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Neutral Review Defends Independent Local Planning

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 6, 2009

An unbiased evaluation of the Hillsborough City-County Planning Commission, contracted for a state agency, praises the board's independence and value.

The report is significant because the local planning board, created in 1959 by the state Legislature, faces perennial attacks on its budget and structure. Most of its critics are frustrated by its popularity and effectiveness.

The only power held by the appointed board and its professional staff is to make recommendations to the elected boards of the county and three cities. These are the same elected officials who make the appointments to the planning commission, which hires the executive director.

Being one important step removed from elected officials provides a level of political insulation beneficial to taxpayers, according to deHaven-Smith & Associates of Tallahassee, which did the report for the state Department of Community Affairs.

The review answers all the major local criticisms of the planning board. It finds no significant duplications of service. It credits the planning commission with helping minimize costly residential sprawl. And the controversial advantage enjoyed by the cities over the county in number of appointees - six to four - is a formula that should not be changed, the deHaven-Smith report correctly determined.

"The county commission is more vulnerable to growth-machine politics than are the cities, because the cities can sprawl only to the extent to which they can annex," it states.

The budget of the planning commission has been under relentless attack for more than a decade from those either trying to find a place to save money or else wanting to profit from irresponsible growth.

Had the report contained a shred of criticism or found inefficiencies, proposals would already be surfacing to eliminate the planning board or slash its budget. Actually, the report recommends finding a way to give the planning board more financial independence. It is directly on target in finding that "although the special act establishing the planning commission envisions an independent agency with a countywide perspective, the planning commission's administrative position within the county government leaves it vulnerable to political pressure and retribution when its advice runs counter to the inclinations of county commissioners."

The fact that the countywide planning staff is down 13 percent over the past 13 years while the total positions in county government increased by 27 percent is evidence of a bias against it.

Among the report's suggestions is to present the planning budget directly to county commissioners for approval without first submitting it to the county manager, who traditionally recommends less.

It's a timely idea. With last week's retirement of longtime executive director of the planning commission, Bob Hunter, the board could find itself led by a less able advocate.

Hunter, the report observed, is "one of the nation's most highly regarded professional planners." Hunter also understands local politics and has responded aggressively to unfair criticism of his board or staff. On the surface, the setup of an advisory panel seems feeble. Under Hunter's leadership, it has proved powerful.

As we have pointed out many times over the past 50 years, the existence of an independent planning voice makes it harder, and often impossible, for the politically well-connected to grease the skids for an inappropriate project.

Exposing these wasteful projects doesn't make for cut-rate or streamlined government, but it has served Hillsborough well and deserves defending.

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