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Plan is due for major update

Public comment is needed to hammer out a vision for Tarpon Springs' future.

By ROBIN STEIN
Published November 30, 2005

TARPON SPRINGS - Much has changed here since the citizenry was last called upon to update the city's comprehensive plan.

It was 1997, the Safford House was in disrepair, the Pinellas Trail was just 25 miles long and some 1,300 acres of vacant land were scattered throughout the city.

The site of a planned Wal-Mart on U.S. 19 was slated to become an office and commercial development that would be a "source of great civic pride," according to the city's comprehensive plan review. Seven years later, this plan is due for a sweeping update. The state-required process will begin Thursday night with the first of four public brainstorming sessions. The free-flowing sessions will culminate in January 2007, with a report prepared by the city staff detailing a wish list of changes.

First authored in 1989, the comprehensive plan is a mandate that lays out the collective vision for Tarpon Springs' future and sets the ground rules for getting there.

"If people don't like what's going, people need to come forward now," said Renea Vincent, the city's planning and zoning director. "This is the big opportunity for the public."

The dispute over the new Wal-Mart, which exploded this year, was just one of the occasions during which the public's growing confusion over some of the plan's provisions was evident, Vincent said. The plan's current land-use rules required the city to approve the store's site plan, she said. Meanwhile, residents trying to stop the construction filed a civil lawsuit, arguing that the approval process fell short of the plan's requirements.

Many of the topics discussed at the sessions will likely highlight some of the plan's outdated components.

Over time, concerns about the city's deteriorating housing stock has been eclipsed by anxiety over the encroachment of condominium sprawl. Between 1997 and 2004, the average price for a house in Tarpon Springs increased more than 80 percent, and construction spending doubled from $40-million to $80-million. Debates over development have morphed into debates over redevelopment.

Some issues, however, persist. The Sponge Docks are still a lightning rod for controversy. The last evaluation process identified a need to create a protected cultural district for the docks, which was voted down. The supply of potable water and increasing pressure on sewer systems, parks and public safety are still hot-button topics. And the fact that 75 percent of the city lies in a hurricane evacuation zone has not changed, though Hurricane Katrina grimly illustrated the potential peril.

Ginny Haller, a recent addition to the city's planning staff who will be moderating the process, said that the four meetings will be divided into nine themed groups. Each group will focus on one of the plan's major elements, including transportation, housing and water supply. People can attend multiple meetings if they wish to address more than one element, and there will also be a group to consider issues not addressed in the other groups, Haller said.

"Our job is to get the public input and take information and meld it into a document that recommends the amendments," she said.

What emerges from these sessions will set the agenda for a yearlong process to sort out major issues. The city is required to submit a report detailing the recommendations to the county and state by Jan. 1, 2007.

Robin Stein can be reached at 445-4157 or rstein@sptimes.com

The four brainstorming sessions for the comprehensive plan will be Thursday, Dec. 8, 12 and 15. All sessions are from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Heritage Center at Craig Park, 100 Beekman Lane., Tarpon Springs.

[Last modified November 30, 2005, 02:15:38]