Background
On May 3, 2005, the Board of County Commissioners, in their role as the Countywide Planning Authority (CPA), adopted the final draft of the Updated Countywide Plan for Pinellas County. It was a significant accomplishment for the PPC, which was responsible for completing the lengthy update process.
The original Countywide Comprehensive Plan for Pinellas County was adopted in 1979, and readopted with only minor changes in 1989. While some components (the Future Land Use Plan Map, the Rules, and the Scenic/Non-Commercial Corridor Plan Element) had been added or revised in the intervening years, the plan itself had not undergone a major revision since it was first created. Since the physical and social makeup of the county have changed a great deal in the past two decades, the Council initiated the development of a more comprehensive update, targeted to meet the changing needs of our urbanized and nearly built-out community.
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The county has undergone significant changes in recent years. For example, many mobile home parks are being redeveloped into other uses, such as luxury housing (left), while long-vacant parcels in downtowns are filling in with new uses (right). |
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The format for the original countywide plan was established by a special act of the Florida Legislature (Chapter 88-464, Laws of Florida), and was based on Chapter 163 of the Florida Statutes. This act also governs the comprehensive plans prepared by unincorporated Pinellas County and all municipal jurisdictions; as a result, there are twenty-five very similar local comprehensive plans already in effect within the county. To avoid further duplication, the PPC and CPA adopted a joint resolution in 1993 (Resolution No. 93-34), limiting the scope of the countywide plan update to two components: land use and intergovernmental issue areas.
Each component is divided into a number of major themes (e.g., the natural environment, economic sustainability). For each theme, data and analysis relevant to Pinellas County is presented. This information supports the portion of the plan that is to be adopted, which consists of a hierarchical structure of issues, position statements, and strategies that will guide countywide planning into the future.
For the Council, the updated plan provides a modern policy guide. It addresses issues not addressed in the current out-of-date plan, e.g., redevelopment, economic sustainability, the transportation/land use relationship, to name a few. It identifies issues, proposes position statements, and recommends strategies to fulfill the intent of the position statements. It provides guidance to the Council and staff as issues of countywide significance are considered. It lays out a blueprint for PPC policy positions and actions in response to them.
The purpose of the plan was, and is, to coordinate countywide growth management issues and procedures. The updated plan provides a framework for land use decision making by serving as an overarching expression of countywide policy. The plan is not, however, exclusively for, nor only applicable to, the PPC.
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Obsolete industrial buildings (left), relics of past decades, are found in various locations throughout the county. Redevelopment efforts can help attract and maintain new, cleaner industries (right) to recycle this land and create high-income jobs. |
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For local governments, the plan provides a document jurisdictions can look to for guidance when localities must deal with countywide land use or intergovernmental issues. Jurisdictions are encouraged to adopt and apply position statements and strategies that support local planning objectives. The Pinellas Planning Council recognizes that not all position statements or strategies are equally applicable throughout the county. Therefore, jurisdictions should implement position statements and strategies that appropriately address local circumstances and needs.
Concerns about the Countywide Plan imposing onerous requirements on local jurisdictions are unfounded. The purpose of the plan is to augment local plans and be complimentary to them -- it should be viewed as an umbrella document covering countywide issues in a way that is supportive of local plans. It is not regulatory except in those aspects covered by the implementation rules.
With regard to rule amendments that will negatively impact local governments, no such changes are contemplated. Changes are anticipated, however, for those issue areas that are not currently addressed or that are made inappropriate by the updated plan. But these proposed changes will, like all other amendments, go through the full review process as they normally do before their adoption.
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Through redevelopment, an abandoned mall (left) can be reborn as a more attractive open-air shopping center with landscaping and modern amenities (right). |
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When the PPC approved the final draft of the updated plan, it authorized the following changes to the original format:
- The document was officially retitled as the Updated Countywide Plan for Pinellas County.
- Three new sections (Part I: Plan Preface, Part II: Plan Strategies, and Part V: Appendices) were added.
- The existing parts of the Plan were reformatted as Part III: Future Land Use Plan and Rules, and Part IV: Plan Elements.
The organizational structure for the Updated Countywide Plan for Pinellas County is shown below. The titles in blue contain links to the corresponding portions of the document, in Adobe Acrobat format.
| Cover | ||||||
| Table of Contents | ||||||
| Part I: | Plan Preface | |||||
| Chapter 1: | Plan Background and Statutory
Authority |
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| Chapter 2: | Plan Organization and Terms |
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| Chapter 3: | Plan Rationale and Summary Observations |
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| Part II: | Plan Strategies | |||||
| Chapter 4: | Land Use Component: Issues, Position Statements, and Strategies | |||||
| Chapter 5: | Intergovernmental Coordination Component: Issues, Position Statements, and Strategies | |||||
| Part III: | Future Land Use Plan and Rules | |||||
| Chapter 6: | Future Land Use Plan Map (Exhibits I and II, Ordinance No. 89-4, as amended) | |||||
| Chapter 7: | Countywide Plan Rules (Exhibit III, Ordinance No. 89-4, as amended) | |||||
| Plan Elements | ||||||
| Chapter 8: | Original Comprehensive Plan Elements (Exhibits IV through XIV, Ordinance No. 89-4, as amended) | |||||
| Exhibit IV: | Goals and Policies | |||||
| Exhibit V: | Water Supply Element | |||||
| Exhibit VI: | Housing Element | |||||
| Exhibit VII: | Recreation and Open Space Element | |||||
| Exhibit VIII: | Drainage Element and Master Drainage Plan | |||||
| Exhibit IX: | Intergovernmental Coordination Element | |||||
| Exhibit X: | Health Care Element | |||||
| Exhibit XI: | Utility Plan Element | |||||
| Exhibit XII: | Wastewater Treatment Element | |||||
| Exhibit XIII: | Solid Waste and Resource Recovery Element | |||||
| Exhibit XIV: | Conservation
and CZM Element |
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| Chapter 9: | Scenic/Non-Commercial Corridor Plan Element (Ordinance No. 89-4, as amended by Ordinance No. 95-55) | |||||
| Part V: | Appendices | |||||
| Table of Contents | ||||||
| Appendix 1: | Updated Data and Analysis | |||||
| The Land Use Component | ||||||
| Theme: | The Established Development Pattern | |||||
| Theme: | The Land Use/Transportation Relationship | |||||
| Theme: | The Natural Environment | |||||
| Theme: | Economic Sustainability | |||||
| The Intergovernmental Coordination Component | ||||||
| Theme: | The Current Environment | |||||
| Theme: | The Redevelopment and Regulatory Challenge | |||||
| Theme: | The Governance and Service Delivery Challenge | |||||
| Theme: | Opportunities for Enhanced Intergovernmental
Relations |
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| Appendix 2: | Glossary | |||||
| Appendix 3: | References | |||||
| Responsibility Matrix | ||||||
