After months of research and outreach, Pasco County has developed new regulations relating to the placement and design of mini-warehouse and self-storage units.
The Pasco County Commission adopted the ordinance regulating these types of facilities in December.
In crafting its regulations, county planners considered standards in Dade City, St. Petersburg and Miami, as well as in Portland, Oregon; Beaufort, South Carolina; and New York, New York, according to a county agenda memo.
Planners also gathered input from a commercial development visual preference survey and from stakeholders.
In general, the ordinance seeks to preserve and enhance “the visual and functional characteristics of specific corridors through building location and building form.” It also seeks to enhance aesthetic quality, value and livability through “effective community-design standards, codes, programs and practices.”
Planners produced the proposed regulations at the request of the Pasco County Commission, after members of the board raised concerns about the proliferation of mini-warehouse and self-storage developments, particularly along the State Road 54/State Road 56 corridor.
Mike Moore, now the commission’s chairman, repeatedly voiced concerns about mini-warehouses occupying land that he thinks would be better used for businesses that generate jobs.
Commissioner Kathryn Starkey expressed similar concerns.
The county’s planning staff has estimated that mini-warehouse facilities typically consume about 5 acres of land, and produce, on average, about five jobs.
The county also imposed a temporary moratorium on new requests for mini-warehouses and self-storage units while the new regulations were being drafted.
Though the issue was contentious at times, no one spoke during the public comment portion of the ordinance adoption hearing on Dec. 10. Commissioners approved the ordinance unanimously.
Published January 15, 2020
