Tampa Is Rewriting the Rules.
We Read Them First.
Tampa is in the middle of the first full rewrite of its Land Development Code in nearly 40 years. From rezoning and site plan approval to Live Local Act applications and permit expediting, JDJ moves projects from raw parcel to approved plans while the code is still in motion. We work with developers, architects, and general contractors across the City of Tampa and Hillsborough County.
LOCAL AUTHORITY
City of Tampa Development & Growth Management Department (DGM)
GOVERNING CODE
Chapter 27, Tampa Land Development Code (LDC)
PERMIT PORTAL
Accela Citizen Access (ACA)
BUILDING CODE
Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023)
Have a site in Tampa?
Tell us what you’re trying to build, and we’ll screen it for
Live Local Act eligibility in Tampa.
How Tampa Regulates Development
Every market on this site runs its own code, its own departments, and its own review process. Here is how Tampa works.
Most land use and zoning regulation in Tampa lives in Chapter 27 of the City Code of Ordinances, known as the Land Development Code. The Development & Growth Management Department administers zoning, site plan review, building permits, historic preservation, and variances. Building permits, planning applications, fee payments, and inspection scheduling all run through the Accela Citizen Access portal.
Tampa is in the middle of a multi-year rewrite of its Land Development Code, a project the city calls Tampa Forward. The existing code had not been comprehensively updated in nearly four decades, and the rewrite is being released in phased installments. For active projects, that means some standards are in transition, and confirming which version of a rule governs your submittal is part of the diligence.
The Developments Most in Demand in Tampa
The 2024 and 2025 amendments strengthened the law in ways that matter for site selection. Qualifying projects can build to the highest density and height allowed for any development within a one-mile radius. Parcels zoned for uses like wholesale, equipment rental, and other for-profit business activity count as commercial regardless of the local label. Portions of flexibly zoned areas such as planned developments now qualify. Municipalities must grant a requested 15 percent parking reduction for projects near transit, and cannot require more than 10 percent of a mixed-use project’s square footage to be nonresidential.
We screen a specific parcel for Live Local eligibility, model the density and height entitlement, and manage the administrative submittal.
Rezoning carries public notice requirements, potential concurrent Comprehensive Plan amendments, and a public hearing. We manage the application, the site plan package, and coordination with staff and stakeholders through the process.
What Actually Shapes a Tampa Project
The issues that come up most often when we work in this market.
Tampa Terms, Decoded
Questions we hear most in Tampa
The City of Tampa Development & Growth Management Department administers zoning, site plan review, permitting, and variances. Rezonings and Planned Development approvals go before City Council. The department can be reached at 813-274-3100, and its office is at 2555 East Hanna Avenue, Tampa, FL 33610.
The Live Local Act is a Florida law that lets qualifying affordable and mixed-income multifamily housing bypass local zoning on parcels zoned commercial, industrial, or mixed-use, with administrative approval for use, density, and height. Eligibility depends on the parcel’s zoning, the affordability commitment, and the surrounding entitlement baseline. We screen a specific parcel before recommending the pathway.
For qualifying projects near transit, the city must grant a requested 15 percent reduction in local parking minimums. The exact figure depends on the site’s proximity to transit and its unit mix.
It depends on the site’s designation and what you intend to build. Some projects fit existing zoning and need only site plan review; others require a zoning map amendment, often as a Planned Development. We evaluate the parcel and recommend the pathway before you spend on a formal application.
Tampa enforces the Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023). Plans must be signed and sealed by a Florida-licensed architect or engineer, and projects in flood or coastal zones carry additional documentation requirements.
The city is running a multi-year rewrite called Tampa Forward, released in phased installments, because the code had not been comprehensively updated in nearly 40 years. During the transition, confirming which version of a standard governs your project is part of the due diligence.