laptop and books on a table in a library with bookshelves behind

The Planning Commission Library, located at 601 E Kennedy Blvd, 18th floor, room 1848C, is currently open to the public by appointment only.  For inquiries or to make an appointment, please contact Heather Hill at [email protected] or 813-793-2314.

Plan Hillsborough Completed Projects Archive

Once a current project or draft document has reached completion the final documents are loaded into our digital collection, which you can access below.

About the Library

The Planning Commission Library was established in 1959 as part of the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission. The Library exists to fulfill the Planning Commission’s Mission which states: The Planning Commission promotes, coordinates, collaborates with, and facilitates the involvement of all people in the long range planning and vision for our community to improve economic development, quality of life, and provide value-added services. To fulfill this mission, we seek to provide a wide-range of material to inform and educate interested parties in long-range planning within Hillsborough County and current trends in planning. As such, it serves both as a library of current and historical resources as well as an archive of planning documents.

Since the mid-1990s, the Planning Commission library has been associated with the Hillsborough County Public Library System. As a partner of the Public Library System, we are able to issue library cards and visitors with a valid library card are eligible to check-out select materials in our collection. The holdings are searchable through the library’s online catalog. Search and view some of our collection through the public library system.  Additionally, many reports, maps, and plans are included in the digital collection of hcplc.org.  You can search, view, download, and print from the digital collection page found at Plan Hillsborough – Digital Collections (hcplc.org).

As the repository of documents from the agencies that comprise Plan Hillsborough, the library’s holdings include records associated with the Transportation Planning Organization (TPO), the Hillsborough River Interlocal Planning Board & Technical Advisory Council in addition to the Planning Commission. These holdings include an extensive collection of early urban plans, photographs from the mid-century, along with historical studies about Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa. Major holdings include:

  • Current and historic comprehensive plans such as the George W. Simons plans for the City of Tampa.
  • Long range transportation plans and Transportation Improvement Programs.
  • Transportation studies such as those for rail and mass transit.
  • Environmental studies including green or sustainable building.
  • Presidential papers related to the implementation of public policies.
  • Administrative records and reports from various City and County departments.
  • Planning related monographs and other historic Hillsborough County and Florida materials.
  • Planning related peer-reviewed journals.
  • The complete print run of the Florida Statistical Abstract published by the Bureau of Economic and Business Research (BEBR).