Keystone-Odessa Land Use Update 1-12-2026
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
RZ-PD 25-0934
As many of you are aware, the Dibbs property on Lutz Lake Fern Rd has an application for rezoning. The petition is now scheduled to be heard by the Zoning Hearing Master on January 26, 2026.
This application is by far the most intensive application Stephen Dibbs has filed to date. He is requesting 20 times the density currently permitted on the property. Specifically, he is asking for a 392 unit RV park and a 100,000 square foot shopping center (the size of a Publix shopping plaza). This development would add anywhere from 8,000-10,000 vehicle trips to Lutz Lake Fern Road every day.
This request violates the Keystone Odessa Community Plan and the adopted Hillsborough County Comprehensive Plan.
It is incompatible with the neighborhood uses and will have serious negative impacts on the infrastructure of our community. Our schools do not have the capacity to accommodate this many new students and our roads cannot accommodate all this additional traffic!
The zoning petition is scheduled to be heard on January 26. The Zoning Hearing Master will file his/her recommendation in approximately three weeks. The staff will then schedule the petition for a public hearing before the Board of County Commissioners. At that hearing, the Board will hear and vote on the two Plan Amendment applications (Change the Plan Category to Residential-4 and expand the Urban Service Area Boundary to include the Dibbs property). At the same hearing, they will hear and vote on the rezoning application. We will advise you of the date of the Board of County Commissioners hearing when it is determined.
We are asking each of you to write a letter of opposition to the Zoning Hearing Master.
We do not need you to sign up to speak as we are only allocated 15 minutes total at the Zoning Hearing.
If possible, please plan to attend the hearing on January 26 at 6:00 pm. 601 E Kennedy Blvd, 2nd Floor. We will not know when this application will be heard that night until the agenda is published (normally the Friday before the Monday hearing)
Letters should be emailed NO LATER THAN Wednesday, January 21st to the hearing master.
Please write your own letter or use the sample letter below.
You MUST include your name and address in the letter.
Send your mail to: hearings@hcfl.gov
Subject line: RZ-PD 25-0934
In body of letter:
I am adamantly opposed to RZ-PD 25-0934 and ask that you deny this application.
RSC-4 zoning for a proposed RV Park with over 33 acres of commercial would wipe out the wetlands on over 316 acres and decimate the existing wildlife.
The additional traffic of 8,000-10,000 vehicle trips produced by this rezoning would overwhelm our 2 lane roads in Keystone and wreak havoc on Lutz Lake Fern Rd and the surrounding areas from Keystone to Lutz. On Lutz Lake Fern Rd are both a preschool, Lutz Montessori and an elementary school, McKitrick Elementary.
In addition to the traffic on Lutz Lake Fern Rd, Steinbrenner High School is projected to be over capacity given existing approved development and the proposed rezoning.
The safety issues with this amount of traffic extends to those who don’t live in Keystone or Lutz. The Upper Tampa Bay Trail crosses over Lutz Lake Fern Rd then goes through the southern portion of this property before it connects to the Suncoast Trail.
In addition to the wetlands, this property has been the home of a borrow pit for over a decade that the applicant presents as a lake with no instruction on slope instability or potential water contamination with the years of dumped waste.
This property is located in Hillsborough County; not Pasco County. RSC-4 zoning for a proposed RV Park with over 33 acres of commercial is incompatible with the existing zoning and development pattern in the area. Non-residential or commercial development does not exist in this neighborhood.
This application is inconsistent with the adopted Keystone-Odessa Community Plan and the Hillsborough County Comprehensive Plan.
Please deny this application.
(sign and included your address!)
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There is a current CIP (Capitol Improvement Project) on the books to connect the Upper Tampa Bay Trail between Van Dyke Rd and Peterson Rd to close a major gap, enhance safety and connectivity for users. Furthermore, there is a major focus to connect the Upper Tampa Bay Trail to the Suncoast Trail. This would create a much longer continuous route for walkers and cyclists. https://planhillsborough.org/pedal-walk-explore-big-win-for-hillsborough-county-means-new-upper-tampa-bay-trail-segment-coming-soon/
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Live Local Act Legal Challenge
At the 12-17-2025 Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners hearing, a unanimous vote was made to legally challenge the constitutionality of Florida’s Live Local Act.
Currently Live Local allows developers to override local zoning rules, even in rural areas like Keystone-Odessa.
If you want to view the BOCC meeting.
Go to Commissioner Wostal’s F4 at 2:39 mark
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