A Hillsborough County commissioner proposed the idea of paving a way to add cities to one of the largest counties in the state.
In a commission meeting on Wednesday, Commissioner Stacy White brought up the idea of adding cities because of the growth across Hillsborough County.
White wrote on his Facebook page that it would be a potential pathway for the creation of new cities for those areas that wish to have self-determination and home rule.
In the meeting, commissioners voted 5-2 to have staff prepare a report on the potential of creating municipal overlay districts.
By law, a county can't actually create the cities, but commissioners can potentially provide planning foundations for communities that might want to incorporate someday.
Some of the areas thrown out in general discussion on the topic were Brandon, Lutz, New Tampa, and SouthShore.
As of now Hillsborough County only has three municipalities, whereas surrounding counties like Pinellas County have nearly two dozen municipalities.
Those opposed to adding more cities stated that this would impact taxes make taxes go up to pay for services like their own police departments.
White points out that two-thirds of people in Hillsborough County live in unincorporated areas.
Commissioner White wrote an opinion piece that you can read here in the Tampa Bay Times.
