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County Planning Growth, But May Be Short On Guidance

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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI

kwiatrowski@tampatrib.com

Published: March 7, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - Sam Steffey, Pasco County's chief planner, will retire in less than 60 days, leaving the county's Growth Management department without a leader as Pasco County embarks on major changes to how it conducts business.
County leaders are in the process of revising their comprehensive plan, which guides long-term growth; rewriting rules that govern development; and reorganizing the county's internal hierarchy.

All those changes have created an air of uncertainty at the West Pasco Government Center that may already have cost the county at least two potential replacements for Steffey.

Planning consultant Steven Ball of Port St. Lucie interviewed for the position last month but pulled out in light of the reorganization.

"I got the impression that there was some uncertainty about that position and how it would fit into the reorganized government," Ball said.

County officials received 136 applications for the growth management director's job. Those were winnowed to 32, many from Florida. So far, three have been interviewed.

A new hire would expect to earn between $70,600 and $114,144. After 31 years with Pasco County, Steffey made more than $106,700 last year.

In the past few years, Steffey oversaw a rewrite of the 20-year comprehensive plan that put more emphasis on conservation and compact development. He also oversaw the creation of a 50-year vision for developing the largely rural Pasadena Hills section of east Pasco with an eye toward using conservation and compact growth to preserve the region's character.

The growth management department's ranks have fallen from 11 people to seven in less than a year. While the economic slowdown has reduced the daily workload for much of the department, county commissioners rely on the top planning officials to set a course for future growth.

With the recent retirement of Mike LaSala, one of the county's two senior planners, and the executive planner position empty, the planning department's top three leadership positions will be vacant as of May 1, if Steffey's replacement isn't onboard by then.

Those vacancies, along with others on the planning staff, are happening as the county embarks on a new revision to the comprehensive plan and a major rewrite of the Land Development Code. Both documents control where and how development occurs.

The comprehensive plan revisions are part of a five-year cycle mandated by state law. The LDC rewrite was launched after last year's visit by members of the Urban Land Institute, who praised the county's planning but criticized how plans are executed. The ULI visit also inspired a reorganization of county government.

Job candidate Gene Boles, formerly head of Hillsborough County's planning and growth management department, interviewed Feb. 3 but decided to stick with his current job - running the Center for Building Better Communities at the University of Florida.

"The job was very attractive to me," said Boles, who's nearing retirement himself. "It wasn't easy to withdraw."

Michele Baker, County Administrator John Gallagher's chief assistant administrator, conceded the looming workload might be a concern for some applicants. But that could be beneficial in the end, she said.

"We're not looking for someone who's in it for the money," Baker said. "We want someone who is interested in community-building and place-making and all that stuff planners are supposed to like."

Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at (813) 948-4201.

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