About Us

Welcome to Keystone – The Great Northwest

We are creating a community-based partnership of residents, businesses and property owners who will accept the challenge of working together in a positive manner for the good of all.

Greater Keystone/Odessa is a crown jewel of Hillsborough County and is at the heart of greater Tampa Bay. Its lakes, woodlands and other natural elements make it a wonderful place to live. These things, plus location, are advantages upon which we can lay a foundation for a quality lifestyle.

Our interests are preserving Keystone/Odessa’s magnificent natural resources and improving the quality of life here in The Great Northwest.  By doing so, the value of our homes, businesses and property will, by nature, increase.

Please tap into the information you find here and use it to help you make informed decisions. Many of these same principles apply to all of Hillsborough County and the entire Tampa Bay Area.

We welcome any resident, property owner or business with an interest in improving our quality of life.

Keystone/Odessa

A comparison of the 2000 US Census and the 2010 US Census for Keystone/Odessa is a real eye-opener.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2000 Keystone had a population of 14,627 and by 2010 we had grown to 24,039. That’s a 64.3 % increase.

Odessa grew even faster. The census figures say Odessa’s population in 2000 was 3,173. By 2010 they had a population of 7,267, a whopping 129% increase.

Two years have already passed since the 2010 census and people are still moving into Keystone/Odessa. Even more will come in the years ahead.

We have been and still are woefully unprepared for growth here. What can we do about it?

First, we think it a good idea to identify the problems we are facing. And again, we want your input.

 Bettering Our Community

A place to begin:

We think an independent survey of all of us who live, work and otherwise invest in our community is needed. A gauge of the collective preferences of stakeholders in the Keystone/Odessa area is essential. We are confident this collective input will help outline what we need to make this already fine community an even better place to live.

Another idea would be to consider amendments to Hillsborough County’s Comprehensive Plan, Land Development Code and Capital Improvements Plan. Right now these plans smother any attempt to improve our quality of life. Lines drawn on a map should not allow local government to arbitrarily deny us essential public services.

 Our tax dollars should be providing us with:

• Safe, four-lane, divided roads with turn lanes, medians, bike lanes and sidewalks. Consideration should be given to the widening of Gunn Highway, Van Dyke,  Lutz/Lake Fern  and Tarpon Springs Roads to suburban level standards.
•  Sustainable environmental pilot projects, parks and other recreational facilities which contribute to our overall quality of life.
• Water and wastewater services wherever economically feasible in order to eliminate potentially contaminating septic tanks and inefficient and often overused private wells.
• Schools within our community so that our children can receive an education safely and close to home.

Unfortunately, we have none of these things now and we won’t have them in the foreseeable future unless we hold County government accountable and let them hear our voices.  We need a lot of “squeaky wheels” to get their attention.

HCSO clearing an accident on Gunn Hwy.