Tampa leaders seek to protect historical burial sites from being developed
TAMPA, Fla. - The city of Tampa announced new protections that are likely coming for forgotten and vulnerable cemeteries, many of which of historic African American burial sites.
During a news conference Friday, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor addressed the importance of creating a long-term plan for cemeteries that were lost. Several grave sites had been buried underneath development that previous administrations never should have allowed, Castor noted.
"We can't right past wrongs, but certainly we can acknowledge those and apologize for the wrongs of our community in the past," said Castor.
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Tampa leaders said they're making changes, including adjusting the land-use designation for cemeteries. This will give current sites, and those yet to be re-discovered, more protections from potential development.
"What we're proposing is to, regardless of the zoning, add protections on top of the land so that in the future, the development rights or the ability of development doesn't come into question again," explained Stephen Benson, Tampa's city planning director.
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Since 2019, archeologists have located at least five forgotten cemeteries in the Tampa Bay area, along with thousands of graves, mostly belonging to African Americans.
Help might also be coming at state lawmakers. State Sen. Janet Cruz and Rep. Fentrice Driskell, both from Tampa, proposed legislation that aims to find and further protect lost cemeteries.
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