TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) —The City of Tampa’s controversial South Howard Flood Relief Project is scheduled to go before city council again later this week.
Ahead of the council’s discussion, a group of local business owners is opposing the project and has proposed an alternative.
Florida’s expanded gun tax holiday draws mixed reactions
“We don’t believe it’s reasonable to take money away from the rest of the city and deplete the entire stormwater assessment fund for one project,” the Soho Business Alliance said.
The city says that is not the case.
“This project does not exhaust the stormwater fund,” said Brandon Campbell, Tampa’s mobility director. “We’ve studied about two dozen alternatives over the last 18 months, and we have selected the most practical and best way forward.”
The city’s South Howard Flood Relief Project proposes a 10-by-10-foot box culvert system capable of moving roughly 20 million gallons of stormwater per hour.
The system would begin near Bayshore Boulevard and South Howard Avenue, run through Palma Ceia Pines, and connect to a stormwater pond beneath the HCA Florida South Tampa Hospital parking deck.
The Soho Business Alliance hired engineer David DeLoach, who has proposed an alternative plan.
“We’re looking at storage, moving water and augmenting the existing system,” DeLoach said.
Under his proposal, three storage areas would be used: the ZOM pond, the Army/AMI site near the hospital and an open-space area in Parkland Estates.
“We’re proposing underground storage vaults, and so when you put the vaults in, you can recover the land use on top,” DeLoach said.
Campbell said the proposal poses a problem because of the hospital parking area.
“Unfortunately, that would require the removal of that parking deck and of the hospital parking,” Campbell said.
The alliance has also raised concerns about potential construction disruptions to businesses along the project route.
“There’s going to be 1,098 jobs that are going to be permanently lost,” said Edward de la Parte, an attorney representing the Soho Business Alliance.
Campbell told 8 On Your Side last month that the city would work to maintain access to businesses during construction.
“We will make sure that customers can get into those businesses,” Campbell said. “We will keep sidewalk access open at all times on at least one side or the other.”
The city said city council members are scheduled to discuss the flood relief plan at Thursday’s meeting.
The council is expected to vote on the project Sept. 17.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.