Energy Innovation Park

A proposed update to the Energy Industrial Park (EIP) Land Use category is currently under review by the Hillsborough County Planning Commission staff. The EIP update presents an opportunity for the County to revisit a category that was first created 15 years ago, especially since the EIP land use category has not been fully reviewed since it was first created in 2010.

  

The update will ensure that the EIP is state-of-the-art and prepared for the County’s future growth. It builds upon 18 months of planning, listening, and engagement with the community, the Hillsborough County Planning Commission, and the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners.

 

Several public hearings are required to review the proposed EIP Land Use revisions. The corresponding and supporting Planned Development zoning site plan will also be updated, which will also require two public hearings. This proposal is just the first of many steps.

 

What has changed in the last 15 years?

 

Proposed updates reflect the dramatic changes in technology, demography, and economics since 2010. This is just the first step in updating EIP.

 

• Growth and Regulatory Change: Hillsborough County has grown, and therefore the County’s recently updated its comprehensive plan. The update recognized that Hillsborough County is growing quickly with an expected gain of about 350,000 new residents and its need for 107,000 new jobs in the next 20 years. EIP will help with this growth by providing jobs, sustainable energy, and residential uses close to Plant City and the I-4 corridor.

 

• Solar Power: Back in 2010, solar power was not very efficient nor affordable. Now it is the most cost-effective approach to renewable energy.

 

• Solar Footprint: The footprint required to produce the same levels of output has shrunk considerably since 2010.

 

• Solar Advances: Technological advances have removed the constraints of the expansive, outdated solar field. Now, solar can be placed economically on rooftops, over water, and placed on car parks or solar trees.

 

What commitments are not changing?

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• Renewable Energy Production: EIP will maintain its commitment to alternative energy production output. EIP is not proposing to reduce its energy commitment.

 

• Renewable Energy Timing: EIP will maintain its commitment that alternative energy production must come before or at the same time as other forms of development, making the future development more resilient and reducing impacts on the overall energy grid. EIP is not proposing to change this current requirement.

 

• Zoning Approval: A Planned Development zoning approval will still be required to provide certainty and an additional layer of oversight.

 

• Proper Screening, Buffering, and Berms: EIP will still be required to properly screen and buffer nearby residential neighborhoods and adjacent property owners. Although the existing berms may need to be modified or redesigned, EIP is not proposing to remove them.

 

• Commitment to Jobs Generation: EIP will maintain its commitment to generating jobs through uses such as industrial, energy research, and commercial. EIP is not proposing to reduce these currently-approved uses.

 

What are the highlights of changes being proposed?

 

• Name Change: The EIP abbreviation will remain, while the category name will be updated from Energy Industrial Park to Energy Innovation Park to better reflect its goals.

 

• Streamlining: EIP regulations will be streamlined and reorganized into 5 easy-to-understand policies, while maintaining commitments and protections for the community. Outdated policies that reference changed laws will be removed such as those referencing developments of regional impact.

 

• Land Use Update: The land area set aside for renewable energy will be updated to match modern technology while still requiring the same amount of renewable energy to be produced.

 

• Solar:  For the first time, solar panels will be clearly allowed to be co-located on building roofs, over water, or other effective applications to meet output goals.

 

• Residential Transition: Some residential and lodging is currently allowed under the existing zoning. Now, instead of more intense industrial and energy uses, residential will act as a transition between adjacent neighborhoods and approved intense industrial uses.

 

• Mixed Use Development: Residential will be increased within EIP to create a resilient and innovative community that can use the energy generated within EIP and provide homes for the future job-generating uses.

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