Time to dust off the blueprint

Good Tuesday, friends.

Decided to kick back Monday with a good book. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time for that, so I read the Citrus County Comprehensive Plan.

I didn’t read it word for word. I've been on a Carl Hiaasen kick lately, and I just read his latest, “Fever Beach,” over the weekend. The comp plan ain’t Carl Hiaasen.

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It’s our blueprint for cohesive growth. The plan was adopted in 1989 and updated numerous times since then. 

It’s woefully out of date. The land-use map depicts the pattern of zoning uses to 2030 — five years from now. Our community is light years different than the one that adopted our first comp plan.

Everyone and their sister have been crying out for an update on the comp plan. I saw in the Chronicle the other day that Commissioner Jeff Kinnard is recommending hiring a consultant for a comp plan rewrite.

So, before we go there, I thought I’d give a little taste of what the plan contains now. Keep in mind, I’m picking out a few lines from a massive document.

It’s 16 specific chapters. Yes, I read them all Monday. No, I didn’t read every word. Yes, I skimped over a lot of it.

Each chapter contains goals, objectives, and policies. Big picture, detailed aim, and how to get there.

Much of the comprehensive plan is written for ordinary people to understand. Some of it is well beyond my pay grade. I’m linking it, along with the individual chapters cited here, so readers can research on their own.

Let’s see how this goes. Because the document is so large, I’m going to break this out over a few days.

HOUSING

— Goal: “Provide a variety of decent, safe, and sanitary housing in suitable neighborhoods to meet the needs of the present and future residents of Citrus County.”

What do you think? Are we meeting that goal?

— Objective: “Increase the supply of safe, affordable, and sanitary housing for very low-, low, and moderate-income households. Dwelling types may consist of mobile homes, apartments, townhomes, duplexes, and detached single-family homes.”

I’m going out on a limb to suggest that is NOT taking place. It seems the opposite is true.

— “Conduct a detailed professional analysis to measure projected affordable housing needs, assess the social and economic costs of not providing for this need, and provide an economic analysis to justify proposed affordable housing programs.”

If this analysis exists, I haven’t seen it. (If it's there, I'm sure the county will let me know and then I can link it.)

RECREATION/OPEN SPACE

— “The calculation of recreation and open space areas by a development shall not include drainage retention areas, buffer areas, or related utilitarian facilities that do not provide active recreation, unless otherwise approved in a Planned Unit Development, as outlined in the Future Land Use Element.”

This drives me nuts. The county allows developers in a PUD to include dry drainage ditches as open space, as if this is a good place to walk the dog or toss a Frisbee. 

There is NO WAY that should be allowed. Might as well make parking lots open space too; we can play dodgeball between the cars.

COASTAL, LAKES AND RIVERS

— “The Geographic Resources and Community Planning Division shall prepare periodic reports at least every seven years on the population at-risk for use in evacuation planning.”

Another very interesting report that I have neither seen nor heard of its existence. If it’s out there, don’t know who is looking at it or why.

— “The Hurricane Evacuation Level of Service Standard for Out of County evacuation is sixteen (16) hours for a Category 5 storm event.”

No idea how they’d measure that.

— “Citrus County shall assess and adopt regulations in the hurricane vulnerable zone which: (1) limit new development in coastal areas and additional mobile home units; and/or (2) allow new development in coastal areas provided that mitigating measures are established which do not increase hurricane evacuation times…”

When my Ozello friends complain that the County Commission violated the Comprehensive Plan when they approved the glampground, this is one area they point to.

I hope our new comp plan sets the criteria super high for development in hurricane evacuation zones. After what we’ve seen the last two years, this should be a priority.

That’s it for today. I can tell you’re engrossed. Stay tuned for more.

Have an awesome Tuesday, friends.

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