They are comparing three maps for the I-4 corridor.

Who asked for it

The Board of County Commissioners directed a Phase II study of the I-4 corridor and Little Manatee South after a 6 March 2024 report. The Planning Commission is running the work. On 14 July 2025 it authorized an 18-month contract with H.W. Lochner for $350,000. Stantec is a subconsultant on the I-4 boundary review. Market work is by WTL+a. Little Manatee South is a paired south-county study, not this map.

Where

Along I-4 between the existing Urban Service Area and the Plant City Vision boundary. The Round 3 boards name Thonotosassa, Mango, Seffner, and the Dover area. Official files do not agree on one acreage. The same Round 3 deck says "about 35,000 acres" and "over 30,000 acres," and another board in that packet says a roughly 37,390-acre study area. A November 2025 Stantec memo said about 47,845 acres. A May 2026 market study uses still other figures for a larger market box. Do not treat any one number as settled. Only a refined slice on the Round 3 boards could change under a scenario. The rest stays in the Rural Service Area. Check a parcel on the official property locator.

What it is not

It does not change your zoning. The June 2026 fact sheet says so in those words. It does not approve a subdivision. It does not move the Urban Service Area by itself. Staff's own landing page says the study has no effect on current land use or zoning.

What it can become

Recommendations to the County Commission on whether, and where, to consider a future Urban Service Area change. Adopted Policy 1.3.1 says creating an Urban Expansion Area takes a publicly initiated plan amendment and a UEA Plan. The Planning Commission recommends. The Board of County Commissioners decides. No I-4 amendment hearing is posted yet.

What already sits on the land

The adopted Future Land Use Map already allows substantial building. About 30,500 acres carry a designation. Residential-1, one home per gross acre, covers roughly 81 percent. Staff's own estimate under that current map is about 15,800 additional homes and 42,500 additional residents by 2050 if infrastructure is ignored. There is no true "no build" option. State law lets an owner petition to develop.

Boards: Round 3 presentation, "About This Study," "What Happens Under the Current Plan?," "The Current Plan: What It Allows," and "Refined Study Area." Fact sheet: June 2026 I-4 Corridor Fact Sheet. Earlier boundary memo (20 Nov 2025) used a larger preliminary acreage; use the Round 3 boards as the current official picture.

These are not promises and not site plans. Staff built them from market demand, Round 2 place-type maps, environmental limits, and existing service. They test two interchange areas: McIntosh and Mango. Place types used for new growth are suburban residential (think Valrico), suburban commercial (think Brandon), and town or village center (staff's example is West Park Village in Westchase). A place type is not zoning.

Even the largest map adds growth on about one acre in seven. The rest keeps today's rural and agricultural designation. Owners can still petition to change that land. The scenarios themselves do not rezone it.

County departments reviewed the maps as a guidepost, not a decision. Parks say no scenario fits without new land and staff. Schools cost about $56 million (elementary), $80 million (middle), and $145 million (high) to build, against about $25 million a year in residential impact fees. Water: S1 and S2 use Valrico wastewater; S3 uses Valrico and Falkenburg. All three need water transmission work. Roads: the regional model is still pending. Residents already named Gallagher, McIntosh, Thonotosassa, Branch Forbes, and Knight Griffin as over capacity. Only one funded County project in the area is listed: US 92 at Gallagher.

Same Round 3 PDF, boards titled "Scenarios Overview: By the Numbers," "How Much Would Actually Change," "Schools," "Water & Wastewater," and "Transportation." School packet dated 28 Jul 2026. Trip totals are gross; net figures await the current-plan baseline.

The Round 3 boards say Round 1 took 407 Vision & Values survey answers plus the April meetings. The posted engagement memo counts 434 valid online responses and 15 paper surveys. Staff wrote the community position as preservation-first, not preservation-only.

1. Keep rural and agricultural character. Staff say 81 percent named it a top everyday priority and 74 percent want no or fewer changes. "Rural" was the most common one-word answer.
2. Fix roads and infrastructure before growth. Local roads already carry I-4 overflow and trucks.
3. Deal with flooding, drainage, and stormwater. Neighbors tied it to recent building, filled wetlands, and Hurricane Milton.
4. Protect creeks, wetlands, and wildlife. Baker and Pemberton Creeks show up on the boards. About 1,631 acres are approved for ELAPP purchase from willing sellers. That is eligible, not bought.
5. Protect wells and the choice to stay off forced utility hookup.

Adopted community plans that overlap the study (Thonotosassa 2004, Seffner-Mango 2010, East Lake / Orient Park 2009) say the same shape: grow inside the current Urban Service Area first, put jobs on I-4, US 92, and SR 574, keep the rural interior low-density, and protect the creeks.

Round 3 board "What We Heard From the Community." Round 1 summary: 14 Jul 2026 memo to Sofia Garantiva. Survey window was 7 Apr to 22 May 2026. Round 2 used place-type maps in June; that engagement summary is still listed as coming soon.

The official page takes written comments now. Use that box. Say which map pieces you want kept, which roads already fail, and whether wells, creeks, and schools are conditions you want written before any line moves. Staff say Round 4 will use this round to build one map.

Past virtual recordings you can watch tonight:

• Round 1, April 2026: virtual meeting recording
• Round 2, June 2026: virtual meeting recording
• Round 3, 27 Aug 2026: recording not posted

Maps, the existing-conditions report, and the market study sit on the same official page. Spanish packets are posted for Round 1. This site does not host those files. Neighborhood groups can ask for a workshop through I4LMSStudy@plancom.org.

Comment form and documents: planhillsborough.org/i4uea. Plant City's own comprehensive-plan update is a separate city process. The June fact sheet points neighbors there and to FDOT's I-4 widening page. Do not treat FDOT lanes or a Plant City annexation map as this study's vote.