A solution – of sorts – has been reached in the disagreement between the city and Hillsborough Community College regarding design guidelines for HCC construction in Ybor City. In a compromise between Mayor Pam Iorio and HCC President Gwen Stephenson, HCC will be exempt from needing Barrio Latino Commission approval.
The upshot for HCC, which has contended that the city’s historic preservation guidelines don’t apply to them, is that they have also been granted other – de facto – exemptions when it comes to building in Ybor. They are obviously exempt from: historical integrity, community aesthetics, architectural relevance and higher educational leadership.