Hillsborough planners to hold town call meeting

Hillsborough County planners want to hear from the public as they begin the state-mandated process of updating the county's long-range comprehensive plans.

And they're making it as easy as picking up the phone.

Hillsborough's City-County Planning Commission will hold a telephone town call meeting Tuesday night, dialing up an estimated 50,000 county residents at home to solicit their feedback on growth and development issues affecting the county in the next 25 years.

"We want to hear from the public so we can identify what kinds of issues they want to be addressed," said Melissa Zornitta, a senior planner with the independent commission.

The long-range comprehensive plan, which outlines where and how the county will grow, was first adopted in 1989 and under state law must be updated every seven years.

The decisions made by the commission over the next year will determine where roads will be built and sewer service provided, set policies on issues ranging from housing and natural resources to setbacks from wetlands or regional landscaping requirements.

Unlike 2005, the last time the plan was updated, the focus this time is less on controlling growth than encouraging it, Zornitta said, such as providing incentives to increase smart economic development. "There's been a lot of changes since the last update," she said.

Ultimately, the county commission must approve any changes to the plan, which must be adopted by 2012.

The telephone town hall – an Internet-based technology that has become increasingly popular with local governments in recent years – works much like a conference call.

Using a database of telephone numbers – in this case, from Hillsborough County's voter registration records – participants get a phone call with a pre-recorded message asking them if they want to listen to the conversation or pose questions to county officials.

Zornitta said she expects at least 5,000 county residents to participate in the discussion.

The town call will begin at from 7 p.m. and streamed live at www.tinyurl.com/TownCall. You can also dial into the discussion toll-free at (888) 886-6602, Ext. 16573.

cwade@tampatrib.com

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