The Planning Commission is proud to announce the winners of our 36th Annual Planning & Design Awards presented by TECO with our marketing partner, the Tampa Bay Times. This celebration of excellence in planning and design in Hillsborough County was held on October 25 at TPepin’s Hospitality Centre. Our annual awards program aligns with the many national festivities held during the American Planning Association’s National Planning Month and celebration of Great Places in America. Award winners were selected by a panel of distinguished judges from outside of Hillsborough County. Brendan McLaughlin, Master of Ceremonies, presented eight Awards of Merit, four Awards of Excellence, and three Awards of Outstanding Contribution to the Community, including the Jan Abell Award for Historic Preservation.
2018 Commuter Challenge Week is an Urban Excellence Awards finalist!
We’re proud to announce #CommuterChallenge18is a finalist for the Tampa Downtown Partnership’s 2018 Urban Excellence Awards in the Collaboration category. These Awards celebrate businesses, organizations, individuals, events, and projects that have made significant contributions toward Downtown Tampa. We’ve got great company in the Collaboration category with the TECO Line Streetcar Reimagined: Free Fares and Modernization & Expansion Study and the Madame Fortune Taylor Bridge Historical Marker Ceremony & Unveiling! Winners in nine categories will be announced at an awards dinner at Armature Works on November 29. In addition, there’s a People’s Choice Award, for which you may choose to vote for us…
Plan Hillsborough staff digs into oyster shells at McKay Bay again
On October 5th, Plan Hillsborough staff once again volunteered to help Tampa Bay Watch’s Community Oyster Reef Enhancement (CORE) program by creating oyster shell reefs in McKay Bay. The goal of the Oyster Shell Bar program is to provide and enhance marine habitat while providing environmental education and stewardship within the Tampa Bay community through hands-on community restoration.
Staff initially volunteered in May as part of the Hillsborough 100 Conservation Challenge, a showcase of conservation projects throughout Hillsborough County. For National Community Planning Month in October, staff decided to return to the project site in McKay Bay to continue the oyster shell reef they had started. It was a treat to see the fruits of our labor in the form of barnacles surrounding the mesh bags placed underwater five months earlier. Improving the health of Tampa Bay makes the hard work and many volunteer hours worth it!
Contemporary public policy debates frequently are characterized by intense disagreements that can escalate into full-blown confrontations. Yet, the duty of public servants is to find a way to serve all of the public… no matter how divided the public may be. We’ll explore practical steps for navigating disagreements and creating shared mental space on important policy questions. AICP CM credit available.
A Request for Proposals will be posted on our web site and advertised on November 16, 2018 seeking qualified planning consultants to update the Vision Plan for the Ybor City Community Redevelopment Areas 1 and 2 of the City of Tampa. Service providers who have experience working with governmental projects in the Tampa Bay area, as well as women and minority-owned firms, are encouraged to respond. Please note the RFP schedule:
In the Zone: County Rezoning furthers multi-use policies
The Planning Commission staff reviews applications for rezonings to make sure new development is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Recently, the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners approved plans for a 35.6-acre mixed-use project at the northwest corner of US Hwy 301 and Simmons Loop that furthered the Comprehensive Plan policies about mixed-use development. The development by Simmons Loop Apartment Partners LLC will include multi-family residential, commercial, and medical office uses. The County Comprehensive Plan encourages creating walkable, connected mixed-use projects where residents may be able to get daily services or even work in close proximity to where they live. This reduces trips on our roadways, is a more efficient use of land and creates a more sustainable development pattern. Because the project furthered these policies, the applicant received an allowance for increased density as a result of design enhancements, including a pedestrian and bicycle path connecting the residential and commercial areas.
transportation connections
& planning
MPO adopts performance targets
At its October 30 meeting, the Hillsborough MPO Board approved a series of performance targets in conformance with new rules from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the federal agency responsible for transportation. State DOTs and MPOs must now assess and set short-term goals for safety performance, travel reliability, transit, pavement and bridge condition every four years.
FDOT-maintained pavement and bridges in Hillsborough County are generally in good repair, and in fact exceed national standards for bridge condition. However, local travel time reliability lags behind the rest of the state, so the MPO urged FDOT to address bottlenecks by funding projects on the MPO TIP Priority List. The new MAP-21 Performance Management Requirements will encourage greater agency collaboration and help direct investments where they’re most needed and can do the greatest good. Long-term (25/yr) performance goals, approved in 2014, can be found in theImagine 2040 Long Range Transportation Plan.
A new and improved TIP tool
Looking for transportation projects funded in the next five years in your area? Check out our new TIP Mapping Tool to pinpoint the projects you’re looking for! The updated Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Mapping Tool is an interactive search that provides quick access to the complete list of funded projects in the TIP for fiscal years 2019 to 2023, including projects in the current Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) work program, as well as those of jurisdictions and partner agencies.
Walk of Silence remembers those killed in traffic crashes
For Sam Lougheed’s mother and sister, the loss is still raw. Sam was one of 121 individuals killed this year (as of October 18) in Hillsborough County traffic crashes. The first annual Vision Zero HillsboroughWalk of Silence in memory of these victims was held Saturday, October 20 in downtown Tampa.
More than 75 survivors, family members, and activists gathered at Poe Plaza to paint pairs of shoes, representing each life lost, and then carried them to the Tampa Riverwalk where the victims’ names were read aloud. The moving ceremony concluded on the Platt Street Bridge with the shoes lined along the balustrade.
The Tampa Metro region is ranked as the 2nd deadliest for pedestrians in America, according to Smart Growth America. The Vision Zero movement is working to reduce the number of deaths and injuries caused by crashes to zero.
hillsborough river planning
Happy trails, Commissioner Higginbotham!
Al Higginbotham likes the old backpacker saying: “If you see something that’s not right, fix it. If you explore nature, leave without a trace.” It’s a credo reflected in his legacy over the past 12 years as a Hillsborough County Commissioner and member of the Hillsborough River Interlocal Planning Board.
Higginbotham – Al, as he prefers – leaves the Commission and River Board this month. From his very first term as a Commissioner, he has served on the River Board. Trips to Hillsborough River Park were a beloved staple of his childhood, thanks to his grandfather, a farmer and naturalist. “The Hillsborough River is Tampa’s backbone and front porch, and if you look at how it’s changed over the years — declined and then recovered — we’ve left it a better place,” he says.
DeSantis, Gillum talk to WFTV’s Central Florida Spotlight | In Focus with Allison Walker Torres examines the state of autonomous vehicles in Florida and safeguards being enacted to protect drivers and pedestrians. | Orlando Sentinel | 10.31.18
Plan Hillsborough provides value-added planning services through a diverse team of professionals working towards a thriving future for Tampa, Temple Terrace, Plant City, and Hillsborough County, and provides staff to the:
Promotes, coordinates, collaborates with, and facilitates the involvement of all people in comprehensive planning and visioning to improve economic development opportunities and quality of life in our community.
A long-range transportation policy-making board made up of local government and transportation agency representatives planning for more than $1.5 billion in state and federally funded multi-modal transportation investments in the first 5 years of each 20+ year plan.
Responsible for promoting collaborative planning, regulation, and development along the river corridor while ensuring the environmental health of the river running through Hillsborough County and the cities of Tampa and Temple Terrace.
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