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The Land Papers
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Built from the county’s own records, and read against years of past decisions to show what’s likely next and where the money is for you. A short weekly email for homebuilders, civil engineers, and land brokers.
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The news and the why, every week.
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What $149 buys. The owners, addresses, next moves, and source documents behind each item — and the money math, including about $246,875 on a 100-home phase if you miss the March 23, 2027 hookup-fee step (our math), and one public price point in Wimauma: the school district’s $5.5 million agreement for about 25 acres, about $220,000 an acre (our math, not an appraisal). In September and October that was 123 cases across 252 pages, about 60 cases a month.
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Homebuilders
A 69.2-acre request in south county is due at the County Commission on Tue, Dec 8. Rezonings like this are often the first public sign that land is being lined up for homes. Reaching the owner before a decision, if terms are still being set, can be a chance to talk about lots.
Your move. Put Dec 8 on your calendar, and call this week if this is your market and terms are still being set. Until Oct 1, 2027, state law blocks stricter growth rules (a freeze from Aug 1, 2024), and commissioners voted 7-0 to draft a moratorium to start when it ends. If a site is worth getting approved now, the next 11 months are the window under today’s rules.
Civil engineers
In the last two months the county has put a 213.8-acre sewer plant site (heard Nov 9, 2026; results were not yet out), a $14 million inspector selected Sep 16, a $145 million drinking water plant (Oct 21), and hundreds of millions in utility bond proceeds (Oct 7) behind south county growth, plus a new treatment plant and a pump station that can move 56 million gallons a day. If a rezoning is approved, the next steps are often site plans and drawings. A budget action is not a bid award.
Your move. Introduce your firm if an engineer hasn’t already been chosen, and watch upcoming bid notices.
Land brokers
A rezoning can change what neighboring land is worth. In our archive, the County Commission approved 12 of the 19 cases its hearing officer recommended denying (of those 19: approved 12, denied 3, sent 2 back, continued 1, and 1 was withdrawn; of 218 approve recommendations, it denied only 2). A farm-parcel path that skips the usual rezoning fight closes Jan 1, 2028 (approval in 180 days or less; automatic certification in 90 days if the county doesn’t rule). The Commission approved one 58.29-acre certification on Oct 13 and denied a 316.66-acre request on Oct 21. On Oct 13 it also approved design and access changes on 137.09 acres at a Big Bend Road corner (the planned development dates to 1986), where the county is widening 0.75 miles from 4 to 6 lanes (early 2027 to mid-2028; the eastern segment is due mid-2027).
Your move. Call nearby owners or the buyers already watching that growth area. Watch the final vote, not only the first recommendation.
Suppliers
Once land is approved, roads, utilities, and homes often follow. Knowing months ahead may let your team get in front of whoever builds it, if a builder is hired later.
Your move. Watch procurement on the south county plant and utility funds, and get in front of whoever is hired to build the next work.
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Land is being rezoned: 79.9 acres near Balm was approved Oct 13. The county puts more than $1 billion into the new plant campus. Land near new capacity often moves first. Know who owns it before fees jump on Mar 23, 2027.
A pattern, not a claim about a specific parcel.
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Our ranking: the sites most exposed
Our cost math per site
Our read: how likely each is to be approved
Your move and the date to act
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Our count, 25 meetings May 2023–Oct 2026; includes approvals with conditions. Brokers and buyers who walk away at a negative staff report may leave a deal on the table. If you follow these requests, watch the final vote, not only the first recommendation.
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Our read on what changed between the recommendation and the vote
Which open cases fit that pattern
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That’s about $246,875 more on a 100-home phase if the Mar 23, 2027 date is missed (our math). Builders who time permits and hookups well can keep that money. Line up permits before March 23, 2027.
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Your cost by home type and date (our math)
The permit timing that keeps the money
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On Oct 7, 2026, the County Commission directed staff to build a transportation-investment plan for high-growth corridors, with the Lithia area as the first pilot, and to bring that plan back by January 20, 2027. Staff must also bring back a policy for reviewing county road and impact fees at least every four years, due by the first regular meeting in January 2027.
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Everyone who joins now gets the $149 founding rate, locked for as long as they stay. The standard rate is $299 a month once founding spots close. You can cancel anytime.
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Hillsborough County is first. Other counties are planned; no launch dates are set yet.
Yes. Email carson@thelandpapers.com and you’ll be removed. There is no long-term contract.
The sample is a full Hillsborough issue. Founding members get that every week, plus the names, dates, money math, the next move, and source documents for every item.