 6801 N Orient Rd, a 10.67-acre parcel zoned ASC-1. The request also includes a variance to lot development standards. Continued from July 13.

Tampa Civil Design filed a special-use application (SU-CRH 26-0796) for a community residential home at 10515 Memorial Hwy, a 4.95-acre parcel zoned AR (Agricultural-Residential) in the Urban service area. Group homes are not a standard use in that zoning category, requiring special-use approval. Also continued from July 13.

Other variances heard

Six additional variance requests rounded out the Aug. 10 docket:

  • Todd Pressman/Pressman & Assoc., drive-through order-box distance separation near E. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 0.64 acres, CN zoning.
  • Jay and Angela Loyd, accessory structure at 3822 Ralston Rd, 1.0 acre, AS-1 zoning.
  • Joshua Trent Bush, fence requirements at 2804 Kimmi Tree Ln, 0.57 acres, RSC-3 zoning.
  • Luisa I. Alonso, lot development standards at 8403 Seven Coves Ct, 0.08 acres, PD zoning.
  • Jeffrey Zock, fence and wall requirements at 4907 Troydale Rd, 0.6 acres, RSC-4 zoning.
  • Casey J. and Abigail M. Kotchman, fence and wall requirements at 18623 Dorman Rd, 10.21 acres, AR zoning, Rural service area.

Six cases pushed to September

Six applications were continued to the Sept. 14 hearing because they were "out of order to be heard." Those include cases filed by Pablo and Ever M. Lam, Bo's Electric & Gas/Deivid Marquez, Nicole MacInnes-Barbas Cremer PLLC, William Pino Rodriguez, Steve Kocher and Carmen Rosario Veras. Addresses for those cases were not listed on the Aug. 10 agenda.

How to weigh in

Residents who want to comment on the six continued cases can email [email protected] or sign up to speak at the Sept. 14 hearing, according to the county's LUHO information page. The next session begins at 9 a.m. at the County Center, 2nd Floor, in Tampa.