Pasco County, FL - Urban Land Institute

Conclusion
The panel has suggested two major actions
on the part of the county and PEDC. First,
in order to build a clear vision for the future
development of the county, sound planning
decisions must be made to influence the form,
quality, and sustainability of development. The
panel believes that a key to this planning approach
is to recognize that the county consists of unmistakably
different geographic areas and those areas
must have visions, missions, and strategies that
are tailored to each.
Second, the county must revise the way it does
business as it relates to the planning and development
approval process. The county must migrate
from tedious, ad-hoc, and cumbersome to predictable,
orderly, and consistent. The development
services branch must be transformed into a planning
department that focuses on long-term strategic
decisions about growth. A consolidation of the
land planning functions will remove bureaucratic
silos and enhance communication. Near-term decision
making should be oriented toward tactical actions
that carry out the long-term strategic goals.
The organization should engage in a succession
planning process, increase staff training and professional
development, and celebrate best practices.
There should be clear authority to delegate
routine decision making to staff for routine issues
and for projects that meet development by right
criteria. Finally, a new consolidated development
ordinance needs to be created and changes to that
new document should be entertained only where
absolutely necessary, with the planning department
taking the lead and acting as the arbiter of
those changes.
The Tampa region’s demographic arrow is pointed
squarely at Pasco County. The current downturn in
the housing sector will rebound and the panel predicts
strong growth over the next 20 years. As noted
at the beginning of this document, successful urban
planning, land use, and development policy can
best be described as public action that generates a
desirable, widespread, and sustainable private market
reaction. It is the duty of the county and PEDC
to be ready to act on this adage.
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An Advisory Services Panel Report