SEMINOLE HEIGHTS - A vision plan and a land-use map that would help guide redevelopment of this community for the next 20 years cleared a hurdle last week as the Tampa City Council agreed to submit the plan and map for state review.

Council members are expected to bundle the Seminole Heights' plan and map with unrelated land-use amendments on March 11 and send them to Florida's Department of Community Affairs. Officials will send comments and recommendations to the city.

With that accomplished, the city can move closer to presenting a new set of regulations that will implement the long-range redevelopment of Seminole Heights. City land-use staffers hope to have the codes approved by fall or winter of this year for South, Southeast and Old Seminole Heights' neighborhoods.

"It is the first step in the process," said Cathy Coyle, the city's zoning administrator.

Coyle said more than 500 people, including residents, property owners and business owners, have participated in a series of public workshops and interactive design exercises since February 2008.

About 50 people attended a public hearing with city council members last week. Most were in favor of the plan and the map, including representatives of the three Seminole Heights' neighborhood and civic associations, the Business Guild of Seminole Heights and the nonprofit Seminole Heights Foundation.

"It's our plan. We put it together," said Susan Long, one of the foundation's founding directors. "The city didn't say, 'Here is what's happening to you.'"

The plan's intent is to foster an urban growth pattern that encourages retail and commercial establishments, and more pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods.

The proposed zoning codes focus on the size and appearance of buildings, as well as the layouts of streets and public spaces. Traditional zoning generally separates areas based on land use and decisions of public health and safety, placing shops, homes and factories in different districts.

Not everyone liked the plan.

"I think it needs to be tweaked some more," said Gail Davis of the Hampton Terrace Neighborhood Association. "It needs to be flexible. I was quite dismayed by the CVS outcome."

The city council recently rejected a proposal for a CVS drugstore at Sligh and Nebraska avenues because it did not meet the city's urban design guidelines.

John Dingfelder, one of a minority of council members who supported the CVS project, said he hoped the new codes would not restrict the council to "yes" or "no" votes. "We wanted to sort of say 'maybe,'" he said of CVS.

Some residents at the hearing objected to land-use changes for specific parcels including residents on Hamilton Avenue who worried the proposed map would allow apartments or town homes on a street of single-family homes.

"We have a very friendly street," said Janet Altman. "I expect to be living here 20 years from now and I don't want to be next door to apartments."

Reporter Kathy Steele can be reached at (813) 259-7652.