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Region's Future Should Be Matter Of Choice

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By THE ONE BAY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Special to the Tribune

The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 16, 2008

The future of the Tampa Bay doesn't belong to any one entity. Rather, it is the responsibility of all of us to guide the type of future we want.

With this spirit of inclusiveness, the ONE BAY effort was formed last year to reach out to the many separate planning efforts across the seven county Tampa Bay region and provide a forum to work collectively toward a better future.

ONE BAY is a diverse partnership of private and public leaders from environmental, planning, business and economic development all aligned to facilitate a regional visioning process with the goal to achieve a sustainable, high-quality community now and in the future.

The leadership behind the ONE BAY effort is an equal partnership of five regional organizations: Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Southwest Florida Water Management District, Tampa Bay Partnership Regional Research and Education Foundation and Urban Land Institute Tampa Bay District Council.

A process was established to collect input through a series of "Reality Check" workshops. The next phase will be to compile all the data and input received into alternative scenarios - alternatives for our existing cities and communities to handle projected future growth in population and jobs over the next 50 years while preserving the quality of life which makes this region attractive. Starting May 22, 2008, ONE BAY will present these alternative scenarios to the public for input and feedback. ONE BAY wants as many citizens of the seven-county
Tampa Bay region as possible to add their voices to this process so as to allow them to choose the future they wish for their communities.

ONE BAY recognizes the unique diversity of each of our communities and neighborhoods. The scenarios will incorporate the feedback that has been received from thousands of citizens from across the region based on informed choices. The outcome data and research will be offered to counties, planning commissions and government bodies to be used in a manner that each community deems appropriate.

ONE BAY has made great progress to date, much of it due to the hard work of our project manager, Amy Maguire. However in light of perceived conflicts that have arisen, Amy has chosen to tender her resignation in order to ensure that the ONE BAY process can continue without further question. We regretfully accept her resignation and thank her for her tremendous efforts on behalf of our community.

As we move forward, we feel strongly that the process we've established gives an equal voice to all segments of our community to become actively involved in how we plan for our future. We are excited as a coalition that this process continues to engage citizens and move us toward a shared regional vision.

What the future of Tampa Bay looks like is the responsibility of each and every one of us. By coming together and working collectively, we assure that the future we achieve is one we can all support.

ONE BAY Executive Committee: Holly Greening, Tampa Bay Estuary Program; Daniel Mahurin, Tampa Bay Partnership Regional Research and Education Foundation; David Moore, Southwest Florida Water Management District; Manny Pumariega, Tampa Bay Regional Plannin

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