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'Voice' of the people to help shape blueprint
By WILL VAN SANT BROOKSVILLE -- If your thirst for helping the county revamp its comprehensive plan was not slaked by filling out the online survey, and you know the public workshops won't be enough, take heart. The county is forming a policy advisory committee to help compile a list of the most pressing economic, social and environmental issues facing residents. The group then will recommend ways to alter the comprehensive plan to confront the challenges. "It's a mechanism we put in place to get more citizens' input," said Jim King of the county Planning Department. "We wanted a group responsible for policy guidance, not line by line, comma by comma, review of documents." The committee will have at least 17 members. Those on the county Planning & Zoning Commission will have an automatic slot if they choose to join. The rest of the positions are set aside for individuals who, by profession, training or interest, represent a certain group of stakeholders. Among the many groups to be represented are minorities, commercial fishermen, developers and environmentalists. King said Planning & Zoning members would get precedence because of their familiarity with the comprehensive planning process, and because they are, in essence, already a citizens body. Applying for a position involves submitting a form to the County Commission. Those who are not chosen still have the opportunity to be involved, King said. They will receive regular updates on committee activity, he said, and can attend meetings, which will be open to the public. The committee will work from May through December of this year. While the committee is advisory in nature (only county commissioners have the power to alter the comprehensive plan), King said the group is more than a fig leaf. Vital input and direction is expected, he said. A similar group exists in Pasco County, which is also evaluating its comprehensive plan. Pasco's committee is broken down into five planning districts, each with five dedicated members and a single nonvoting member of the County Commission and School Board. Mel Phillips, a committee member, said the Pasco group has moved slowly but without much friction between competing camps since its inception 18 months ago. There are exchanges of opinion, he said, but different interests have been woven into the proposed plan without much argument. Phillips said he was confident the county's final comprehensive plan would bear the imprint of the committee's work. If not, he said he would be "horribly disappointed," as the committee is a lot of work. "This thing takes a tremendous amount of your time," he said. "I have other things I could be doing if I didn't think our voice would be a large part of the rewriting of this." Hernando County government is expected to begin advertising spaces on its committee shortly. For those who can't wait to get started, the county is holding its first public workshop on the comprehensive plan at the Coast Guard Auxiliary building in Hernando Beach from 5 to 8 tonight. -- Will Van Sant covers Hernando County government and can be reached at 754-6127. Send e-mail to vansant@sptimes.com
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