Tampa rolls out first draft of Land Development Code rewrite, seeks public input

A major overhaul of Tampa’s Land Development Code (LDC) is now underway, and officials are asking residents to help shape the outcome as its draft goes out for public review.

The LDC governs how land can be used and developed. The first public draft — released as part of the Tampa Forward: Building Tomorrow Together initiative, a two-year effort to update the code — outlines proposed changes to zoning districts and land use regulations while signaling a shift toward more housing options, expanded mixed-use development and less reliance on car-centric planning.

The proposal aims to simplify Tampa’s zoning map and includes creation of new residential and mixed-use districts designed to allow a broader range of housing types and neighborhood-scale development. The change aims to provide “a range and diversity of housing choices” while supporting safer, more connected communities.

One new district type, the proposed residential single-family urban district, would accommodate single-family attached and detached dwellings, duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and accessory dwelling units by right.

Another new district, a residential multifamily district, would allow a mix of housing types alongside limited neighborhood-scale commercial uses. That district encourages residential and nonresidential uses with multifamily residential development on upper floors, and building heights within it could reach up to 60 feet.

The proposal also leans heavily into walkable, mixed-use development. Three new mixed-use districts — neighborhood, corridor and regional center — are designed to support stronger connections between homes, businesses and public spaces.

The draft includes numerous other district descriptions and maintains tailored standards for areas like Seminole Heights and Ybor City, emphasizing compatibility with existing character and historic design.

Mayor Jane Castor said resident input could make a real difference in efforts to envision the Tampa of the future in a newsletter published earlier this month.

“Hey Tampa, I’m going to say three words that might make your eyes glaze over: Land Development Code. Stay with me,” Castor quipped in her newsletter. “I know it sounds like the kind of thing you’d read at 2 a.m. when you can’t sleep, but here’s the deal, that code is the reason your neighborhood looks the way it does right now.”

Castor said the current code is outdated, noting many provisions were written “before smartphones existed, before ride-share was a thing, before Tampa became the city it is today.”

“We have parking requirements that assume everyone drives everywhere,” she said. “We have rules that make it harder to build the kind of walkable, connected neighborhoods people actually want to live in. We’re fixing that, but we want to make sure we get it right.”

Castor is urging residents to weigh in as the draft moves through public review, arguing the outcome will shape Tampa for decades to come.

“I’m serious about this one,” she said. “The decisions we make in this process will shape what gets built, what gets protected, and what kind of city your kids inherit.”