HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — A newly approved housing project in northwest Hillsborough County is stirring frustration among residents who say it will forever change the rural character of their community.

What You Need To Know

• 127 townhomes and 200 parking spaces approved on 13 acres at Van Dyke and Tobacco roads, with an option for commercial use

• Hillsborough County Commissioner Boles says recent state laws like the Live Local Act have limited counties’ ability to control development

• Residents say the project threatens Keystone’s rural lifestyle, strains infrastructure and undermines local planning efforts

The Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners gave final approval last month for a D.R. Horton project that will bring 127 townhomes and about 200 parking spaces to a 13-acre site at Van Dyke Road and Tobacco Road in Keystone. The plan also includes an option for commercial use.

This is the second attempt to develop the site after an earlier proposal was rejected. Although the developer revised the plan, many residents say it still goes against the Keystone-Odessa Community Plan, which limits urban-style development in the area.

“One hundred and twenty-seven townhomes and about 200 parking spaces on 13 acres,” said Melissa Norbeck with the Keystone Civic Association.

Norbeck says she understands the rights of property owners — but believes longtime residents should have a stronger voice.

“I believe that you have the right to try to rezone a property. You can buy a property and then try to do something different with it. That’s your right,” Norbeck said.

“But I would argue that the residents who currently live in an area should have even more rights — because they were there first, bought their property, have cultivated it, paid property taxes, and built the community and schools in the way they see fit.”

Norbeck and other members of the Keystone Civic Association spoke out during a recent County Commission meeting.

“Keystone is rural,” Norbeck declared during public comment, drawing applause from neighbors in attendance.

The developer’s attorney defended the project, saying the company has made efforts to preserve the area’s character.

“We have done what’s necessary to protect the rural heritage of the area,” the attorney told commissioners.

Despite those assurances, residents say their concerns about traffic, school capacity and loss of open land were ignored.

District 6 County Commissioner Chris Boles shared a statement with Spectrum News acknowledging the growing challenge local governments face under new state laws.

“These recent changes to the Live Local Act and Senate Bill 180 have weakened the ability of counties to enforce local land-use controls,” Boles wrote. “They’ve made it increasingly difficult to stop projects that don’t align with the vision residents have worked so hard to preserve.”

Norbeck believes those laws have forced local leaders to approve projects they don’t necessarily support.

“The commissioners’ logic is — if they do not allow D.R. Horton to build townhouses here, then the next proposal that will come forward will be a Live Local project, because this qualifies,” she said.

She says residents want stronger local protections — and accountability from county leaders.

“Until I start seeing some proactive or protective measures for residents of Hillsborough County — hopefully at the next land use meeting — it would be nice to see creative initiatives coming forward to fight this erosion of home rule coming out of Tallahassee,” Norbeck said.

For Norbeck and her neighbors, the issue goes beyond zoning.

“For us, it’s about protecting the place we call home,” she said.