Public Meeting Two

The second public meeting we attended was in Downtown Tampa.  It was a county commission meeting regarding proposed new amendments for land usage and public schools, primarily in Plant City.  The Planning Commission is a group of people who develop mid-range plans for communities and neighborhoods.  The Planning Commission works with planning departments of Hillsborough County, Tampa, Temple Terrace and Plant City.

There were four amendments proposed to the commissioners.  The first was entitled Plant City: Comprehensive Plan Amendment PC/CPA 10-01.  It was to change the land usage from industrial to commercial near downtown Plant City.  The second was the PC/CPA 10-02 Amendment.  It was designed to develop a uniform curriculum in all Plant City public schools.  The amendment was also to receive more up-to-date information of the Student Generation Rate and test demographics more often.  (Tests are only done once every two years).  The third amendment was for future land use.  Mark Hudson, representative who spoke before the board, stated that there would be a new shopping center filled with businesses and commercial development.  There pose a few problems for this amendment though.  Potential impacts on I-4 may be a problem.  Also, the people of Lakeland are concerned about the traffic impacts and interference with the train station.  The vision map for this expansion area shows the development would take 30-35 years for the final product.  The final amendment was to propose over 25 acres of new commercial and natural preservation land.  The land is currently for residential purposes.  The maximum build out is 930, 441 square feet.

So, what does all this mumble jumble mean? I sat through a 45-minute meeting and barely had any idea what was being said.  I got the gist, but I don't think I understood the importance of this meeting.  There are going to be three new centers for business development in Plant City alone.  I started to put my own hometown into perspective.  Every time a new shopping center or something like it is constructed, it generates high traffic.  Even though I am from South Florida and traffic is everywhere, decisions like this make it worse.  A city like Plant City, though, can benefit from decisions like this.  There is hardly any traffic and it can generate a lot of revenue for the small city.  The economy is bad and the only way it is going to get better is if people become brave enough to start their own businesses to build an adequate economy once again.  Urban sprawl may generate traffic, but it also generates revenue.  Overall, these county commission meetings are important to the public and more people should attend.