The Laker/Lutz News

Jack Mariano

Divided board rejects Seven Oaks’ apartments

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The Pasco County Commission has denied a request that would have allowed 320 apartments and 20,000 square of commercial office/retail use in Seven Oaks, a master-planned community in Wesley Chapel.

Commissioners voted 3-2 to reject the request for a modification to Seven Oaks’ master plan, which would have set the stage for a resort-style development by Stock Luxury Apartment Living, a developer based in Naples.

Commissioner Mike Moore made the motion to deny the request, which was seconded by Commissioner Ron Oakley. Commissioner Jack Mariano also voted against the proposal.

Commission Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey and Commissioner Christina Fitzpatrick disagreed with their colleagues, voting against Moore’s motion.

The action followed hours of public testimony.

Applicant Keith Gelder, of Stock Luxury Apartment Living, wanted Seven Oaks to be the location for his first Pasco project.

He told county board members: “We do high-quality, large amenity, lifestyle-driven projects.”

Gelder said plans called for a resort-style pool, multi-story buildings with commercial uses on the first floor, a dog park, a parking garage and angled street parking for customers using the shops.

His presentation included photographs, to give commissioners an idea of what to expect. He also mentioned that developments his company has done include amenities such as golf simulators, fitness centers, a catering kitchen, spin room, outdoor cabanas and gaming.

“We want to bring a beautiful project here to Pasco,” he said. “We feel like this is the right project and right location.”

Seven Oaks residents disagreed.

Resident Barbara Foss said she doesn’t oppose additional apartments in Seven Oaks, but objects to the location of the proposed project.

“We do have a place that is zoned for apartments. It’s on the north end of our property. There are several streets there — for entering and existing our subdivision,” Foss said.

Zachary Besso, another opponent, questioned the need: “We have plenty of luxury apartments in Pasco County. Do we really need more?”

Seven Oaks resident Michael Garbutt told commissioners: “There are many reasons to oppose this change to the master plan.”

One primary problem would be traffic impacts, he said.

“It is easy to look at the roads and conclude generically that they’re adequate for the new residents, but when you have local knowledge of how the roads are actually used, then you see there will be a problem.

“As residents, we’ve learned how to get in and out of our subdivision as efficiently as possible. “So, we can foresee how 500 new residents are likely to use the roads. Do we really want to add more traffic? I don’t think so.”

Jon Tomsu, representing the Seven Oaks Resident Council, presented documents containing 1,220 signatures of opposition to the proposed development.

“It just doesn’t fit,” Tomsu said.

He also questioned the economic formula that was used by the county planning staff as part of its recommendation for approval.

Initially, economic impact calculations were based on 86,000 square feet of commercial retail/office as compared to 320 apartments. An updated comparison was based on 60,000 square feet of commercial office/retail, compared to 320 apartments and 20,000 square feet of commercial office/retail.

“We keep changing the playing field,” Tomsu complained.

The new formula bothered Mariano, too.

The commissioner put it this way: “The scales were tipped in the statistics here, to make the mixed use look better than what the commercial retail would have been, by changing that input.”

Opponents had plenty to say
Neighbors also raised issues about the proposed parking garage. One said it would be an eyesore; another said it would pose security risks. Still others questioned if the plan had adequate parking and surmised that overflow could end up using the Wesley Chapel Sam’s Club parking lot, which they said would be unfair for that business.

Commissioner Oakley said the size of the development was too big for the proposed site. He also voiced concerns about potential safety hazards.

In calling for denial, Moore said “the staff and the applicant both failed to conduct any service consumption cost analysis, therefore the staff and the applicant failed to demonstrate that the project will contribute more to the county in revenue than it will consume in services.”

He also noted the conversion “will place additional unplanned and unmitigated demands on the school, library and park systems.”

Existing entitlements for office or retail would not create those demands, Moore said.

Plus, Moore said, converting the land’s use would be contrary to the legitimate public policy of preserving land for employment-generating uses.

Starkey, however, voiced discomfort with voting down the request.

“I think it’s being denied for different reasons. We heard that people thought it’s going to be ugly. People think we don’t need any more apartments,” Starkey said.

She thinks Pasco needs more apartments — not fewer — and she thinks locating apartments on the edge of a master-planned development is appropriate.

“To put multifamily on a corner like (State Road) 56, where transit is going to be, I think that’s where it needs to be.

“We have said that we want vertical mixed use. I think that’s a great use of our limited space.

The county has a process that allows consideration for a swap of uses within a master-planned unit development — based on using a land use equivalency matrix (LUEM), which ensures that the impacts are equivalent.

Attorney Joel Tew said the county has granted 15 other requests to convert uses within Seven Oaks.

That drew Fitzpatrick’s attention: “What concerns me is that in the past 15 LUEM conversions, not one had been disputed or denied.”

Tew also noted that while his client had to undergo a public hearing process, another applicant  — represented by attorney Barbara Wilhite — received an administrative approval on a similar request.

He also said the reception to his client’s request would have been different, if it had been in a different location.

“Under normal circumstances, you would have given them a hug and a kiss and thanked them for coming to your fair county,” Tew said.

The attorney said that if the proposed request “wasn’t exactly where it is (in Seven Oaks)” that the board “would recognize this as the poster child for the type of vertical mixed-use development that you have begged my client and other development clients to bring to Pasco County for you.”

Moore lives in Seven Oaks and championed the county’s current temporary moratorium on new applications for multi-family development.

Published January 19, 2022

Pasco MPO eyeing new method for prioritizing projects

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The board of the Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization — which is the county’s lead agency in transportation planning — is considering a new way to add and rank projects on its priority list.

Carl Mikyska, executive director of the Pasco MPO, discussed the proposed methodology with the MPO board at its Dec. 9 meeting. He asked them to take a closer look at the proposal, with the goal of voting on it at the board’s meeting in February.

One proposed change calls for establishing a separate priority list for bicycle and pedestrian improvements.

Another part of the method calls for using a numerical scoring system to rank the projects.

This approach assigns points to the proposed projects, which are summarized for a total project score. Projects can earn a maximum score of 100, except for up to 10 in additional bonus points — based on how long a project has been on the priority list.

Under the updated methodology, proposed bicycle and pedestrian projects will be ranked based on the total number of points they receive in the following categories: safety and security; mobility and connectivity; economic development; project readiness and project longevity.

Road improvements will be ranked upon the total of points they receive in these categories: safety and security; mobility and connectivity; freight movement and economic development; project readiness and project longevity.

The staff wants to use this method to rank the MPO’s 2022 List of Project Priorities, Mikyska said.

He explained that a separate priority list was created for bicycle and pedestrian improvements because the previous methodology put nonmotorized projects at a disadvantage.

“We recognize the need to have two very similar methodologies but one that focused on our nonmotorized projects because of their attribute of being significantly different from roadways,” he said.

On both lists, safety and security represent a large number of points.

Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano said he would like the scoring methodology to include points for projects that involve shared funding through partnerships.

There are instances when a project is of greater value to the county because it is receiving joint funding from another source, such as a neighboring county or federal government, he said. So, the county can accomplish a greater value, using less money, he said.

Zephyrhills City Councilman Lance Smith agreed: “I think that makes sense.”

Pasco County Commissioner Ron Oakley said it’s important for projects to get on the list, so they can be eligible for funding.

“They need to be on the list, to be funded at the right time,” he said, citing two roundabouts planned in the Dade City area, as examples.

Both are close to receiving funding, Oakley said.

Mikyska said the new approach is aimed at helping “people to understand their likelihood of being able to successfully pursue funding.”

He also noted that it’s important to identify worthy projects because there may be sources of potential funding that is unknown to the county.

“Florida DOT (Department of Transportation) has more money than just federal funds,” he explained. “If they see something on our list that they feel is a good project they may be able to put other funding on it.”

Smith, who chairs the MPO board, urged his colleagues to take a close look at the proposed methodology before the February meeting.

“This is pretty important. This is how we’re going to rank the projects, so we need to all make sure we look at it hard,” Smith said.

Mikyska told board members that he wants to make sure that staff is moving in the right direction.

The goal is to finalize the methodology so it can be used for the MPO’s list of projects due to the state on June 15.

Published January 12, 2022

Portion of Ridge Road now open

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A portion of the Ridge Road extension has finally opened up — after some two decades in the making.

This new 4.2-mile, uninterrupted section of roadway runs from Moon Lake to the Suncoast Parkway — offering an east-west thoroughfare in the county.

Project manager Sam Beneck talked about the roadway and its importance. Eventually the road is planned to stretch as far as U.S. 301. But right now, Beneck hopes to finish the roadway as far as the Suncoast Parkway in the weeks ahead. (Fred Bellet)

Pasco County officials hosted a media-only availability and “drive the road” event on Dec. 22 in New Port Richey, for Phase One of the long-awaited roadway project.

Two of the four lanes were expected to open in the days following the special media gathering.

Various reporters and photographers had a chance to speak with county officials who’ve been instrumental in the road’s construction; news crews were escorted onto the roadway in county vehicles, as the location remains an active construction zone.

Pasco County Commission Vice Chair Jack Mariano touted the road’s first phase, and eventual build out, in an interview with The Laker/Lutz News.

Vehicles traveling south on the Suncoast Parkway pass over the Ridge Road extension. The area under the parkway’s underpass is still under construction.

“I am so delighted to see the Ridge Road extension getting ready to be opened up,” he said. “It’s been such a long time coming.”

The other two lanes of the 4.2-mile segment — from Town Center Road to Suncoast Parkway — are anticipated to be finished by fall 2022.

Meanwhile, the second leg of the extension, which is slated for completion in 2025, will extend Ridge Road to U.S. 41 in Land O’ Lakes.

Total construction cost of the entire project is nearly $161 million, with over $151 million in project county funding.

Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore recently announced that he had asked State Rep. Ardian Zika and State Sen. Ed Hooper to sponsor legislation seeking $14 million for the project, adding they both have agreed to do so.

The completion date for the second leg might be accelerated, if the Florida Legislature provides additional funding for the project.

County officials have pushed for the extension for decades, justifying the need for it to provide an additional east-west hurricane evacuation route.

Stops along the several miles saw remedies to environmental concerns. Pouring from the staff vehicles, County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey, pictured far left, leads the way as staff members, media and county commissioners observe a wildlife tunnel for critters wanting to cross from the south side of the new roadway to the north side.

The 9-mile extension, once completed to U.S. 41, also will relieve traffic on State Road 52 and State Road 54, the only two through east-west roads that carry traffic across the county.

“It’s going to alleviate on (State Road) 54 and (State Road) 52,” Mariano said. “It’s going to provide that hurricane evacuation route that’s so desperately needed, not only for Pasco County, but for Pinellas County, as well.”

He added, “The amount of time it saves, is about six hours for the evacuation, so it just makes our people that much safer and our community that much stronger.
The extension also will support the area’s burgeoning growth.

A huge development known as the Angeline community will be rising on thousands of acres, south of State Road 52 and west of U.S. 41.

The future growth includes a 775-acre Pasco campus planned by Moffitt Cancer Center, near the Ridge Road and Suncoast Parkway interchange.

Moffitt’s campus is expected to become a magnet for life sciences research.

The county’s elected leaders and economic development experts also expect Moffitt’s development to have a transformative effect on the area’s future development and to generate thousands of jobs.

Said Mariano, “With Moffitt coming in, it’s going to be a great boost for the economy, and allow easy access for west Pasco residents who want to work there, and back and forth.”

Published January 05, 2022

Pasco board wants true ‘mixed-use’ projects

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A request for a rezoning on North Dale Mabry Highway, near the Pasco County line, has prompted a debate by the Pasco County Commission over what is meant by the phrase “mixed-use,” as it pertains to development.

The proposed rezoning would allow 238 multi-family units to replace commercial entitlements that remain on the books. It also would change the name of the development from Dale Mabry Town Center to Arlington Dale Mabry master-planned development.

The site is located on the southeast side of Dale Mabry Highway approximately one-half mile south of the Dale Mabry Highway/U.S. 41 intersection and abutting Hillsborough County to the south.

The existing site has a Target and a bank, but the remaining portion is undeveloped.

The Pasco County Planning Commission and county planners recommended approval of the request.

The proposed project is outside of the temporary multifamily moratorium and the request is consistent with the county’s land development code, according to county planners.

But Commissioners Jack Mariano and Mike Moore questioned the wisdom of swapping out commercial land — which can generate jobs — for more apartments.

Commission Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey said she wants to hear more from staff about how they define a “mixed-use” development.

“I feel like there’s a misunderstanding of mixed use,” she said. “I guess I always think of mixed use as vertically integrated uses.

Attorney Truett Gardner, representing the applicant, told Starkey that the master-planned community would be a mixed-use development because it has a bank, a retail store and would be adding multi-family.

“The existing Target and the bank branch will remain. These are just some entitlements on the north side of the property that have never been utilized. In fact, this site has sat vacant in excess of 15 years, despite the zoning and despite the Target opening in 2008.

“The site has struggled, I will say, to fill that retail,” he said. “Recently, the site has become a nuisance. It’s used for dumping, primarily, and there’s also a lot of tractor trailers that are just stored there, improperly,” Gardner said..

Starkey said: “I want to be fair to all multifamily that is coming to us. I know that we’re making others do things a little differently.

“I’m trying to understand why we’re not asking for vertical mixed uses,” she said.

Starkey also agreed with Moore and Mariano on this point: “We don’t want to be swapping out land that could create jobs for only residential.

Moore made a motion to continue, to give commissioners a chance to talk to their staff.

“I’m happy to talk to my client, talk to staff, talk to any of you about this and happy to take the continuance,” Gardner said.

The board voted unanimously to bring the request back, to a date uncertain.

Published January 05, 2022

Pasco takes step toward banning retail sale of rabbits

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The Pasco County Commission has directed county staff to come back to the board with a recommendation regarding banning the retail sale of rabbits.

Pasco County outlawed the sale of kittens, puppies, cats and dogs from pet stores last year, and now animal advocates want a similar ban on the sale of pet rabbits.

Commissioner Jack Mariano said the board should consider a ban, and he and his colleagues voted to have county staff bring something back to the board on the issue.

The action followed emails received by commissioners and requests during the public comment portion of a meeting in September and also in December.

This bunny lived in a loving home and was well taken care of from the age of 6 months; unfortunately, rabbits often are ‘impulse buys’ and are abandoned on the streets shortly after their purchase, say some animal advocates who want to ban the retail sale of rabbits at pet shops. (Courtesy of Meagan Rathman-Urena)

During the Dec. 7 meeting, Dr. Betsy Coville, a veterinarian from Lutz, told commissioners that rabbits are the third most-surrendered pet.

“They require higher maintenance than dogs or cats and can live 10 to 12 years.

“Frequently dumped outside, when the rescues are full, they starve, become prey for coyotes, or are hit by a car.

Bunny mills are consistently the source for these bunnies that become unwanted.

They’re “no different from the puppy mills that we recognize as inhumane,” she said.

“There are currently three locations in Florida that have placed bans on retail sales of rabbits: Orange County, Desoto County and Key West.

“They have all placed rabbits, along with dogs and cats, in their retail sale ban.

“Petco and PetSmart stopped selling rabbits in 2007, and only work with rescues. They are the No. 1 and (No.) 2 retail pet supplies in the U.S., so obviously, a ban will not hurt these businesses financially. This ban will take the pressure off rescues and humane societies — removing the guilt of turning them away and negating the need for owners to dump them.

“Pasco County has been a leader in the state in protecting animals, with anti-tethering laws and pet sales bans.

“Now, as we are working to educate and change laws in neighboring counties, we hope you will be the trailblazer for the Tampa Bay region,” the veterinarian said.

Animal advocate Renee Rivard, who had appeared at both the Sept. 28 and Dec. 7 meeting, reiterated her concerns.

At the Dec. 7 meeting, she told commissioners: “The Tampa Humane Society has taken in 246 unwanted pet rabbits so far this year. That’s 100 more than last year.

“Hillsborough County commissioners are taking action, because the Tampa Humane Society is their partner in helping the county with unwanted pets,” she said.

She asked the Pasco board to do the same: “There is no facility in Pasco County that takes in unwanted rabbits. Suncoast House Rabbit Rescue is your partner with unwanted pet rabbits here in Pasco County. Suncoast House Rabbit Rescue has told you that they are overwhelmed. In September alone, they had to turn away 66 unwanted pet rabbits.

“It is extremely difficult to find fosters and homes for rabbits. Rabbits are a high-maintenance pet,” Rivard said. “They need specialized veterinarian care, which is expensive,” she added.

She also explained that the majority of rabbit sales are impulse buys at retail stores. That especially occurs around Easter, when children tell their parents they want a bunny rabbit.

Rivard told commissioners: “You have roughly 45 pet stores in Pasco County; 36 of them survive, without selling rabbits.”

The argument that Petco and PetSmart haven’t sold rabbits in years seemed to resonate with Mariano.

He mentioned that and noted that in addition to hearing from speakers, he’s received emails on the issue.

He made a motion to have county staff look into the issue and to report back to the board, which received unanimous support from his colleagues.

Published December 22, 2021

Kathryn Starkey is Pasco County’s board chairwoman

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Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey (File)

The Pasco County Commission has selected board member Kathryn Starkey to be the board’s new chairwoman.

Board member Jack Mariano has been named vice chairman.

Starkey represents the commission’s District 3 seat; Mariano represents District 5.

Ron Oakley, the immediate past chairman, represents District 1; Mike Moore, represents District 2; and, Christina Fitzpatrick represents District 4.

In addition to reorganizing the board, the board also approved new district boundaries.

That exercise, known as redistricting, is done every 10 years, following the completion of the U.S. Census.

The idea is to have districts of roughly equal in terms of population size.

The new districts took effect on Dec. 7.

To see the districts and who represents you, visit bit.ly/CommissionDistricts.

Published December 15, 2021

Selection of planning board members to change

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The Pasco County Commission has approved a new process for selecting members of the Pasco County Planning Commission.

Under the new process, each county board member will be able to choose someone to sit on the planning board.

There also will be one at-large member, who will be selected collectively by the county board.

There’s also a representative for the Pasco County School Board on the planning board and that will not change.

County board members approved the process change during their Dec. 7 meeting.

They had discussed their desire to change the selection process during previous meetings and directed county staff to pursue changes to the county’s land development code to effectuate the change.

The amendment required public hearings, and no one stepped forward to speak in favor or in opposition.

The proposed terms of the planning board members would coincide with the term of the county board member who selected him or her.

The new process will take effect on Feb. 22.

Although each county board member will appoint one member of the planning board, there are no restrictions on where the planning board members live.

Three of the current planning board members live in County Commissioner Mike Moore’s district and three live in County Commissioner Christina Fitzpatrick’s district. No planning board members live in the districts represented by Kathryn Starkey, Jack Mariano or Ron Oakley.

In previous discussions, Oakley said he didn’t see a need for the change since the planning board members serve the entire county, but Starkey and Mariano said they wanted a greater say.

Published December 15, 2021

Designing a better Pasco County

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As Pasco County’s rampant growth continues, the Pasco County Commission has been calling for changes to the land development code that would address aesthetic issues.

They’ve been hashing over the topic, off and on, for months.

Commission Chairman Ron Oakley put it like this, at a recent meeting: “We need to be real careful about what we allow our developers to do — make sure that they’re (doing) the right thing for Pasco County.”

These laborers are working on a project in Zephyrhills. Commissioner Kathryn Starkey says that Zephyrhills has some architectural design requirements, and Pasco County should, too. (Fred Bellet)

Oakley has repeatedly voiced concerns about neighborhoods made up of houses on 40-lots noting there’s little room for landscaping.

“We’ve been rural for many, many years,” Oakley said. “We really do not want to destroy the nature of what we have in Pasco County, and yet, we do want to grow and have jobs for our citizens, and do the right thing for our citizens.”

Commissioner Kathryn Starkey has pushed for greater attention to design details, as the county’s building boom continues.

“If you go and drive and find a 40-foot front-loaded street, it’s just a driveway, garage and a door.

“If you drive down a street where they’re rear-loaded on 40-foot, it’s a porch and grass, and it’s very nice.

“You can see it in Starkey Ranch, you can see it Longleaf, you might see it in Asturia. In Bexley, I know, you see it,” she said.

“I’m not opposed to 40-foot lots. I’m opposed to 40-foot front-loaded lots and only 40-foot, and the house is cookie-cutter and there’s no architectural elements on it,” Starkey said.

Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey wants more attention paid to architectural detail, in future housing developments in Pasco. (File)

“This is an issue that I think needs to be addressed soon. I don’t want 10,000 homes to be approved before we fix this,” Starkey told her colleagues, during a board session.

“I get that our development community needs to understand what we’re looking for.

“When I’ve been meeting with developers, I let them know, that I am very loathe to approve a 40s-only development (40-foot lots).

“I need some better landscaping in front of homes. I need a mixture of 40s, 50s, 60s (lots). I need better architectural details on the sides and the front. I need more rear-loaded 40-foots.

“I want to be fair to the development community. They need to understand what the rules are, or when someone buys a piece of land (what to expect),” Starkey said.

Commissioner Jack Mariano agreed: “We don’t want to build slums for the future. You know, density is sometimes overrated — how good it can be. If the lots are a little bigger, it makes it more comfortable.

“It’s a worthy conversation to bring forward at some meeting coming up,” Mariano said.

County Administrator Dan Biles told the county board that planning staff has drafted some potential conditions that could be added to master-planned unit developments to address concerns that commissioners have been raising — regarding smaller lots, the lack of landscaping on the front, parking and other issues.

Nectarios Pittos, the county’s director of planning and development, is meeting individually with commissioners to discuss the issues.

Biles noted: “Your focus has been on those single-family small lots, of 40-foot, but we thought through what that looks like on the townhome perspective, too. You need to think about both of those discussions. Your front-loaded townhome, you have the same types of issues, as you have with the small 40-foot lots.”

Pasco County Commission Chairman Ron Oakley wants to avoid subdivisions made up of 40-foot lots, noting they don’t have enough room for landscaping.

Starkey told her colleagues: “The city of Zephyrhills and Dade City require some architectural details, and we don’t. And, so, we are getting … windows and a door and a roof.”

Pittos said, when the driveways are rear-loaded, “you can talk about fenestration: How many windows you want to see. Where to place the door — keep it on the front of the house, instead of on the side of the house. A porch.”

Starkey said “there can be a smorgasbord of architectural details” that can be added, that are not expensive.

“We don’t want to see what we’re getting. We want to see better,” Starkey said.

As the county board considers changes to the land development code, Jennifer Motsinger, executive vice president of the Tampa Bay Builders Association, is encouraging the board to look at updates that can streamline the development review process.

In an interview with The Laker/Lutz News, Motsinger said that the cost of a home is made up of four components: Land, materials, local regulations and labor.

Some regulations in Pasco’s land development code have stymied ongoing efforts to streamline the development review process, Motsinger said.

She also noted there’s a need to balance the desire for a particular type of aesthetic with the need for affordable housing.

“Every single one of the suggestions that are being made (by commissioners) can be accommodated for a price. For a price,” Motsinger said.

“We have to make sure that there is a balance of options for folks,” she said. “We have to be careful that we are not trying to legislate to a particular type of buyer.

“One of the reasons you would do a neighborhood with just 40 (40-foot lots) is to get that more-affordable product,” Motsinger said.

She also addressed the issue of requiring homes with 40-foot lots to be backloaded.

“That trend is not in high demand. Because, guess what? Kids want a backyard to play in,” she said.

She said the building industry will be paying close attention to proposed changes and will want to weigh in on them.

“We have to be careful that our local government doesn’t have too much power to say how we live in our homes and what our homes look like,” Motsinger said.

Published December 01, 2021

Pasco County pursuing new effort to curb panhandling

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The Pasco County Commission wants to follow Lee County’s lead, in enacting an ordinance that aims to reduce panhandling — while avoiding potential concerns about free speech violations.

Patrick Moore, a senior assistant county attorney, explained the approach during the county board’s Oct. 26 meeting.

In essence, the new approach makes it illegal for people to stand in a roadway area that’s less than 6 feet wide and prohibits physical interactions between motorists and pedestrians.

“The county’s current ordinance was created for the purpose of protecting vehicular and pedestrian safety, and the free flow of traffic. This purpose hasn’t changed,” Moore said.

However, he added, the county’s current ordinance “makes it unlawful to solicit or attempt to solicit with the intent to receive a charitable donation.”

Because of that, the ordinance is often referred to as the county’s panhandling ordinance, he said.

“As far as enforcement goes, historically, direct citations haven’t always been effective, which causes the sheriff’s office, in an attempt to enforce the ordinance, to utilize the county’s public roadway, public right of way, trespassing ordinance,” he said.

“However, due to recent case law, the sheriff’s office has decided not to enforce or utilize the ordinance, in order to trespass someone, moving forward.

“In fact, that’s kind of across-the-board in the state of Florida. Law enforcement agencies across the state are deciding not to enforce many panhandling ordinances in different counties,” Moore explained.

So, he said, “this discussion is something that many other jurisdictions are also struggling with.

“The reason why this new case has caused this result is because it points out the infringement on First Amendment rights, specifically related to free speech, as to requesting charitable donations and so on, in public roadways.”

The ordinance recently adopted in Lee County essentially eliminated the solicitation aspect, Moore said.

“It has the same exact purpose of our current ordinance,” Moore said.

But, it eliminates the concerns over the First Amendment because it “eliminates any mention of solicitation or panhandling, as a basis of the violation.

“It creates a violation for remaining in a median or other areas of the roadway,” Moore said.

“It is unlawful” to remain in a median, whether the area is paved or not paved, if it less than 6 feet, unless you are actively crossing in a crosswalk.

It also is unlawful in Lee County “to have a physical exchange, or physical interaction, amongst a pedestrian and a vehicle.

“It specifically notes a vehicle that’s not lawfully parked. In other words, in a roadway at an intersection, stopped at a red light, stopped at a stop sign.

“It removes any contemplation on the enforcement side, whether it’s the sheriff’s office or code enforcement, of trying to determine what the intent of the message is that the person is trying to relay. It simply says this is a violation. There is no physical interaction between a pedestrian and a vehicle.”

Commissioners Mike Moore, Kathryn Starkey and Jack Mariano all spoke in favor of the ordinance, noting panhandlers pose a danger to motorists and to themselves.

Commissioner Moore said when he came on the board in 2014, it was a problem, but lessened for a time and now seems to be on the uptick, as word gets out that enforcement isn’t happening.

Starkey noted: “I’ll drive around Holiday, which I do regularly. They’re at every intersection and it’s dangerous because they’re walking down between the cars. Who wants to hit someone walking down the street? It’s unsafe for our citizens.”

Mariano added: “This has been a very sore subject in the Hudson area. Probably the No. 1 complaint, I get is all of the panhandling.”

The Lee County ordinance appears to be an excellent approach, Mariano said.

“It addresses stopping, standing or otherwise occupying a median that is not sufficient pedestrian refuge.”

And, it seeks to get people to understand “they are in violation, if they give,” Mariano said.

“Those two things will help us tremendously.

Mariano also noted: “I can’t think of a more important thing for code enforcement to do than to attack this issue, at least in the Hudson area. It may deter this behavior from going on.”

Starkey made a motion for the county’s legal team to draft an ordinance that incorporates Lee County’s approach, to advertise it for public hearing and to bring it back for board action.

Published November 03, 2021

Pasco commissioners push for faster completion of long-range plan

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A presentation on the county’s efforts to update its comprehensive plan was cut short last week — after a majority of commissioners raised questions about the proposed time frame for completing the work.

Nectarios Pittos, director of planning and development, began his presentation at the board’s Oct. 26 meeting by explaining — for the public’s benefit — that the purpose of the comprehensive plan is “the long-range plan to manage growth, improve quality of life and ensure long-term sustainability for the county.

Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore wants the county to accelerate efforts to update the county’s comprehensive plan — the tool that expresses the county’s long-term vision and guides future development.

“So, why are we doing an update of the comprehensive plan?

“We want to understand the current conditions and address the changing needs and reassess the vision that the current comprehensive plan has,” Pittos said.

Required by state law, the county’s comprehensive plan must consider: future land use, transportation, housing, conservation, coastal management, recreation/open space, public facilities, capital improvements, intergovernmental coordination and economic development.

“It’s been 16 years since the last update, 31 years since the establishment of the plan and a lot has changed since 1991 and 2006, and a lot is changing right now.

“And because the 1991 plan took us to 2025, we’re looking at the next plan to take us to 2050, hence the new name of the future comprehensive plan being the Pasco 2050 Plan,” Pittos said.

The county approved its first task order with HDR Engineering to help with the project last year, and approved a second task order with HDR, at last week’s meeting.

The county has envisioned a five-year process for updating the comprehensive plan — which lays the groundwork for the county’s vision and growth over the long-term.

“So, we’re going to be revisioning the county’s long-term plan and we’re going to be looking at a number of data, asking lots of questions and studying the county — where we’ve been and where we’re going,” Pittos said.

Public involvement is important and a public engagement plan has been created to foster that participation, Pittos said.

Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano says much of the work needed to help update the comprehensive plan has already been done and can be used to help in the effort.

The planning director then laid out the major efforts that will be completed, as part of the update over the next four years.

He planned to hand off the presentation to a member of his staff, to go into greater detail regarding what’s been done so far, but that didn’t happen.

Instead, Commissioner Mike Moore began questioning why the process needs to take so long and asking what can be done to update the plan sooner.

When the county board discussed the update a few years ago, Moore said, he was under the impression it would be done around 2023.

“There’s a lot of things we’ve asked for. There’s a lot of things we requested. So, now we’re going to wait until 2025 for a lot of these things,” Moore said. “Hey listen, I know it’s a big project. This is a long time to wait.

“We’re going on four years or so, from when it was first brought up and first asked to initiate changes. In reality, you’re looking at about a nine-year time frame from when it was first brought up.”

Commissioner Kathryn Starkey told Pittos: “Every one of the steps is very important. We want you to go through all of them.”

But she asked: “Is there any way to speed it up?”

County Administrator Dan Biles told commissioners that the first year of the project was part of last year’s budget and the second year of the project is part of this year’s budget.

“It’ll be in the budget for the next two or three years, until we get this done. It’s not a short-term process,” Biles said.

Commissioner Jack Mariano agreed with Moore and Starkey: “Should it take that long? Can we speed it up?”

Pittos wrapped up his remarks as the meeting was approaching the break for lunch.

He offered to have his staff member make her presentation after lunch.

Instead, Biles addressed Commission Chairman Ron Oakley: “Mr. Chair, I would suggest that we table this for now, we can come back and brief each of you individually, with where we are, where we’re going, what the plan is, get feedback from you directly, and then bring you back something at a later date and kind of wrap up all of this discussion.”

The county administrator noted that may include some schedule adjustments to accelerate the work.

Published November 03, 2021