A hearing on a proposed rezoning that would allow a gas station and carwash on the east side of U.S. 41, about 900 feet north of Sunset Lane, has been postponed until next month.
The hearing had been set for Dec. 14, but has been rescheduled to Jan. 19 at 6 p.m. It will be held at Robert W. Saunders Sr. Public Library, 1505 N. Nebraska Ave., in Tampa.
Applicant RKM Development Corp., is seeking to rezone the 2.6-acre parcel at 18601 U.S. 41, to allow a 4,650-square-foot convenience store and 16 gas pumps, as well as a car wash.
The land, owned by Lutz Realty and Investment LLC, currently is zoned for agricultural and single-family conventional use. The request calls for rezoning the site to become a planned development zoning.
The request has attracted opposition.
“A number of Lutz residents do not like this proposal,” Jay Muffly, a longtime Lutz resident, wrote in an email to The Laker/Lutz News.
Thomas Pinta, of 405 W. Lutz Lake Fern Road, has voiced his opposition in a document included in Hillsborough County’s file on the request.
“As a longtime, 30-plus years’ resident of Lutz, I have seen unnecessary development over and over,” Pinta wrote.
He recommended that the hearing be held in a more convenient location, to give Lutz residents an opportunity to voice their thoughts on the request. He suggested the Lutz Branch Library, at 101 W. Lutz Lake Fern Road, in the heart of Lutz, as a better place to hold the meeting than a library located near Ybor City in Tampa.
Planners for the Planning Commission have reviewed the request.
In the rezoning file, Jiwuan Haley, senior planner, notes: “The site is not a qualifying intersection and does not meet commercial locational criteria.”
The zoning file indicates that the site of the proposed rezoning is outside of the Hillsborough County urban services area, but is next to a 12-inch county water line. There is no Hillsborough County wastewater line of adequate capacity currently available.
The property is subject to the Lutz Rural Development Standards, according to information included in the file.
Another detail reported in the file is that the applicant is proposing a reduction of the eastern perimeter buffer from the required 20 feet, down to 5 feet.
The reduction is needed, according to the file, to allow the maneuverability necessary for trucks to reach the proposed solid waste dumpster.
The transportation report, prepared by Palm Traffic of Tampa, shows the estimated daily trip ends at 3,697, including a substantial number of stops by motorists that already would be passing by the area.
The report estimates there would be 225 trip ends during the a.m. peak hours, including 83 new inbound trips and 84 new outbound trips.
During the p.m. peak hours, there would be 64 new inbound and 62 new outbound trips.
The report also notes that Hillsborough County’s capital improvement program calls for adding westbound and southbound dual left-turn lanes on Sunset Lane, and for a signal rebuild at the intersection. Construction of that project is expected to start in early 2021, the traffic analysis says.
The public hearing on the request will be conducted in a hybrid format, meaning those wishing to participate can do so virtually, through the use of technology, or in person.
Published December 09, 2020
