Site and Subdivision Review — Unincorporated Hillsborough County
Route horizontal land development in unincorporated Hillsborough County through the County's site and subdivision review before construction or vertical building permits. Site development, subdivision, platting, zoning or plan-amendment approvals, and building permits are related but distinct processes; the required intake type, disciplines, forms, fees, bonds, and final approvals depend on the project.
Check what applies to your address
Get a free answer for your location and project, rather than relying only on this general guide.
Need everything organized? For eligible projects, the optional $19 Project Kit brings your filing steps, official documents, fees and progress checklist together. Government fees are separate.
Who needs this
Owners, developers, engineers, surveyors, and authorized applicants proposing commercial, multifamily, institutional, industrial, subdivision, infrastructure, or other horizontal site development in unincorporated Hillsborough County.
Steps
- 1
Confirm unincorporated jurisdiction and prerequisite entitlements
Verify County jurisdiction and document current zoning, Future Land Use, planned-development conditions, legal lots, prior approvals, and the proposed use and density or intensity. Resolve required rezoning, plan amendment, variance, special use, or other land-use action separately; site review does not grant those approvals.
hcfl.gov/businesses/zoning - 2
Classify site development, subdivision, and platting needs
Ask Development Services which current site-intake type and sufficiency checklist match the project, and whether subdivision, preliminary or final plat, lot split or boundary work, certified parcel, easement, or another procedure also applies. Do not treat every site project as a subdivision or every subdivision approval as a building permit.
hcfl.gov/businesses/land-development/land-development-applic - 3
Use the courtesy pre-submittal conference when useful
The County describes its site/subdivision pre-submittal conference as voluntary but highly encouraged. Submit the current application with enough site and zoning information for staff to identify likely concerns; the conference is preliminary and does not issue approval.
hcfl.gov/businesses/land-development/site-and-subdivision/ap - 4
Prepare the action-specific intake package
Use the current applications, forms, and sufficiency checklist for the selected review. Provide separately labeled digital plans and supporting files at the formats and resolutions stated by the intake page, with required professional signatures and seals under current Florida law and rules.
hcfl.gov/businesses/land-development/land-development-applic - 5
Apply through HillsGovHub and complete intake review
Submit the site/subdivision review through HillsGovHub. The County says intake staff checks for missing or incorrect items and then calculates total fees; a submitted application is not a sufficiency finding, approval, or authorization to construct.
hcfl.gov/businesses/land-development/site-and-subdivision/ap - 6
Coordinate discipline and outside-agency reviews
Respond to civil, transportation, stormwater, floodplain, natural-resources, utilities, fire, access, right-of-way, environmental, surveying, addressing, and other comments applicable to the site. Obtain outside permits and utility commitments where required; County site approval does not replace them.
hcfl.gov/businesses/land-development/technical-publications - 7
Complete subdivision, plat, bond, and agreement steps when applicable
For a subdivision or infrastructure project, use the current subdivision applications, plat documents, warranty or performance bonds, agreements, dedications, and recording steps assigned to the case. These requirements are conditional and are not imposed on every site review.
hcfl.gov/businesses/land-development/land-development-applic - 8
Obtain final horizontal approval before construction or vertical permits
The County states that site/subdivision review must be completed before beginning construction or requesting permits for new development. Confirm approved plans, conditions, fee status, bonds or agreements, inspections, recording, and later vertical-permit prerequisites in the live case.
hcfl.gov/businesses/land-development/site-and-subdivision
Requirements
- Property must be under unincorporated Hillsborough County development authority.
- Select the current site, subdivision, plat, or related application matching the actual project.
- Resolve prerequisite zoning and comprehensive-plan actions separately.
- Submit the complete action-specific sufficiency-checklist package through HillsGovHub.
- Obtain applicable discipline and outside-agency approvals.
- Complete conditional plat, bond, agreement, recording, construction-inspection, and closeout steps before relying on final approval.
Documents
- Parcel and ownership or authorization records, legal description, zoning and entitlement information
- Current survey, boundary and topographic information, site/civil plans, and calculations as required
- Traffic/access, drainage/stormwater, floodplain, utility, fire, natural-resources, environmental, and other technical materials required by the assigned checklist
- Subdivision, plat, title, easement, dedication, bond, agreement, and recording materials when applicable
- Comment responses, revised plans, outside approvals, inspection records, and closeout documents
Fees
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Site/subdivision intake initiation | The County intake page states that $50 is required to initiate application review, accessed 2026-09-24; intake staff then calculates total fees. | |
| Site development process | Use the current County site-development fee page and live case for the selected process, reviews, and revisions; no universal total is stated. | |
| Subdivision process | Use the current County subdivision fee page and live case for the selected subdivision, plat, review, and recording scope; no universal total is stated. | |
| Mobility, utility, review, bond, recording, or outside-agency costs | Confirm project-specific charges and security requirements in the live case and current agency materials; no combined project total is asserted. |
Good to know
This workflow applies only to unincorporated Hillsborough County; city parcels use city land-development procedures.Site development, subdivision, platting, land-use entitlements, building permits, and outside-agency approvals are distinct even when coordinated.The County identifies pre-submittal as voluntary but highly encouraged and site/subdivision completion as required before construction or new-development permits.The $50 intake-initiation amount is quoted only from the County page accessed September 24, 2026; total fees are calculated after intake and may change.No universal checklist, review disciplines, fee total, bond, plat requirement, timeline, or approval outcome is invented.