BrandonTimes: Plan lays out future of South Shore

Tampa

Plan lays out future of South Shore

It outlines a vision of controlled growth and hopes to avoid problems found elsewhere in the county. Traffic, for one.

By JANET ZINK
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 7, 2003

TAMPA -- What will the South Shore area look like in 20 years?

Will there be gridlock during rush hour or bike paths along roadways? Will there be enough water? A place for the gopher tortoises to live?

County planners and area residents have attempted to address some of these issues with the creation of the South Shore Areawide Systems Plan.

The 13-page plan outlines a broad vision for the future of transportation, environmental and cultural/historical issues in the South Shore area. Over the next five years, more detailed plans will be created for Riverview, Ruskin, Apollo Beach, Gibsonton, Wimauma and Sun City Center.

Such plans typically result in land development regulation amendments, amendments to the county's Comprehensive Plan, and a capital improvements program.

Public hearings on the areawide plan are scheduled for Monday before the Hillsborough County Planning Commission and Feb. 27 before the Board of County Commissioners.

The process began in March when county agencies, led by the planning commission, created a 40-member advisory committee composed of representatives of civic groups, homeowners associations, landowners, farm workers and other stakeholders. The panel held 10 workshops, and county leaders hosted four open houses to solicit feedback on the evolving plan.

The resulting document vaguely describes a culturally diverse community that balances growth with conservation.

Among other things, it calls for development of roads that reflect the character of their surroundings, plenty of pedestrian pathways, protection of native plants and animals, and maintenance of public access to shorelines. It also would address preservation of historical structures, promotion of eco-tourism and increased housing opportunities for all income groups.

"The current effort isn't intended to be a comprehensive plan. This just sets the stage to put more meat on the bones for the individual communities," says Mike Peterson, a land-use attorney, developer and member of the advisory committee.

Peterson believes the plan will help control growth in the South Shore region and avoid the traffic and environmental problems that have occurred elsewhere in the county.

"We are still relatively undeveloped compared to many other areas in the Tampa Bay metro," Peterson says. "As such, we have a little cleaner canvas on which to paint than most and ought to take advantage of that fact."

But some committee members worry that the advisory committee that formulated the plan lacked representation from the area's Latin and working people because meetings were held at 4:30 p.m.

"These dialogues are important," says advisory committee member Alayne Unterberger, executive director of the Florida Institute for Community Studies, a nonprofit research, service and training organization focusing on farm workers and other underserved populations in Florida.

"The growth is happening so fast you would hope that this would be a process that would bring the community together. I'm not sure that this plan does that.

Peterson counters that the workshops often went on until 7:30 p.m., and committee members were welcome to arrive at any time to offer input. Plus, he says, several open houses began at 6 p.m.

Still, Unterberger says she would like to have seen more discussion of how to integrate south county's diverse populations, perhaps with a recreation center where people could go and not always be surrounded with people like themselves.

The County Commission is expected to approve the plan after the public hearings, then forward it to the Florida Department of Community Affairs for review before becoming part of the Hillsborough County Comprehensive Plan at the end of March. The Comprehensive Plan provides guidance for land development regulations.

Then, work will begin on plans for Riverview and Ruskin.

Since 1998, when the Board of County Commissioners launched its community-based planning program, plans have been approved for Keystone-Odessa, Brandon Main Street, Lutz, the University Area Community and Northwest Hillsborough County.