Tampa’s Charter Review Commission is considering whether rezoning applications should continue going directly to City Council or first be reviewed by a zoning hearing officer, a procedural change that could reshape how development proposals move through City Hall.
The discussion centered on a presentation by Hillsborough County Attorney Julia Mandell, who described the county’s hearing officer system and argued that Tampa’s current process asks elected officials to perform a role more akin to judges than policymakers.
“When you take a political body, and you ask them to serve as judges,” Mandell told commissioners, “the challenge becomes” ensuring decisions are based on evidence rather than outside pressures.
Under Florida law, rezonings are quasi-judicial proceedings that require elected officials to weigh evidence, apply legal standards and base their decisions on the record developed during the hearing.
Mandell said that responsibility has become more difficult as development proposals have grown larger and zoning cases more technical, leaving council members to absorb hours of testimony, legal arguments, staff reports and public comment before casting votes that can carry significant legal consequences.
“Nobody can be expected to make the decision at 2:00 in the morning,” she said.
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Mandell said current and former Tampa City Council members had previously raised concerns about the process and asked Hillsborough County to explain how its hearing officer system works.
The proposal has already reached City Council. During a June 11 meeting, Chair Alan Clendenin told colleagues the Charter Review Commission was seeking feedback on establishing “a zoning hearing master or similar” to provide expert input before rezonings reach Council. He said council members could submit feedback individually, but he would not.
“If you choose to provide them with input, I’ll leave that up to you,” Clendenin said. “I am choosing not to.”
Clendenin declined to comment further for this story.
Hillsborough County has used zoning hearing officers for more than 30 years. Under that system, a hearing officer receives testimony from applicants, residents and county staff, reviews evidence, prepares findings of fact and forwards a recommendation to county commissioners.
“The hearing officer doesn’t make the decision; they make the recommendation,” Mandell said.
Mandell said the process creates a clearer factual record before elected officials vote, helping organize complex testimony and strengthening the county’s position if a rezoning decision is challenged in court.
The proposal would not change what can be built under Tampa’s zoning code. Instead, it would insert an independent review before City Council considers a rezoning application, changing how developers, property owners and neighborhood groups present their cases.
That distinction led commissioners into a broader discussion about Tampa’s strong-mayor form of government. The city charter vests executive authority in the mayor and legislative authority in City Council, making rezonings one of Council’s most significant responsibilities.
Commissioners questioned whether adding another step to the process would improve decision-making without diminishing Council’s role.
Mandell said Tampa considered a similar approach roughly 15 years ago but abandoned it after neighborhood groups and land-use attorneys objected to adding another layer between applicants and elected officials. Many believed presenting cases directly to City Council gave them the best opportunity to influence the outcome.
Commissioners also debated whether a hearing officer system should require a charter amendment or whether City Council could establish one by ordinance under the city’s existing charter.
The commission directed staff to prepare multiple options for future consideration, leaving commissioners to decide whether to recommend a charter amendment, encourage City Council to establish a hearing officer system by ordinance or leave the current rezoning process unchanged.
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