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County To Overhaul Development Codes
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Published: May 27, 2008
NEW PORT RICHEY Overhauling Pasco County's land development code should take priority, county commissioners said this morning, even if that means holding off on some large-scale projects and other ordinances.
"We have a Ferrari (comprehensive) plan and a Volkswagen Bug land development code," Commissioner Michael Cox said.
The county needs a "timeout" on other matters until "out-of-date" development codes can be rewritten, Cox said.
County Administrator John Gallagher agreed. "We spend all our time (now) doing amendment after amendment after amendment" to the codes based on the latest projects submitted by developers. "All we do is look at our shoes all day and process paperwork."
County Attorney Jeffrey Steinsnyder asked county commissioners at today's workshop to help determine priorities for his legal staff. An overhaul of the land development codes could postpone other ordinances in the pipeline, he noted.
For instance, the county legal staff continues to work on school concurrency rules, which will help determine if an area can support a new school based on county infrastructure such as roads and sewers.
Also in dispute is how much the county should pay toward improvements near new schools.
A June 2 conference is scheduled between county and Pasco school district officials.
Other ordinances in the works include antenna tower regulations, town house standards, and land preservation guidelines. A group has mentioned possible legal challenges to the existing county preservation guidelines, Steinsnyder mentioned.
"We're going to miss most of these deadlines," Steinsnyder commented, if the County Attorney's Office must tackle a "major rewrite" of land development codes.
Still, Commissioner Pat Mulieri and others believe the development codes are an overriding concern. It seems people are bringing up compatibility issues all the time right now, Mulieri said.
Commissioner Jack Mariano agreed the "right path" would be holding off on large-scale issues until the county can catch up on the land code rewrite.
"If I deny something based on compatibility, I can't go to the comp plan" Debra Zampetti, the county's zoning and code administrator, said. The plan used to contain references to land development codes, but the current plan does not.
"It seems to me our land development code needs major surgery," Cox said. "I'm not the type who wants to put bandages on problems."
Cox prefers to fix land development codes now. He likened it to the choice between a stent in an artery to the heart or full-blown open-heart surgery.
Whatever course the county takes, Growth Administrator Sam Steffey said, the county will hire consultants to analyze a lot of future amendments with some county staff supervision. "Applicants will have to pay whatever the price is" for fees for each step in the process.
Toward the conclusion of the workshop, Commission Chairman Ted Schrader said another workshop might be needed solely on the county's state-mandated comprehensive growth management plan and related land development issues.
Carl Orth can be reached at corth@suncoastnews.com or 727-815-1068.
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