Judge’s Tampa Ruling Could Upend Zoning Norms in Florida

Memo to Tampa developers: Careful what you wish for.

That’s the word around the Gulf Coast city after a family office with plans to develop an AC Marriott hotel on the city’s upscale Harbour Island inadvertently touched off legal chaos with a challenge of the Tampa City Council’s denial of a zoning-change request.

Raxit Shah’s Liberty Group sued the city in hopes of getting a reversal on the elected officials and residents of the toney enclave who opposed the $40 million project, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Instead, Hillsborough County Judge Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe made the case much bigger by dismissing the project at 800 South Harbour Island Boulevard on grounds that the Tampa City Council doesn’t have the legal authority to review matters such as zoning.

“This has sent shock waves through the development community,” Tampa-based lobbyist Stephen Michelini told the outlet. “It could throw the entire process into turmoil.”

The judge declined to consider the merits of the case, preempting that question with ruling that the City Council is a legislative branch of government and therefore doesn’t have standing to oversee land use.

The apparent concept behind the ruling is that questions of zoning are considered in a quasi-judicial process where the laws passed by legislators are applied to policy.

The judge ruled that only Tampa Mayor Jane Castor or an appointee of hers can make such calls.

The decision upends a longstanding process in Tampa and other Florida cities, raising questions on whether it will stand legal review and, if so, how it will hit development going forward.

“How is this city going to resolve this chaos?” he said.

Tampa’s city attorney’s office declined comment, citing ongoing litigation. Jake Cremer, a lawyer for the would-be developer, said his client is thinking through its option.

“Our team is still digesting what this means,” Michelini said.

Liberty Group, founded by hospitality veteran Raxit Shah and now run by his son Punit Shah, paid $1.75 million for the site on Harbour Island in 2016, property records show. Liberty Group first wanted to build a 15-story, 180-room hotel, but it cut the proposal to 12 stories with 150 rooms in response to community opposition.

Harbour Island residents remained opposed, and the Tampa City Council denied the zoning and land-use requests in 2022.

A prior lawsuit led to mediation and a plan for a 10-story, 145-key hotel. The number of parking spaces was cut by more than half, and a rooftop bar was taken out of the plans.

City staff recommended approval, but the council again voted the project down.