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Revising Land-Use Codes Is Priority

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By JULIA FERRANTE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 28, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - Residents of northeast Pasco County for years have been waiting for regulations to maintain the region's rural character.

It appears they will have to wait a bit longer as county leaders tackle a bigger project: revamping the long-outdated land development codes that govern the entire county.

The county commission at Tuesday's workshop directed County Attorney Jeffrey Steinsnyder and County Administrator John Gallagher to make code revision a top priority.

The codes set requirements for land use, construction and development.

Steinsnyder had asked commissioners to rank more than two dozen ordinances and studies requested by the board during the past several years.

The pending ordinances range from guidelines for rural protection in northeast Pasco to restrictions on building town houses.

Many ordinances have been delayed for more pressing development issues.

Revamping the code and drafting all of the requested ordinances would be "next to impossible," Steinsnyder told the board.

Commissioner Michael Cox said the county codes need "major surgery" so that developers, residents and officials can better understand and implement them.

"Sometimes, you can go in and put a stent in, and it will be OK for a year," Cox said.

"But sometimes you need major heart surgery. I think our code needs major surgery. I'm not interested in a Band-Aid fix."
Commission chairman Ted Schrader said after the workshop that former County Attorney Robert Sumner also planned to amend the land development code, "but he kind of got sidetracked" with other priorities.

Schrader said he doesn't want the same thing to happen to Steinsnyder.

"If we don't give him his marching orders, it will never get done," Schrader said. "Our code is so outdated. We've got to get it updated."

Northeast Pasco residents who attended the workshop said they were glad the codes are being updated, but they also want rules to keep their portion of the county rural. The group pushed county commissioners to designate northeast Pasco as a protected area during the county's yearslong revision of the comprehensive growth plan.

"This is something that should have been done a long time ago," Blanton resident Nancy Hazelwood said.

Richard Riley of Trilby agreed the code needs to be "more specific" and consistent with the comprehensive plan.

Carol Cruz of Blanton was more skeptical.

She questioned why county officials combined the Northeast Pasco Rural Ordinance Review Committee with a general ordinance review committee.

The northeast committee was created to focus on rural protection issues and could have expedited the process.

"My personal opinion is it all should have been done," Cruz said.

Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220 or jferrante@tampatrib.com.

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