WESTCHASE — For more than 30 years, the Bayanihan Arts and Events Center has been hosting events, small and large, to promote and celebrate the Philippine culture and community. And it is going to continue to do so, thanks to a rezoning issue resolved at the Sept. 9 Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners’ Land Use Meeting, which saw the Center, run by the Philippine Cultural Foundation, get approved to switch its 10.04-acre property from agricultural residential to planned development for mixed used development.
Essentially, it will allow the Center and Foundation to continue to host, on property, up to large-scale events related to Philippine Culture, while rental or use of the facilities in any general nature remains prohibited.
This includes the annual three-day Philippine Festival, better known as the Phil Fest, which will head into its 30th year in 2026 and celebrates the “richness of Filipino heritage,” according to the Foundation’s site, and draws nearly 10,000 visitors a year.
The new rezoning measure specifically addressed the number of events, small, medium and large, that could be held a specific amount of times per year, as well as time duration of the events.
For example, small events would be allowed seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., with no restrictions to how many, as long as there were no more than 105 vehicles. Medium-sized events could only happen four times a year, with 106 to 317 vehicles, starting at 5 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. Saturdays and lasting until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, but lasting until 7 p.m. on Sundays.
Large events, such as the Phil Fest, could only happen once a year, given that it would be restricted to 317 vehicles on site, with approved offsite parking nearby, as well as the hiring of off-duty police officers to help with street crossing. The hours of the events would be the same as medium-sized.
At the meeting, the rezoning measurement was passed 5-2, with District 7 commissioner Josh Wostal voting no, as well as District 2 commissioner Ken Hagan, in whose district the property, at 14301 Nine Eagles Drive, is located.
“I find it hard to believe there would be another event that would be the size of Phil Fest and if there were it would just move to another venue,” Hagan argued.
District 1 Commissioner Harry Cohen said, “We have three findings of approval here and to overcome there has to be more meat on the bone, and overall this has been approved by staff, the planning commission and the hearing master, so I think it would behoove the board to approve it.
“I will add,” Cohen added, “this is not, whether or not, the Philippine Cultural Center or the Foundation does wonderful work or not important — they are and do wonderful work, this is about if the applicant met their burden and, in my opinion, they more than did.”
Additionally, the Foundation, as laid out in a lengthy document file delivered to the county, will install a north to eastbound right turn lane on Nine Eagles Drive and a 20-foot-wide buffer with enhanced landscaping and screening on the north half of the property’s east boundary in proximity to single family homes to the east.
The Center and Foundation also has plans to install a 195-foot tall communications tree tower on site, but that was only on the rezoning request because county code requires that it be on the documents.
No timeline or more details for that project were readily available.
Speaking at the meeting, and representing the foundation, was one of the Foundation’s founding board members, Jose Olima, who asked the commission board to approve the rezoning.
“We chose to have our property for the Filipino Cultural Center in Hillsborough County because we have always felt it is the most beneficial for the Filipino-American community,” he said. “Today, we have 25 Filipino community organizations working as one. We are very proud of our 10-acre property, the center and the three-day Phil Fest.
“Today, we feel the Philippine Cultural Center is one of the prides of the city of Tampa.”
Nearby residents, via online viewing, said they were for the rezoning, while others, in person, were opposed to it. Their concerns came from the amount of traffic that is generated during the three-day Phil Fest, stating specifically any children from nearby Bryant Elementary and Farnell Middle schools using a sidewalk on either side of Nine Eagles Drive, or the adverse effects from noise from events that would be held at the center or the property.
The Philippine Cultural Foundation was founded in 1995 to preserve and present the Philippine heritage and culture as its legacy to future generations and its contribution to the diversity of the region and the state of Florida.
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