Please Help Tappan Park !!
The Issue
Please help us get help!! Sign this petition !! After 6 yrs of fighting. It’s going before City Council September 17, 2026 9:00 am .Come show up for your community share your story!
TAPPAN TRACT IS A NATURAL RESOURCE — NOT A DUMPING GROUND FOR EVERY DEVELOPMENT'S STORMWATER PROBLEM
🚨 9 FACTS CITY COUNCIL NEEDS TO KNOW
WHY TAPPAN TRACT PARK NEEDS IMMEDIATE ACTION
1. Tappan Tract is a significant wetland and natural-resource property.
Tappan Tract is documented by the Southwest Florida Water Management District as a mitigation project involving wetland and upland habitat. Earlier SWFWMD documentation identifies Tappan Tract as a City of Tampa/WMD SWIM project.
2. Tappan Tract is part of Tampa's flood-risk problem—not separate from it.
The City's vulnerability assessment evaluates Tampa's exposure to stormwater flooding, storm surge and sea-level rise. Tappan Tract is among the City's assets that need to be considered in that broader flood-risk planning.
3. Tampa already recognizes that flooding requires major infrastructure investment.
The City is spending substantial resources on projects specifically designed to improve drainage and reduce flooding. The South Howard Flood Relief Project, for example, is designed as a major stormwater-conveyance project because existing drainage is inadequate for the surrounding community.
The question for Council should be: Why shouldn't Tappan Tract receive the same serious engineering attention?
4. Wetlands are part of the water-management system.
Wetlands aren't empty land waiting to be developed. They provide storage, filtration and habitat functions. That's precisely why wetland impacts are regulated and why Tampa and Hillsborough County have environmental review requirements.
When natural areas are altered, the City needs to understand where that water goes.
5. The 6111 N. Rome Avenue property demonstrates exactly why cumulative impacts matter.
The 6111 N. Rome property has been the subject of a formal wetland review. The property is approximately 4.7 acres, with a proposed residential development involving 37 townhouses and three detached single-family homes.
6. This isn't just a hypothetical environmental concern—the 6111 N. Rome proposal has already generated serious wetland controversy.
Tampa City Council previously rejected a development proposal at 6111 N. Rome that would have affected wetlands. The issue has subsequently returned in a revised proposal.
That gives Tappan-area residents a legitimate reason to demand that development and drainage be examined together—not parcel by parcel in isolation.
7. Hillsborough County's environmental review process specifically considers cumulative impacts.
This is one of the most important facts for Council.
Environmental review of wetland impacts is not simply about asking, “What happens on this one parcel?”
The regulatory framework considers the broader consequences of development, including cumulative impacts.
Council should therefore require the City to examine the cumulative effect of development, elevation changes, tree removal, wetland alterations and stormwater movement throughout the affected drainage area.
8. Tampa is already using nature-based solutions to address flooding elsewhere.
The City has invested in projects that combine stormwater infrastructure with natural systems. MacDill 48 Park, for example, incorporates a major stormwater pond and drainage infrastructure specifically designed to reduce flooding.
Tappan Tract should be evaluated for the same kind of nature-based stormwater solution.
9. Residents are asking for an investigation and a solution—not simply a complaint to be heard.
The City should immediately:
① Conduct a comprehensive stormwater/drainage study of the Tappan Tract area.
② Map existing drainage pathways and identify where stormwater is being redirected or obstructed.
③ Evaluate the cumulative effects of surrounding development and wetland/tree alterations.
④ Determine whether existing stormwater infrastructure is adequate for current development and future rainfall conditions.
⑤ Develop a funded plan to protect, restore and improve Tappan Tract Park and the surrounding drainage system.
142
The Issue
Please help us get help!! Sign this petition !! After 6 yrs of fighting. It’s going before City Council September 17, 2026 9:00 am .Come show up for your community share your story!
TAPPAN TRACT IS A NATURAL RESOURCE — NOT A DUMPING GROUND FOR EVERY DEVELOPMENT'S STORMWATER PROBLEM
🚨 9 FACTS CITY COUNCIL NEEDS TO KNOW
WHY TAPPAN TRACT PARK NEEDS IMMEDIATE ACTION
1. Tappan Tract is a significant wetland and natural-resource property.
Tappan Tract is documented by the Southwest Florida Water Management District as a mitigation project involving wetland and upland habitat. Earlier SWFWMD documentation identifies Tappan Tract as a City of Tampa/WMD SWIM project.
2. Tappan Tract is part of Tampa's flood-risk problem—not separate from it.
The City's vulnerability assessment evaluates Tampa's exposure to stormwater flooding, storm surge and sea-level rise. Tappan Tract is among the City's assets that need to be considered in that broader flood-risk planning.
3. Tampa already recognizes that flooding requires major infrastructure investment.
The City is spending substantial resources on projects specifically designed to improve drainage and reduce flooding. The South Howard Flood Relief Project, for example, is designed as a major stormwater-conveyance project because existing drainage is inadequate for the surrounding community.
The question for Council should be: Why shouldn't Tappan Tract receive the same serious engineering attention?
4. Wetlands are part of the water-management system.
Wetlands aren't empty land waiting to be developed. They provide storage, filtration and habitat functions. That's precisely why wetland impacts are regulated and why Tampa and Hillsborough County have environmental review requirements.
When natural areas are altered, the City needs to understand where that water goes.
5. The 6111 N. Rome Avenue property demonstrates exactly why cumulative impacts matter.
The 6111 N. Rome property has been the subject of a formal wetland review. The property is approximately 4.7 acres, with a proposed residential development involving 37 townhouses and three detached single-family homes.
6. This isn't just a hypothetical environmental concern—the 6111 N. Rome proposal has already generated serious wetland controversy.
Tampa City Council previously rejected a development proposal at 6111 N. Rome that would have affected wetlands. The issue has subsequently returned in a revised proposal.
That gives Tappan-area residents a legitimate reason to demand that development and drainage be examined together—not parcel by parcel in isolation.
7. Hillsborough County's environmental review process specifically considers cumulative impacts.
This is one of the most important facts for Council.
Environmental review of wetland impacts is not simply about asking, “What happens on this one parcel?”
The regulatory framework considers the broader consequences of development, including cumulative impacts.
Council should therefore require the City to examine the cumulative effect of development, elevation changes, tree removal, wetland alterations and stormwater movement throughout the affected drainage area.
8. Tampa is already using nature-based solutions to address flooding elsewhere.
The City has invested in projects that combine stormwater infrastructure with natural systems. MacDill 48 Park, for example, incorporates a major stormwater pond and drainage infrastructure specifically designed to reduce flooding.
Tappan Tract should be evaluated for the same kind of nature-based stormwater solution.
9. Residents are asking for an investigation and a solution—not simply a complaint to be heard.
The City should immediately:
① Conduct a comprehensive stormwater/drainage study of the Tappan Tract area.
② Map existing drainage pathways and identify where stormwater is being redirected or obstructed.
③ Evaluate the cumulative effects of surrounding development and wetland/tree alterations.
④ Determine whether existing stormwater infrastructure is adequate for current development and future rainfall conditions.
⑤ Develop a funded plan to protect, restore and improve Tappan Tract Park and the surrounding drainage system.
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Petition created on August 23, 2026