TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — After 10 years of back-and-forth, the Tampa City Council has approved a flood relief project for the South Howard District, along South Howard Avenue.

It just barely passed with a 4-3 vote. It’s a sigh of relief for some, but others still worry their businesses will tank. Council members said this project is not perfect, but not acting on it could be worse.

“Flooding is everywhere, and part of it is our fault,” Council Member Charlie Miranda said at City Hall Thursday.

The room was packed for most of the day. Residents shared stories of their homes flooding during major storms, and their streets seeing flooding in just the last few weeks.

Business owners and employees of businesses along South Howard Avenue stood in opposition to the project, saying there were other options to explore that wouldn’t be catastrophic to their businesses.

“I want what’s best for this town,” one person who works in Soho said. “But this is not it. Like they’ve all said, there’s multiple businesses that will fail. We will fail. We won’t survive this. This is too difficult.”

Council members faced the facts of the project.

“It’s not perfect, but it really has to happen because we have no other opportunity; this is what we do as a city,” Lynn Hurtak said.

Some council members shared their doubts, which led to them opposing the plan.

“All those hundreds or thousands of families have no chance of getting help in the next five or six years because the city is overpaying for a bad project,” Council Member Bill Carlson said.

There were almost two hours of public comment from people on both sides.

“If it does not go through, it’s going to leave the city with a potential health crisis of epic proportions,” one man said.

But even with all the uncertainties and questions criticizing the project, it came down to fixing what they could for the future.

“I believe the greatest risk is failing to act, those who have lived with the flood and the next generation that will benefit from this project, I stand with you,” Council Chair Alan Clendenin said.

Carlson, Guido Maniscalco, and Nya Young voted against the project.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor sent the following statement after the vote:

“Thank you to the City Council members who voted to move the South Howard Flood Relief Project forward. This is a major investment in Tampa’s resilience and, most importantly, in the residents and businesses that have lived with flooding for far too long. Projects of this size aren’t easy, but neither is living with repeated flooding. Today’s vote moves us closer to a long-term solution that will protect our neighborhoods for generations to come. The City will work tirelessly to minimize the disruption and inconvenience this major improvement has to businesses and people who use South Howard Avenue.”

The Soho Alliance, which stands against this project, also sent a statement:

“One thing we are certain of, is that we are in this because the plan forwarded by the City is not fiscally responsible and it leaves out some of the most vulnerable residents, in addition to the threat it poses to a viable economic engine of our city. The vote may have been taken, but we are not finished fighting or urging our elected officials to be responsible, transparent and to work for ALL citizens who reside in flooded areas of our city.”

The construction schedule they showed on Thursday starts with a utility relocation in November. Then, by March 2027, the Bayshore Boulevard triple box culvert extension comes in. By May 2027, the box culvert construction on South Howard will begin.

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