Pasco County’s planning and development department will host public meetings — in St. Leo and Holiday — asking the public to share their thoughts, ideas and suggestions to help guide decisions affecting what Pasco should look like over the next 25 years.
The workshops are part of an overall effort to create the Pasco 2050 Plan, which will be an update of the county’s current comprehensive plan.
State law requires the county to update its comprehensive plan to manage growth and ensure long-term sustainability.
Updating the comprehensive plan is a multi-year effort and involves collecting data, listening to stakeholders, deciding how the county wants to prioritize its resources and making decisions that will affect the county’s future path.
The comprehensive plan is used to guide the county’s decision-making when it comes to how much development is allowed where and long-range transportation planning; it also addresses issues such as property rights, capital improvements, coastal management, recreation and open space, housing, public services, public facilities, economic development, intergovernmental coordination and other issues.
Valerie Brookens, a principal planner for the county, is the project manager for the Pasco 2050 plan update effort. She briefed the county board on the current status of the update during the board’s April 4 meeting.
The remaining work on the process has been broken into two phases, according to agenda background materials for that board meeting.
The first phase, which will last through the rest of 2023, involves working with the community to establish an updated vision for the county. This will involve stakeholder interviews, topic-based focus groups, public hearings, and a three-part public workshop series.
The second phase of the planning efforts, expected to begin in 2024, will include updating the Data & Analysis and Goals, Objectives, and Policies of the Plan. This process also will include an extensive public outreach and engagement process.
Chris Dougherty, a representative from Inspire Placemaking Collective, offered details of what is being done to develop the plan’s vision.
“Essentially, the basis of your plan today is rooted in 2000. Since then, we know we’ve had significant growth. Pasco County being one of the fastest-growing counties in the state,” Dougherty said.
“We need to update the plan, one, to make sure we’re addressing the community’s desires. That’s where visioning comes into place. Right now, again, we’re working off of a 20-year-old plan that isn’t reflective of the desires of the community today.
“We need to look at the data analysis.
“We need to look at the trends, the capacities,” Dougherty said.
The county also needs to reevaluate its level of service standards, he added. For example, how many gallons of water per day is the county planning for each residential unit?
“We’ll be looking at that in terms of the existing population and what we’re projecting out into the future,” he said.
“Then, of course, there are requirements based on statute that we need to address, as well,” he added.
The long-range plan also must take into consideration other county planning efforts, including its strategic plan and the parks and recreation master plan, he said.
Next year’s efforts will focus on drafting the plan.
The year after that, which will be the fifth year in the planning effort, Pasco 2050 will be adopted.
The idea is to create a plan that doesn’t require frequent amendments, Brookens told the board.
“Every parcel has a future land use. Assigning the correct future land use to areas will save a lot of time for the board, for the (planning) commission, because how many times are you coming in, amending future land use? The goal is to get it right, to free up staff, to free up your time.
“We shouldn’t be having to amend the comp plan every board meeting,” she said.
Nectarios Pittos, the county’s director of planning and development, also noted that while this plan looks out for 25 years, the county intends to update the document at regular intervals.
“The reason that we want to update this more regularly is because we want to make sure the comprehensive plan is continuously — especially the land use elements — fine-tuned against the long-range transportation plan that the MPO does.
“The idea is to keep the plan in tune with long-range transportation planning,” Pittos explained,
A significant amount of information about the planning process and data that will be used to help set the county’s future course is available at Pasco2050.com.
Help shape Pasco County’s future
What: Pasco County’s planning and development department will host two public Pasco 2050 visioning workshops. Members of the public are asked to share their thoughts, ideas, insights and suggestions to help guide decisions on what Pasco should look like over the next 25 years.
Workshop 1: Saint Leo University, TECO Hall, 33701 County Road 52 (formerly State Road 52), in St. Leo — May 18, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Workshop 2: J. Ben Harrill Recreation Complex, 2830 Gulf Trace Blvd., Holiday — June 5, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Details: All are welcome; no registration is required. There will be a brief overview of the Comprehensive Plan and those attending will be asked to take part in interactive exercises related to comprehensive planning and participants’ vision for the future of Pasco County.
Can’t attend? If you can’t attend and want to weigh in, take the online Visioning Survey at MyPas.co/2050VisioningSurvey.
Info: To register for updates on upcoming community meetings, community engagement, and other information about the 2050 Comprehensive Plan, visit Pasco2050.com.
Published May 17, 2023
